Beakus, Big Bad Boo to coproduce Alien Book Club and S.Tink kids’ series

Alien Book Club was created by Steve Smith and Rachel Barnett-Jones

UK animation studio Beakus has partnered with Canadian production and distribution company Big Bad Boo Studios to coproduce two animated series for kids.

The first series, S.Tink (26×11’), is based on Jenny McLachlan’s Fairy vs Boy book series. Aimed at 6-12s, the story centres around the often disastrous and frequently hilarious escapades of a 13-year-old boy who unwittingly invites the world’s worst fairy and into his life.

McLachlan is joining the writing team for the adaptation, alongside supervising director Eddie Soriano (Kid Vs. Kat, Mighty Ducks, Winnie the Pooh) and producer Paddy Gillen (Atomic Betty, Transformers, The Bravest Knight).  Beakus founder Steve Smith and Big Bad Boo co-founder Shabnam Rezaei are executive producers.

The second series, Alien Book Club (39×7’), aims to encourage children to read by engaging them with classic stories such as Treasure Island and The Secret Garden. Four little aliens – each with very different personalities – arrive at the Intergalactic Library Bus to be read a story. In each episode, one of the little aliens joins the adventure in the featured book by ‘jumping’ into the story.

Alien Book Club was created by Smith, along with writer Rachel Barnett-Jones (Pip & Posy, Minibuds) and former Moonbug creative executive Jemma Gross (Little Baby Bum). Smith and Rezaei will produce the series, which has been greenlit by Canada’s TVO for development.