PENGUIN YOUNG READERS AND MELISSA & DOUG® REIMAGINE READING WITH NEW LINE OF PLAYABLE BOOKS
Toy-inspired books based on the beloved brand committed to purposeful play publish October 13, 2026, including the groundbreaking TOY KITCHEN COOKBOOK by Sohui Kim.
WILTON, Conn., May 13, 2026 /CNW/ - Penguin Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, and Melissa & Doug, the number one preschool brand for wooden and sustainable toys*, today announced a new line of books. Publishing on October 13, 2026, the inaugural list of titles includes three books intended for readers aged 2-5, including a groundbreaking toy kitchen cookbook created in collaboration with award-winning chef and author Sohui Kim. MELISSA & DOUG: THE TOY KITCHEN COOKBOOK, MELISSA & DOUG: PLAY ALL DAY: A Search-and-Find Book, and MELISSA & DOUG: WHAT DO YOU SEE?: A Lift-the-Flap Blocks Book will publish October 13, with additional series titles expected in 2027.
Like the timeless wooden toys and realistic pretend play sets that inspire them, Melissa & Doug books have been carefully crafted with fun formats that inspire the kind of purposeful, kid-powered play that nurtures growth, sparks imagination and builds confidence. These sturdy books are designed to withstand repeated read and play sessions, earning the trust parents have come to expect from Melissa & Doug.
Daniel Moreton, Vice President and Publisher of Brands & Licenses at Penguin Workshop, said:
"Penguin Young Readers is delighted to partner with the premier toy experts at Melissa & Doug and Spin Master on a new line of board books equally as innovative as the products that inspire them. Whether exploring core concepts or extending the engagement of their favorite toys, we can't wait for readers to experience this imaginative, empowering, and high-quality collection of books."
Chef Sohui Kim said: "Food has always been my love language. As an immigrant child growing up in the Bronx, a celebration always meant cooking and sharing meals together. My love of family cooking time planted a seed of a lifelong passion for playing with food. Now, as the executive chef and owner of Brooklyn's Insa and Gage & Tollner, I've spent my career creating spaces where food brings people together across generations and cultures. If my earlier cookbooks The Good Fork Cookbook and Korean Home Cooking were about preserving tradition and elevating home cooking for adults, MELISSA & DOUG: THE TOY KITCHEN COOKBOOK is about empowering the youngest of cooks to explore flavors, textures, and colorful creativity in the kitchen. Thank you for welcoming this book into your homes and your stories. I hope it inspires a new generation to discover the joy of cooking."
Lauren DeFeo Duchene, President of Melissa & Doug and EVP at Spin Master, said: "At Melissa & Doug, everything we create is grounded in the belief that purposeful play fuels imagination and lays the foundation for lifelong learning and development. In partnership with Penguin Young Readers, we are thoughtfully co-creating a series of books that extend the Melissa & Doug experience beyond toys, empowering children to explore, pretend, and build real-world skills. Each title is designed to spark curiosity and turn reading into a meaningful, shared experience that deepens family connection."
*Source: Leger 360 Claims Research, March 2026
About the Books:
MELISSA & DOUG: THE TOY KITCHEN COOKBOOK written by Sohui Kim; photographs by Rick Holbrook
Rise x Penguin Workshop; on sale 10/13/2026; Ages 2-5
Board; 9798217243402; $19.99
Ebook; 9798217243419; $5.99
Author and twice-nominated Best Chef by the James Beard Foundation Sohui Kim gives young aspiring chefs the cookbook they deserve featuring gorgeous photographs by Rick Holbrook. This playful volume features sixteen original recipes for the youngest chefs in their toy kitchens. From alphabet soup to cookie pie, each dish offers a toy ingredient list and step-by-step instructions to strengthen critical skills in sequencing, matching, flexibility, and creativity, and provide hesitant eaters with a way to explore new foods.
For use with toy ingredients only, the groundbreaking format helps preliterate children visually "read" the ingredient list and "cook" all on their own, inspiring confidence, accomplishment, unpressured play, and excitement around food. Packaged like a real cookbook in an 8"x10" hardcover trim size, THE TOY KITCHEN COOKBOOK features sturdy board book pages for withstanding repeated play sessions.
MELISSA & DOUG: PLAY ALL DAY: A SEARCH-AND-FIND BOOK illustrated by Stephanie Price
Penguin Young Readers Licenses; on sale 10/13/2026; Ages 2-5
Board; 9798217244911; $12.99
Ebook; 9798217245048; $3.99
Play all day in this search-and-find board book for the youngest readers, starring Melissa & Doug toys! From getting dressed up in the morning, to building block cities in the afternoon, to making dinner in the evening, spend a day of play in this sturdy tabbed search-and-find board book! Can you spot each find among the iconic Melissa & Doug toys? How would you play all day?
MELISSA & DOUG: WHAT DO YOU SEE?: A Lift-the-Flap Blocks Book illustrated by Teuntje Fleur
Penguin Young Readers Licenses; on sale 10/13/2026; Ages 2-5
Board; 9798217245949; $12.99
Ebook; 9798217249244; $3.99
Young readers can take Melissa & Doug's iconic wooden blocks wherever they go in this interactive board book! With a series of oversized flaps, little hands can assemble block creations of their own in open-ended play sessions that support creative problem solving.
ABOUT SOHUI KIM:
Sohui Kim loves to play. She plays with food in the kitchens of her restaurants, Insa and Gage & Tollner. She plays with words in her cookbooks, The Good Fork Cookbook and Korean Home Cooking. And she plays with toys with young neighbors and friends. Through playing, Chef Sohui creates recipes and menus, and wins awards. She is a twice-nominated Best Chef by the James Beard Foundation, and her restaurants garner stars and glowing reviews. Chef Sohui lives with her husband, dog, two teenagers, and the pink toy kitchen they've outgrown, in Brooklyn, New York.
ABOUT MELISSA & DOUG:
From timeless wooden and developmental toys to pretend play, puzzles, and arts & crafts, Melissa & Doug inspires the kind of kid-powered, purposeful play that builds the skills and confidence for children to thrive. Melissa & Doug is a wholly owned subsidiary of Spin Master Corp. (TSX: TOY), a leading global children's entertainment company. For more, visit Melissa & Doug.
ABOUT PENGUIN YOUNG READERS:
Penguin Young Readers is one of the leading children's book publishers in the United States. The company owns a wide range of imprints and trademarks, including Dial Books, Dutton, Flamingo, Kokila, Nancy Paulsen Books, Penguin Workshop, Philomel, Puffin, G. P. Putnam's Sons, Razorbill, Viking, and Frederick Warne. These imprints are home to such award-winning, New York Times-bestselling authors as Laurie Halse Anderson, Max Brallier, Jan Brett, Eric Carle, Roald Dahl, Anna Dewdney, John Flanagan, John Green, Oliver Jeffers, Brad Meltzer, Ransom Riggs, Ruta Sepetys, Sabaa Tahir, Jacqueline Woodson, and dozens of other popular authors. Penguin Young Readers Group is also the proud publisher of perennial brand franchises such as The Little Engine That Could, the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series, Peter Rabbit, Spot, the Classic Winnie the Pooh, the Very Hungry Caterpillar, Madeline, Mad Libs, the Last Kids on Earth, the Rangers Apprentice, and Who HQ among many others. Penguin Young Readers Group is a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
ABOUT PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE:
Penguin Random House, the world's largest trade book publisher, is dedicated to its mission of nourishing a universal passion for reading by connecting authors and their writing with readers everywhere. The company, which employs more than 10,000 people globally, was formed on July 1, 2013, by Bertelsmann and Pearson. As of April 1, 2020, Bertelsmann is full owner of the company. With more than 300 imprints and brands on six continents, Penguin Random House comprises adult and children's fiction and nonfiction print and digital English- German- and Spanish-language trade book publishing businesses in more than 20 countries worldwide. With over 15,000 new titles, and more than 600 million print, audio and eBooks sold annually, Penguin Random House's publishing lists include more than 80 Nobel Prize laureates and hundreds of the world's most widely read authors.
SOURCE Melissa & Doug
Media Contacts: Penguin Young Readers, Garrett Bond, [email protected]; 360PR+, Caitlin Melnick, [email protected]
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