Mothman Baby and Nessie Baby may soon be moving into your house.
That is if your child is enamored with the cuddly creatures in popular board books published by Portland’s Hazy Dell Press. And if the company’s recent Kickstarter fundraising campaign brings in enough donations to move a line of character plushies from concept to store shelf. Mothman and Nessie would be the first in a new “Hazy Dell Plush” line.
The Kickstarter campaign started in early February and ends on March 6.
The characters and thier books. Photo courtesy Hazy Dell Press
Popular characters
“Mothman” and “Baby Nessie” are the titles—and title characters —in lift-a-flap books written by Elias Barks and illustrated by Zoe Persico.
According to Hazy Dell Press owner Renee Yama, the company’s board books, picture books, and chapter books often rely on creatures from folkloric traditions from around the world to “serve as imperfect, relatable avatars to deliver lessons of social-emotional learning that lurk within buoyant and hilarious stories.”
Over the last nine years, Hazy Dell has published 30 titles, received dozens of awards, and sold nearly one million books. Creating the character plushie comes in response to readers’ number one request:
“Since we launched our company in 2015, one of the main requests from parents has been to create plushies of our characters,” said Yama. “They want to really step up story time with tactile and cuddly friends for their children to love. Since day one, it has been a goal of ours to create plushies that are just as high quality and thoughtfully designed as our books. We’re very excited to be so close to making this a reality for our readers, and to invite them along for the ride.” In fact, a survey of readers determined which book characters would lead the plushie expansion.
Kickstart thank yous
Donors to the “Mothman Baby and Nessie Baby: Plushie Pals” Kickstarter campaign will be thanked with an array of gifts, including enamel pins, holographic character stickers, books, and the plushies themselves. A limited number of funders may receive custom illustrations from illustrator Zoe Persico and title-page dedications in future Hazy Dell Press books.
Been there, done that
Hazy Dell is not new to Kickstarter success. The publishing company was launched after a successful Kickstarter campaign funded its first book, “Monster ABC.”
“We would love to bring all of our characters to life,” said Yama, “and, hopefully, someday we will. But for now, we let the readers guide our first two plushie choices, and we hope that Mothman Baby and Nessie Baby blaze a trail for many more characters to come. In so many ways, this Kickstarter campaign is not just about those two characters, but about the future of Hazy Dell Plush, in general.”
Read more:
Book picks: ‘Beowulf’ reimagined, in a funny graphic novel for kids
