Macmillan partnership unveils first titles from Foundation Books, with John Goodman to narrate animated short adaptation (exclusive)

Benton’s Books and Short

Macmillan’s Odd Dot imprint will publish three projects from Jim Benton, the New York Times bestselling author and creator of It’s Happy Bunny and Dear Dumb Diary. One is Everybody, an illustrated meditation on life and death inspired by a viral cartoon and published in February 2026.

Foundation is also producing an animated short adaptation of Everybody, with John Goodman narrating. The short is currently in postproduction. Benton’s other titles are Cherise the Niece, his first “kid-ult” picture book, and Spoonduck, a middle-grade martial arts adventure. Cherise follows an orphan whose guardians face increasingly mysterious ends, while Spoonduck follows an abandoned duck trying to clear the name of a falsely imprisoned mentor.

More Projects Across Imprints

Odd Dot will publish a three-book middle-grade series expanding digital creators Rock Squad’s Bloodsuckers universe. The books combine romance, fantasy and vampire adventures, developing the characters and their world beyond the group’s digital series.

Henry Holt Books for Young Readers will publish Dead F’ing Cheerleaders From Calabasas, a young adult graphic novel by comedians Kylie Brakeman and Patrick McDonald. Butcher Billy and Wagner Loud are providing the artwork.

The story follows a Southern California high school cheerleading squad whose members are living dead. It combines horror, satire and high school social politics.

Partnership’s Wider Aim

Foundation Media Partners and Macmillan first announced their partnership in February 2025. The program brings publishing and entertainment development together early, with opportunities for creators to stay involved as their work moves across formats.

Foundation founder and CEO Patrick Hughes said the company wants creators to help shape what happens to their stories next. Foundation’s existing entertainment work includes adaptations of Aaron Blabey’s properties, including The Bad Guys films and Netflix’s Thelma the Unicorn.

Foundation is also developing the animated feature Game of Pets with Rideback at Amazon MGM, based on Blabey’s Game of Pets: The Boy Who Knew Too Much. It has a first-look agreement with Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing for film and television adaptations.