France’s leading publisher for preschoolers and children, Bayard Presse Jeune, has just celebrated 30 years. The company publishes 15 magazines in France, including such titles as Pomme d’Api, Popi, Astrapi and Okapi, capturing some 4.5 million readers. Bayard Presse Jeune also publishes 26 titles that are written in 10 languages and available in 29 countries.

Many of the characters the group created, like Petit Ours Brun and Mimi Cracra have become the her’es of animation TV series. Two new preschool series, Les Belles histoires de Pomme d’Api and Léo & Popi, will air on France 3 next September.

To celebrate its birthday, Bayard Presse Jeune has developed a few multimedia titles for 1996. Last month, the first Pomme d’Api educational CD-ROM was released, entitled Ça se transforme. In June, two CD-ROMs will come out, A Prince in School and The Time Machine.

And, next October, the group will test the Bayard Online Service, dedicated to children and young adults aged 10 to 25.