Scholastic has significantly added to its early childhood offerings, reaching an agreement to acquire Cottage Door Press for approximately $71 million.

Based in Illinois, Cottage Door was founded in 2014 by Dick Maddrell after he retired as president of Publications International. The publisher specializes in board and novelty books, many of which have interactive elements. Since its launch, Cottage Door also has been active in the licensing market, striking deals with such companies as John Deere, Peanuts, Paw Patrol, and Sesame Street as well some newer agreements with such properties as Numberblocks, Super Simple Songs, Miffy, and Canticos.

In an interview, Sasha Quinton, EVP and president, Scholastic Children’s Book Group, and Jackie DeLeo, publisher and chief merchant of the Children’s Book Group, said Cottage Door will continue to operate with complete freedom. While Scholastic will provide various forms of support, such as warehousing, Cottage Door will continue to operate as it always as under the direction of Brigette Heath, EVP, operations, and Carri Schmidt, publisher and SVP, creative & product development. Quinton and DeLeo have known Heath and Schmidt for many years and the two will report to DeLeo.

“They will continue to run their own teams,” Quinton said. “They have a great entreprenurial spirit and we want that to continue.” Quinton noted Scholastic has experience with allowing a company to operate freely, pointing to the hands off approach the company has taken with Make Believe Ideas, a U.K.-based publisher of interactive children’s books Scholastic first invested in in 2015.

Cottage Door specializes in books for babies, toddlers, and young children, with a focus on distinctive illustration, innovative formats, and engaging, age-appropriate content. It is especially known for interactive formats such as its chunky lift-a-flap and finger puppet books, as well as sound formats like Pop-a-Sound. “There really is nobody else that has been able to create the level of innovation kids want to lift and play and engage with different types of formats,” Quinton said.

Quinton said opportunities could exist for Cottage Door to publish some of Scholastic titles in their formats and that Scholastic will look to see if some of the licensing deals they have would work for Cottage Door.

Cottage Door also operates in a number of channels that Scholastic does not, especially in some specialty markets where Scholastic could possibly sell some titles, DeLeo said. And DeLeo noted that the adult titles Cottage Door acquired from Parragon in 2018 will continue to be sold.

Cottage Door, which reached PW’s fast-growing independent publishers list for 2016 and 2017, had sales of $45 million in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2026. The purchase does not include Luna StoryTime products, a line of interactive electronic toys, which will be spun off prior to the completion of the sale to Scholastic, expected to occur before the end of 2026. When that spinoff is completed, Maddrell will give up his advisory role with Cottage Door to focus on running Luna. Plans are already underway for Scholastic to partner with Luna on projects,” Quinton said.

Quinton said she is proud that in a heated contest, Maddrell chose Scholastic to be Cottage Door's next home. In a statement, Maddrell said it was "deeply gratifying to see how strongly others valued what we have created. Finding the right home for our brand and our team was an important priority. Scholastic not only understands what makes Cottage Door special, but they share a kid-first culture and can help Cottage Door realize its full potential in this next stage of growth.”