Executive Overview
As Highlights for Children marks its 80th anniversary, its trade publishing arm, Highlights Press, is demonstrating that traditional, tactile children’s media is experiencing a major resurgence. Established 11 years ago to translate the iconic magazine’s core philosophy into retail and institutional book markets, Highlights Press is currently experiencing extraordinary commercial momentum. According to recent Circana BookScan data, the imprint’s year-to-date (YTD) sales have surged by 29%, a trajectory that drastically outperforms both the broader children’s book sector and the highly competitive activity book category.
This rapid growth has propelled Highlights Press to the position of 17th largest children’s publisher in the United States. Its market share gains are particularly pronounced across juvenile nonfiction, early-learning workbooks, and the games, activities, and hobbies subcategories.
The publishing imprint’s success is driven by two main factors: a broader cultural shift among parents seeking alternatives to digital screens, and an internal business restructuring. Over the past two and a half years, Highlights has retooled its sales, marketing, and distribution channels, optimizing its partnership with distributor Penguin Random House while sharpening its editorial focus. By combining product innovation—such as toy-brand licensing and interactive "book-plus" kits—with a deep understanding of childhood development, the 80-year-old brand has adapted its legacy for modern retail environments.
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| HIGHLIGHTS PRESS AT A GLANCE |
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| Metric / Milestone | Data Point |
+--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------+
| Parent Company Age | 80 Years (Founded 1946) |
| Imprint Age | 11 Years (Founded 2015) |
| YTD Sales Growth | +29% (Circana BookScan) |
| Market Position | 17th Largest U.S. Children's Book Publisher |
| Primary Distributor | Penguin Random House |
| Reader Engagement | >400,000 annual correspondences from children |
| Top-Selling Front/Backlist| The Hardest Hidden Pictures Ever (200k+ retail copies) |
+--------------------------+--------------------------------------------------------+Detailed Chronology
The trajectory of Highlights for Children—from a localized subscription magazine to an omni-channel publishing company—reflects an evolving response to changing media landscapes and educational needs.
1946 2015 2017 2022-2024 2025-2027+
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Founded by Garry Highlights Press Highlights Learning Sales & Distribution Science Series &
& Caroline Myers Imprint Launch Imprint Launch Management Overhaul 2026/2027 Slate1946: The Founding Vision
Garry Cleveland Myers and Caroline Clark Myers establish Highlights for Children in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Built on the foundational belief that "children are the world’s most important people," the flagship publication was designed to promote literacy, critical thinking, and character development through fun, screen-free activities.
1950s–2000s: Subscription and Institutional Dominance
For decades, Highlights built its brand awareness primarily through direct-to-consumer magazine subscriptions and its presence in elementary school classrooms, pediatric waiting rooms, and public libraries. Features like "Hidden Pictures," "Goofus and Gallant," and "The Timbertoes" became cultural touchstones for generations of American children.
2015: Launch of Highlights Press
Recognizing shifting consumer purchasing habits and the need to diversify beyond subscription magazines, the company launched Highlights Press. This dedicated trade publishing imprint was designed to take original activity books, storybooks, and puzzle collections directly to retail bookshops, mass-market retailers, and trade channels.
2017: Expansion into Early Learning
Building on its educational authority, the publisher established the Highlights Learning imprint. Designed to combine skill-building exercises with engaging puzzle formats, the imprint introduced the Big Fun Workbooks line, bridging the gap between supplementary education and home entertainment.
2022–2024: Operational and Commercial Realignment
Highlights brought in new leadership across its sales, marketing, and distribution divisions to modernize trade operations. The company overhauled its marketing strategy to focus on higher-ROI digital and retail campaigns, provided enhanced internal sales infrastructure to support its distribution partner, Penguin Random House, and expanded its portfolio into non-consumable formats, libraries, and licensed partnerships.
2025–2027: Next-Generation Publishing Slate
Building on its recent 29% YTD sales increase, Highlights Press is executing an expanded multi-year publishing pipeline. This includes high-concept interactive formats like Escape Rooms!, playful seek-and-find narratives like Can You Find Steve?, and expanded STEM platforms including the Why, How, and Wow! science series.
Supporting Context & Metrics
The Macro Driver: A Cultural Recalibration Away From Screens
The double-digit growth of Highlights Press reflects a significant shift in parental purchasing behavior. Following years of increased screen usage during and after the pandemic, caregivers are actively seeking physical, offline alternatives for young children.
This environment has created strong tailwinds for interactive non-digital products. Parents increasingly view activity books, workbooks, and tactile novelty titles not merely as pastimes, but as tools to reduce screen dependency and foster independent cognitive development.
Performance Indicators and Category Dominance
The 29% YTD growth reported by Circana BookScan highlights strong demand across multiple key segments:
- Core Activity & Puzzles: Backlist and frontlist puzzle offerings remain a primary revenue driver. The Hardest Hidden Pictures Ever led the portfolio last year with more than 200,000 retail copies sold. Other top performers include The Ultimate Puzzle Challenge!, The Silliest Hidden Pictures Book Ever, and seasonal releases like Easter Hidden Pictures Puzzles to Highlight.
- Supplementary Education: The Highlights Learning imprint continues to see steady demand. Its Big Fun Workbooks series has generated over 240,000 unit sales YTD, benefiting from parental demand for foundational learning materials that maintain an element of play.
- Library and Non-Consumable Expansion: Historically known for consumable puzzle magazines, Highlights Press has systematically built out a non-consumable list to secure placement in public and school libraries. Board books featuring tactile elements—such as Daddy’s Little Burrito and Grandma’s Little Love Bug (featuring crinkle-foil) alongside Unicorn Surprise! (featuring felt flaps and embedded mirrors)—have expanded the brand’s footprint into early childhood demographics.
Highlights Press Key Sales Drivers (YTD Performance)
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| Activity & Puzzles |
| - The Hardest Hidden Pictures Ever (200k+ units) |
| - The Ultimate Puzzle Challenge! |
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| Early Learning Workbooks |
| - Big Fun Workbooks Line (240k+ units YTD) |
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| Non-Consumable & Board Books |
| - Touch-and-feel series (Library/Retail growth) |
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| Book-Plus & Novelty Formats |
| - Gem Art, Toy Brand Licensing (Crazy Aaron's) |
+---------------------------------------------------+Diversification via Licensing and "Book-Plus"
To remain competitive on retail shelves, Highlights Press has aggressively expanded into the "book-plus" and maker markets. These hybrid offerings combine traditional activity books with physical crafting materials or toys:
- Craft and Activity Kits: Upcoming releases such as Make Your Own Gem Art: Unicorn include over 1,500 craft gems, story pages, doodling exercises, and display scenes.
- Strategic Licensing Partnerships: Highlights Press has entered into licensing agreements with prominent toy brands, including Crazy Aaron’s (known for Thinking Putty) and Plus-Plus (interlocking building blocks), creating co-branded activity kits that blend building play with visual puzzles.
Directly Informed by Reader Data
A key competitive advantage for Highlights Press is its direct feedback loop with its end users. The publisher receives more than 400,000 pieces of correspondence annually from children, including letters, art, questions, and stories. This consumer data directly shapes editorial direction.
For instance, the persistent stream of science-related inquiries led directly to the creation of the Why, How, and Wow! non-fiction series. Debuting with Space and continuing with Dinosaurs, each title directly addresses over 150 real questions submitted by child readers, using open-ended prompts designed to foster inquiry-based learning.
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| THE HIGHLIGHTS PRODUCT ECOSYSTEM |
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| Category | Key Titles / Series | Target Demographic |
+----------------------+---------------------------------+--------------------------+
| Early Childhood | Daddy's Little Burrito, | Ages 0–3 |
| | Unicorn Surprise! | |
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| Educational / Workbooks| Big Fun Workbooks Line | Ages 3–8 |
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| Non-Fiction / STEM | Why, How, and Wow! (Space), | Ages 6–10 |
| | Ultimate Science Cookbook | |
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| Puzzles & Games | The Hardest Hidden Pictures, | Ages 6–12 |
| | Escape Rooms! | |
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| Book-Plus / Maker | Make Your Own Gem Art, | Ages 5–12 |
| | Crazy Aaron's / Plus-Plus Co-Branded | |
+----------------------+---------------------------------+--------------------------+Official Statements
Company executives attribute the publisher’s performance to the alignment of timeless founding principles with modern commercial execution.
Chris Bauerle, Vice President of Books and Retail at Highlights, emphasized that the shift in consumer behavior represents more than a short-term trend:
"I think that we are in, I wouldn’t say a moment, but a cultural reset or recalibration. There’s a shift in how families are thinking about screen time. Consumers are saying they see children’s books as an incredible cure to this need they’re feeling to have their kids spend less time on screens and be more engaged with nondigital content."
Bauerle noted that operational changes over the past two and a half years were critical to converting this market trend into bottom-line growth:
"We’ve assembled an all-star cast to add to our really powerful product development team, and we’ve spent the last two and a half years building a well-run unit. We’re positioned in such a way that we are able to take advantage of this tailwind that the entire industry is experiencing."
Addressing how an 80-year-old company maintains contemporary relevance, Bauerle pointed back to the core company values:
"I think it’s the founding mission, that children are the world’s most important people and their voices are worth listening to… They [the founders] were convinced that there was power in content to inspire joyful learning that kids would seek out and love. Children will actually tell you exactly what they need if you just listen to them."
Marlo Scrimizzi, Senior Director of Editorial, explained how this core philosophy influences contemporary product development:
"Our founders, Garry Cleveland Myers and Caroline Clark Myers, had this radical belief, at the time, that children are capable thinkers. They really believed in nurturing children’s curiosity and helping them think things through themselves, and also making sure that learning is joyful and a lot of fun. We still bake that into our philosophy. In all of our products, we help kids become curious, creative, caring, and confident."
Scrimizzi also highlighted how direct engagement with young readers feeds back into the editorial pipeline:
"We get over 400,000 correspondences from kids a year. They send us questions, they tell us what’s on their minds, they send us their drawings, their poems, and their artwork. We really get that close view into what kids are thinking and we use that knowledge in our publishing."
Commenting on upcoming releases designed to modernize classic puzzle mechanics, Scrimizzi cited Escape Rooms! and Can You Find Steve?:
"I think [Escape Rooms!] is very quintessentially Highlights… [Can You Find Steve?] is filled with so much humor, there are puzzles woven in, and then at the end it becomes a story about friendship."
Future Outlook
Looking ahead, Highlights for Children is positioning itself to expand its market footprint beyond conventional retail publishing. The company is actively executing a multi-pronged growth strategy designed to integrate its brand across educational, commercial, and community channels.
1. Expanding the Publishing Pipeline
The imprint’s editorial roadmap includes high-concept titles that combine narrative storytelling with interactive puzzle-solving. Releases like Escape Rooms!—where readers solve logic puzzles to navigate themed environments like a haunted cheese factory—and the seek-and-find narrative Can You Find Steve? reflect a strategic focus on gamified reading experiences. Furthermore, long-term investments in STEM publishing will continue with major expansions like Why, How, and Wow! Dinosaurs.
2. Strategic Partnerships and Enterprise Initiatives
Highlights continues to leverage its brand equity through corporate and civic partnerships. Current enterprise collaborations include initiatives with major technology companies, entertainment brands, and athletic organizations such as Google, Ringling Brothers, Hewlett Packard, and professional sports franchises. These integrations allow the brand to reach children and parents outside traditional retail bookstores.
3. Early Childhood Educational Programs
Expanding beyond traditional publishing, Highlights has launched targeted early childhood initiatives. A notable example is its recently established program in Florida, which partners directly with local school districts, state agencies, and philanthropic foundations. The initiative provides play-based preschool and kindergarten readiness materials for children up to age five, creating an early touchpoint for the brand with young families.
4. Direct-to-Consumer and Subscription Growth
Alongside its trade publishing operation, Highlights maintains a robust direct-to-consumer infrastructure, including subscription puzzle boxes and specialized learning kits. By maintaining direct channels alongside its distribution partnership with Penguin Random House, the company effectively insulated its operations against broader fluctuations in traditional retail foot traffic.
Through operational restructuring, brand diversification, and alignment with modern parenting priorities, Highlights Press has positioned itself for sustained growth. As the company celebrates 80 years of operation, its performance demonstrates that traditional, engagement-driven children’s media remains highly competitive in an increasingly digital world.
