Given how much we love discovering new publishing lists, and also have a penchant for innovative non-fiction that sparks the imagination and fosters fun, we were thrilled to find out about Kaddo, a new gift imprint that’s dedicated to publishing puzzles, games, and stationery. 

Perfect for inspiring creative thinking year-round, and for entertaining kids during the summer holidays, Kaddo also has some cool Christmas-themed offerings on the horizon. Read on to find out more from Kaddo’s infectiously enthusiastic publisher, Sarah Batten — be prepared to unleash your inner puzzler, music-maker, and all-round game player!

First up, you’re launching Kaddo, a gift imprint dedicated to publishing puzzles, games, and stationery under the Quarto umbrella. Can you share some recent must-reads from the Quarto list that exemplify your publishing ethos?

Top of my reading list is Quarto’s wonderfully playful and bestselling brands such as Little People, BIG DREAMS and The Story Orchestra, through which young readers can explore and learn about history and music in fun, hands-on ways that speak to them on their level. Children learn best through play. As do grown-ups! We should all play more often…

What led you to found Kaddo? What makes a Kaddo product a Kaddo product? And what’s the story behind the name?

Kaddo means ‘gift’ in Luxembourgish and is a transliteration of the French cadeau, also meaning ‘gift’. We wanted to pick a word in a foreign language as a nod to Quarto’s international reach.

Kaddo products, for both adult and children, will be so beautiful and enticing that you won’t be able to wait to give them to the people you love most, to help them explore and learn about the world in playful, non-linear ways that they couldn’t do with a traditional book.

I am delighted to have the opportunity to have this much fun at work at Quarto, founding Kaddo.

What do you hope younger readers and puzzlers will take from your products?

That having fun is serious business, and you can learn while you play – however old you are!

What are you launching with?

Puzzles (some of which are musical puzzles, watch this space!), memory games and bingo games.

Give us an elevator pitch for some of your upcoming products?

The Story Orchestra musical puzzles are 48-piece puzzles with shaped pieces and four musical excerpts: piece together the ending to each magical adventure and hear the music play! We are launching with the Nutcracker and Swan Lake, the perfect Christmas gift for children aged 5+.

Who would you invite to your dream literary party?

Having recently moved to the Lake District, I’m all about socialising on hill walks/runs and swims in lakes, ideally ending up with a snack and a drink on the hillside or (depending on the weather) in a cosy pub. You often have the most fascinating and deep, bonding conversations when accomplishing something physically challenging together.

So I would only be able to invite writers who would be up for running or swimming, such as (to pick only a handful!) Bernardine Evaristo, Haruki Murakami, Wim Hof, Joyce Carol Oates, Richard Askwith, Margaret Drabble… Wouldn’t that be an interesting evening? 

Tell us a secret about books…

I haven’t made a book for years. Games and puzzles are much more fun!

Stay up to date:

Website: www.quarto.com

Twitter: @TheQuartoGroup

Twitter: @QuartoKids

Facebook: QuartoBooksUK

Facebook: QuartoKids

Instagram: @quartobooksuk

Instagram: @quartokids

And, to discover more from the people who bring you all those books you love, read the rest of our Industry Insights series.