Kane Press has bought Boyds Mills Press and its affiliated imprints, Calkins Creek and WordSong, from Highlights for Children and has renamed itself Boyds Mills & Kane. It also includes StarBerry Books. Altogether the new company has nearly a thousand titles in print, including picture books and chapter books, novels, nonfiction, poetry, history, STEAM, mystery, learning to read, social studies connections and more.
Boyds Mills Press, whose formal business name is Thinkingdom, Ltd., is owned by Thinkingdom Media Group, a publicly traded publishing and media group with headquarters in Beijing. Boyds Mills Press will be overseen by president Leying Jiang, and Juliana Lauletta will serve as publisher. Lauletta commented: "As Boyds Mills & Kane, we are committed to working closely with our talented authors, illustrators, and agents, and to continuing our mission of creating amazing books for kids, young adults, and kids-at-heart."
Kane Press was founded in 1992 by Joanne Kane and publishes fiction and nonfiction books for children ages 2 to 11.
Boyds Mills Press was founded in 1990 by Kent Brown, grandson of the founders of Highlights for Children, to add trade book publishing to the company's portfolio. Highlights for Children decided to sell the Boyds Mills Press imprints because, it said, it wants to have "an increased focus on its growing branded business." The press has published picture books, chapter books, novels, and nonfiction books that focus on storytelling, imaginative illustration, and strong characters.
Calkins Creek, founded in 2004, publishes nonfiction and historical fiction that introduces children to the many people, places, and events that have shaped U.S. history, presenting multiple points of view through original and extensive research.
WordSong, established in 1990, is dedicated to publishing poetry for children.
StarBerry Books was created in 2018 to encourage diversity and children's natural curiosity with picture books created by authors and artists from all over the globe.