LA-based prodco Foundation Media Partners has signed a first-look deal with iconic publisher Simon & Schuster to mine its vast catalogue of children’s books for TV and feature film adaptations. 

FMP CEO Patrick Hughes brokered the deal between the two companies, and S&S’s Little Simon imprint is already earmarked for prospecting. The brand is best known for chapter books and board books, but its purview was expanded in 2021 to also cover graphic novels. 

Promising S&S book franchises that have yet to be adapted for the screen include Jordan Quinn’s fantasy adventure The Kingdom of Wrenly (21 titles) and Felix Gumpaw’s graphic novel mystery series Pup Detectives (nine titles, pictured). 

FMP has a good recent track record for translating kidlit for the big screen. It adapted Scholastic’s graphic novel franchise The Bad Guys into a 2022 CG-animated feature film for DreamWorks and Universal Pictures that grossed more than US$250 million globally. And the studio is currently in production on a sequel that’s scheduled to premiere in August 2025.