Hey Duggee tops the bestseller list on World Book Day

Licensed to Ladybird by BBC Studios, Hey Duggee: The World Book Day Badge has topped the UK Official Top 50 bestseller list on World Book Day.

The exclusive book published by Ladybird (Penguin Random House Children’s) is valued at £1/€1.50, but children and young people are able to exchange their World Book Day tokens to get it for free.

In this special new tale it’s World Book Day, but the Squirrels can’t decide which story Duggee should read! Should it be about a clown? An astronaut? A detective? Perhaps they should make up their own story…

Leanne Gill, Publisher, Ladybird Licensing, says: “With the ever-growing success of the Hey Duggee publishing, we had no doubt that this special World Book Day story would resonate with little Squirrels everywhere, but we’re still blown away by making it to the top of the charts as children everywhere celebrate the joy of books!”

Jan Paterson, Director of Book and Audio Publishing at BBC Studios, says: “This is marvellous news! We’re delighted that so many people are keen to swap their tokens for this special Hey Duggee book and that we are able to share the love of reading with children on World Book Day.”

A full range of Hey Duggee books are available from Ladybird, including The Potty Badge board book, Treasure Hunt lift-the-flap book and the hilarious and best-selling Animals touch-and-feel book.

World Book Day is a charity sponsored by National Book Tokens and takes place on 3 March 2022.

Hey Duggee is a fun, inclusive and educational series devised by Grant Orchard, senior director of Studio AKA, and narrated by comedian Alexander Armstrong. BBC Studios and CBeebies recently announced it had commissioned a fourth series of the hit animation.

Each episode features members of the Squirrel Club exploring, learning and overcoming challenges to earn a new Badge from Duggee – making new friends along the way.

Since launching in 2014, Hey Duggee has become a six-time BAFTA and international Emmy award-winning hit. Hey Duggee was the most-watched kids’ show on CBeebies in 2021* and was streamed more than 250m times on BBC iPlayer in 2021. All episodes of Hey Duggee are available exclusively on BBC iPlayer in the UK.

Additionally, Hey Duggee has over 1.2 million fans across its social channels and its official YouTube channel has over a billion lifetime views. Recently Hey Duggee teamed up with Sir David Attenborough for The Green Planet Badge a special episode to share the wonder of plants on CBeebies, BBC iPlayer and YouTube.

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For more information, please contact: alastair.smith@bbc.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

About World Book Day

World Book Day changes lives through a love of books and shared reading. Our mission is to promote reading for pleasure, offering every child and young person the opportunity to have a book of their own. Reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success – more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational background or their income. We want to see more children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, with a life-long habit of reading for pleasure and the improved life chances this brings them. Designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, World Book Day is marked in over 100 countries around the globe.

Operating all year round as a reading charity, this year’s World Book Day event is taking place on 3 March 2022 – it is the 25^th anniversary of this annual day.

About BBC Studios

BBC Studios, a global content company with bold British creativity at its heart, is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC Group, supporting the licence fee and enhancing programmes for UK audiences. Able to take an idea seamlessly from thought to screen and beyond, its activities span content financing, development, production, sales, branded services, and ancillaries across both its own productions, and programmes and formats made by high-quality UK independents. Award-winning British programmes made by the business are internationally recognised across a broad range of genres and specialisms, with brands like Strictly Come Dancing/Dancing with the Stars, Top Gear and Doctor Who. BBC.com, BBC Studios’ global digital news platform, provides up-to-the-minute international news, in-depth analysis and features to more than 139 million unique browsers each month. BBC Studios has offices in over 20 markets globally, including ten production bases in the UK and production bases or partnerships in a further seven countries around the world. The company, which ordinarily makes around 2000 hours of content a year for both the BBC and third parties including Apple, Netflix and Migu, is a champion for British creativity around the world. It is also a committed partner for the UK’s independent sector through a mix of equity partnerships, content investment and international distribution for programme titles.