A new series of children’s books coming this summer from Simon & Schuster is more than meets the eye.
The publisher announced that it will release six tie-in books based on Transformers: EarthSpark, the animated series that premiered last year on Nickelodeon and Paramount+. The series follows two siblings who discover a new breed of Transformers—robots who can change shape—in the small town they recently moved to. Voice actors in the show include Kathreen Khavari, Dany Pudi, Jon Jon Briones, Rory McCann, Diedrich Bader, and Alan Tudyk.
Transformers, originally a line of toys marketed by the companies Takara and Hasbro, has become a popular media franchise, spawning a popular animated show and a series of live-action movies. The latest film based on the toys, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, starring Michelle Yeoh and Peter Dinklage, is scheduled to hit theaters in June.
The series of new books will kick off July 4 with Transformers: Earthspark: The Official Guidebook; a storybook, The Spark That Started It All; and a ready-to-read book, Meet Twitch and Trash!
Three more books will follow on August 29: another ready-to-read book, It’s Optimus Prime Time!; and two chapter books, Optimus Prime and Megartron’s Racetrack Recon! and The Terrans Cook Up Some Mischief!
The television series Transformers: EarthSpark has been renewed for a second season, but no release date has been announced.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
