Sourcebooks introduced the Horrid Henry series, originally published in the U.K., in April, and has shipped 200,000 units in the nine months since then, a feat that makes Raccah especially proud. She called the series "great for reluctant readers."
The company did a range of things to promote the books, including:
- creating activity books and teachers' guides for libraries;
- providing costume characters for store appearances;
- creating online resources for libraries, teachers and stores;
- doing a huge shelf talker with Borders;
- sending Horrid Henry bags to accounts;
- providing 150 indies with Horrid Henry displays;
- partnering with Books Are Fun to distribute the title.
And there's more on the way. The company will promote next April Fool's Day as Horrid Henry Day and publish a joke book in connection with it. "The goal," Heather Moore said, "is to get these books into kids' hands because we know they will like them." She added, "We're still early in it."
In fact, in the U.K., where it took years to establish Horrid Henry, the series has now sold more than 15 million copies and has its own TV and live theater shows, an album and a video game.