Kasey the Kinderbot

EAST AURORA, N.Y., April 23 -- Fisher-Price, the world's leading manufacturer of infant and preschool toys, has announced its sponsorship of the 5th Annual Scholastic Early Childhood Professional Awards, the only national award program that recognizes the vital role played by early childhood professionals for their outstanding achievements in childcare and early childhood education. As a part of the awards program, the top six grand prize winners will take back to their classrooms Fisher-Price's new learning toy, Kasey the Kinderbot(TM), an interactive robotic friend that helps teach academic, social and physical skills needed for kindergarten readiness. The learning toy will hit retail shelves in late summer.

"Fisher-Price is all about early childhood. Our mission is to create fun, enriching toys that provide children with the best possible start in life." says Jerry Perez, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Design for Fisher-Price. "As part of that promise, we are focused on working with organizations like Scholastic, and developing innovative toys, to help preschoolers develop the skills they need for success in school. The relationship with Scholastic and the Award program allows us to reach early childhood educators and parents with the message that Fisher-Price is committed to helping preschoolers get the best start in learning."

The awards program calls for parents, teachers, and directors of early childhood programs to nominate individuals for their commitment to nurturing and educating young children. The finalists are selected by a panel of Scholastic early childhood experts and respected advisors from the field and will be honored this November at the 2002 National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Conference in New York City.

"We are pleased to have Fisher-Price join us in celebrating our 5th annual Scholastic Early Childhood Professional Awards," stated Judsen Culbreth, Vice President and Editorial Director of Scholastic Custom Family Publishing. "School-readiness is a key concern of parents, and Kasey will no doubt be a welcome addition to the learning-toy box for both parents and teachers."

Fisher-Price's Kasey the Kinderbot will launch in August at Toys "R" Us before being available across the country in September. Kasey the Kinderbot is a unique, robotic friend that comes to life with a warm smile, realistic speech, an electronic display screen, moving head, waist, arms, hands and eyes and interactive lights. Kasey brings lots of fun and humor to learning through interactive games and activities that teach important pre-reading skills plus numbers, counting, shapes and colors. Kasey's curriculum, which includes a total of more than 40 different skills that help prepare kids for success in school, was developed in conjunction with educational experts and teachers from around the United States. With the help of his friend "Chip," an adorable sidekick that appears on Kasey's screen, Kasey also models social skills, like good manners, taking turns, friendship and sharing.

Nomination forms for the 5th Annual Scholastic Early Childhood Professional Awards program are available at http://www.EarlyChildhoodToday.com, and must be completed in full and postmarked by May 31, 2002 for consideration.

About Scholastic

Scholastic is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books. As a global children's publishing and media company serving the needs of parents, teachers, and children, Scholastic provides proprietary book and software distribution through school book clubs, school book fairs and to classrooms, as well as through the retail trade. Since 1920, Scholastic has created quality educational materials for schools and has expanded its reach to include the distribution of books, software, toys, online learning services and television programming directly to the home.

Scholastic's Grolier division is the leading print and online publisher of children's reference materials and the leader in children's direct-to-home book clubs. Internationally, Scholastic operates wholly owned companies in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, The Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom. The U.S. Scholastic web site (http://www.scholastic.com) is a leading provider of educational services online for parents, teachers and children.

About Fisher-Price

Fisher-Price, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mattel, Inc. located in East Aurora, New York, is the leading brand of infant and preschool toys in the world and also offers an extensive line of juvenile products that help families get the best possible start in life. Celebrating over 70 years of excellence in children's products, some of the Company's best known "classic" brands include Little People(R), Power Wheels(R) and View-Master(R).

The Fisher-Price brand also appears on toys based on the most popular and widely recognized character brands - from Barney(TM), Blue's Clues(TM) and Disney, to Dora the Explorer(TM), and Sesame Street(R). The Company's web site can be found at http://www.fisher-price.com, providing valuable articles and resources to new and expectant parents.