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For the last three years, gamers have been learning just how dangerous it is to work for toy manufacture Playtime Co. thanks to the ongoing series Poppy Playtime from Mob Entertainment — but it turns out that Huggy Wuggy’s toyetic reign of terror is spreading, with a new line of tie-in books from Scholastic launching today.

The brand-new Poppy Playtime Orientation Notebook is created as an in-universe artifact written by a “brilliant biologist-turned-employee of Playtime Co.,” featuring all kinds of new information about the world of the Smiling Critters and the company behind them. Why would a toy company want to hire biologists anyway…? And what kind of secrets about the lore of the game series can be found in the handwritten notes made by the scientist that accompanies the “official” text of the manual?

The Orientation Notebook is intended as the first in a number of releases from Scholastic and Mob Entertainment, with the publisher promising “diverse storytelling landscapes from young adult novels to visually stunning graphic novels.” (This first book is aimed at readers aged 12 and over.)

“This partnership with Scholastic marks a significant milestone for Mob Entertainment, solidifying our commitment to transmedia storytelling," Mob Entertainment co-founders Zach Belanger, CEO and Seth Belanger, CCO, said in a joint statement. "Each chapter of our video game series exposes more about Playtime Co. and we are excited that this book gives our fans a new way to go deeper into the story.”

“Embarking on this exciting new publishing journey with Mob Entertainment will allow us to create expanded stories to create new worlds that will captivate the imagination of fans and new readers alike,” added Debra Dorfman, VP & Publisher Global Licensing Brands & Media at Scholastic. “The release of the Poppy Playtime Orientation Notebook is just the beginning of what promises to be a thrilling (and haunting!) lineup of books.”

Poppy Playtime Orientation Notebook is available for purchase right now.

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