Scholastic develops I Spy toon

Scholastic Entertainment, the TV production arm of children's publisher Scholastic, is developing an animated series based on the kids' property I Spy for US cable network HBO Family.

The cgi/stop-frame series, which has a tx date set for autumn 2002 on HBO Family, is based upon the I Spy brand of picture-riddle books – of which 20m are in print – written by Jean Marzollo, with photography by Walter Wick.

Scholastic Entertainment, producers of kids' series Clifford the Big Red Dog, The Magic School Bus, Goosebumps and Dear America, will introduce two new toon characters in the series: Spyler and CeCe.

The series will target kids aged 4-7 and is to be exec produced by Deborah Forte, executive vp at Scholastic Entertainment. {I Spy will use a variety of animation techniques to create a play-along world of discovery,{ she said.