Angry Birds started life as a mobile app but it’s since become a sprawling merchandising and rights licensing empire for its creator Rovio. From clothes, to plush toys and even entire theme parks, the birds and smug pigs have succeeded in flinging themselves onto an alarming variety of shelves, spaces and places, as well as being firmly lodged in the pockets of millions of mobile phone owners.
Now Rovio’s Angry Birds are poised to make the leap – or is it flight? – to the world of print media in the UK, courtesy of a deal with children’s book publisher Egmont.
The freshly-inked agreement will see Angry Birds-branded books distributed across the UK, Ireland, and English-speaking Commonwealth countries in time for the holiday season. Kicking off the series is a double-sided joke book, featuring pigs on one side and birds on the other.
While hardly classic literature, Egmont hopes that the appearance of Angry Birds in books will convince children to put down their borrowed tablets and smartphones to read for a bit.
The joke book is planned to retail for £4.99/$8.00.