PRESS
Discover Bones Is Back®, the award-winning children’s book and toy set from Bones & Friends—a kid-powered, interactive Halloween tradition created by a family, for all families. It combines a heartwarming story with a glow-in-the-dark, articulated skeleton designed for hands-on play, creativity, and extended seasonal engagement. The brand celebrates imagination and meaningful seasonal experiences, offering retailers a compelling alternative to one-night Halloween purchases. Our Press & Brand Guide includes key brand information, awards, design assets, and market insights to support media coverage, retail presentations, wholesale partnerships, and brand collaborations.
Category: Children’s book & interactive toy.
Season: Fall & Halloween.
Recognition: Award-winning, Kickstarter-funded, patent-pending.
Audience: Families with young children (4-12 years).
Origin: Created by a family, for all families (inclusive).
Bones Is Back® reached its first major milestone of social proof with a highly successful Kickstarter campaign in May 2025. The project was fully funded in under one hour, surpassed 300% of its funding goal within two days, and was supported by hundreds of backers across the United States and internationally. This strong response marked the beginning of the Bones Is Back® journey and confirmed growing consumer demand for a new, fun-filled, month-long Halloween tradition. You can see the campaign here.
The book has been honored with the 2025 Book of the Year Award from Creative Child Magazine. Selected by an independent panel of parents and educators, the book received top recognition in both the Interactive Holiday Books category and the Books That Encourage Positive Behavior category.
The book was honored as the First Place Winner at The BookFest® 2025 in the category of Children’s Holiday Fiction. The BookFest® Spring 2025 award was judged by the event’s distinguished Bellwether panel—an accomplished group of award-winning authors, publishers, podcasters, journalists, and editors.
The American Writing Awards named the book a Winner in the 2025 Children's Book International Competition for Interactive Children’s Books. Winners were selected by a panel of publishing professionals and industry experts from a competitive pool of submissions spanning a wide range of genres. Judging was based on criteria including originality, writing quality, and overall impact
The Story Monsters Book Awards, organized by Story Monsters LLC, designed to recognize excellence in children's literature. Story Monsters Approved!: It involves both industry experts and children in the judging process. Books that earn the Story Monsters Approved! designation are recognized as titles that children recommend for other children to read.
The book has been honored with a 2025 PenCraft Seasonal Book Award in the Children’s Fantasy & Magic category. Selected through a multi-stage review process by reviewers and a panel of authors, librarians, and literary professionals, the award recognizes excellence in storytelling, originality, and overall presentation.
The International Impact Book Awards has honored Bones is Back as the Winner in the 2025 Children’s Action & Adventure category. This prestigious recognition celebrates excellence across a wide spectrum of publishing, welcoming submissions from self-published authors, traditional publishing houses, and innovative publishers alike.
Book Awards
Bones is Back has been honored with the Editor’s Choice Award of Literary Excellence in Children’s Literature from Reader’s House magazine. This distinction celebrates Dr. Marc Fetscherin’s creative storytelling, heartfelt themes, and innovative approach to family-centered reading experiences. Recognized for inspiring imagination, connection, and positive values, Bones is Back continues to captivate families and critics alike across the globe.
Toy Set Awards
The Halloween & Costume Association has announced Bones is Back as the winner of the category of 'Most Innovative Product' and a finalist for the Fang Favorite vote. Chosen by fans across the country, this award celebrates products that capture the true spirit of Halloween through creativity, engagement, and innovation. Competing against major industry names—including a Disney costume and a Ravensburger board game—Bones is Back claimed the top spot. We’re beyond excited and humbled to be the fan vote winner—chosen by Halloween lovers nationwide!
Bones is Back is a Gold Award recipient of the prestigious Mom’s Choice Awards® (MCA). It evaluates products and services created for children, families, and educators. The program is globally recognized for establishing the benchmark of excellence in family-friendly products and services. The evaluation process uses a proprietary methodology in which entries are scored on a number of elements including production quality, design, educational value, entertainment value, originality, appeal and cost.
Bones Is Back is a 2026 NAPPA Award winner in the Kindness and Inclusion category. Presented by the National Parenting Product Awards (NAPPA), one of the most trusted and longest-running programs in the parenting industry, the award recognizes products that inspire creativity, learning, and positive family values. “Our core mission at NAPPA Awards is to celebrate companies and products that bring joy, that teach and that promote kindness and inclusion,” says Elena Epstein, Director of NAPPA Awards. “We’re delighted to welcome Bones is Back to the NAPPA Awards family.”
Bones Is Back® has been recognized by The Toy Book, the leading trade publication serving the North American toy industry since 1984, as a finalist in the 2026 Pulse of Play Awards™. The Pulse of Play Awards™ celebrate the individuals, companies, and initiatives that shape the heartbeat of the toy industry and drive innovation across toys, licensing, entertainment, and the business of play. The creator of Bones Is Back®, Marc Fetscherin, was named a finalist in the Toy Inventor of the Year category, recognizing excellence in creativity, originality, and impact within the global toy industry.
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Bones is Back: A Family Tradition for Halloween is a copyrighted work registered with the U.S. Copyright Office under Registration No. TX0009471146. The product bundle (book & toy) is GS1 registered with the following GTIN number: 199284911642. Upon request, we can provide the GS1 US GTIN Certificate. If you have any questions, please contact us on info@bonesisback.com
