PVLF 2025

DK acquires UK’s leading education publisher Phonic Books

on Aug 03, 2022

DK has acquired Phonic Books, one of the U.K.’s leading specialist education publishers. Founded in 2006 by three special needs teachers, the publisher now has about 300 books for beginner and catch-up readers. The books are available in more than 40 countries, with growth especially being strong in the U.S., U.K. and Australia respectively.

The acquisition is part of a larger strategy of DK moving into the education market with the launch of DK Learning in April this year. DK Learning offers teaching resources, including curriculum-aligned books from the publisher’s catalog.

In announcing the acquisition, Paul Kelly, Co-CEO of DK, said: “We are excited about Phonic Books joining the DK family, its reputation in the teaching community is testament to the hard work of the founders and team. They have established themselves as a quality publisher of decodable content that supports the reading development of all children."

The announcement noted that the demand for books offering instruction in phonics was growing in the U.S. particularly with New York City elementary schools mandated to adopt a phonics-based reading program as well as some 20 states passing legislation on the implementation of phonics-aligned approaches to literacy