An Interview with Ron Beers, Sr. Vice President and Publisher

Q: What does Tyndale Kids stand for?

A: Tyndale Kids was born out of the heritage of our founder, Dr. Ken Taylor. He wanted to make the Bible understandable for his kids, and created The Living Bible. Our tagline, “Growing Up Rock Solid,” is perfect for our history, and for us because from Tyndale’s very inception, we want to help kids understand and apply biblical principles—which in turn builds lives that are solidly built on Christ and His Word. You can recognize a Tyndale Kids product by not only its faithfulness to scripture, but also by its quality and its kid-friendly design.

Q: What does Tyndale Kids do best?

A: Ministry always comes first at Tyndale Kids—it’s the reason we exist and create new product. We want to impact every child from 2 to early teens—and everything in between. Some books that illustrate what we do best are:

1. Our Bible and Bible storybook products such as My First Bible in Pictures, God’s Story, The One Year Book of Devotions for Boys, and The One Year Book of Devotions for Girls,

2. Our juvenile fiction series such as Left Behind: The Kids, Mars Diaries, Abby’s South Sea Adventures, Forbidden Doors and Elizabeth Gail,

3. Our preschool lines such as Little Blessings and Karyn Henley’s Playsongs and Before I Dream products.

These products are excellent examples of products that draw kids into a richer understanding of biblical principles at work in everyday life.

Q: How did Tyndale Kids get started?

A: Our company’s heritage lies in our children’s products and our devotion to making God’s Word accessible for kids. Concerned that his ten children didn’t understand the family's devotional reading of the 17th-century English in the King James Version of the Bible, Dr. Ken Taylor, as founder of Tyndale House Publishers, wrote what has become The Living Bible so they could understand the Scriptures in everyday English. This love for kids—and concern for their spiritual development—is literally the bedrock of the Tyndale Kids product line as well as the entire Tyndale House line of products. The first Tyndale Kids product catalog was distributed 38 years later, in 2000, but we have been creating and distributing kids products since day one.

--more--

Q: What goes on behind the scenes at Tyndale Kids?

A: The key to our high quality products is great people; people who honor God in their lives and are creative and experienced. Tyndale Kids has benefited from the low turnover in Tyndale’s key management positions, providing us with a strong sense of history and heritage.

Another key factor is allowing enough time to create the best possible product. One example of this dedication to high quality is the Little Blessings line. The idea was proposed to Tyndale by an outside author team. We thought it was a great concept but knew it needed great art to succeed. Our design group carefully searched the country for top artists, and found the world-recognized illustrator of the Care Bears to illustrate the series. As a result of this careful, time-consuming search, we have created a line of books that has sold nearly one million units and is now being licensed for gift items and apparel. It is gratifying to see its success.

Q: What is in the works for 2001?

A: We’ve got some exciting new developments, particularly in the 800,000-unit-selling Little Blessings line. This line has exceeded our expectations in the quality and reception in the marketplace. The next two products should be perfect seasonal sellers. We will release Christmas Blessings, a holiday board book that emphasizes the true gift of Christmas. We will also release the first daily devotional in the Little Blessings line, Blessings Everyday. This 365 devotional book introduces preschoolers to the Bible and its promises.

We are also very excited about the first children’s book from best-selling author Sigmund Brouwer and his wife, Dove Award-winning artist Cindy Morgan. The Little Spider recounts a lovely Christmas legend and is accompanied by beautiful illustrations and a CD featuring the audio version of the story as well as original music.

Q: Does Tyndale Kids distribute products you don’t create?

A: Tyndale Kids distributes a number of other kids products including: Adventures in Odyssey books and videos, Storyteller Café videos, Wee Sing audio and book products, Dorling Kindersley (DK) books, etc. We pick these partnerships very strategically—looking for the highest quality. For our general market partners, we trust them to know how they produce their product and they trust us to ensure the highest standard for Christian content. It is a guarantee we pass onto every retailer and consumer. If you see the Tyndale Kids logo, rest assured for the Christian integrity of the book, video, game or CD.

May 1, 2001