Disney Children's Book Group Recalls Zowie's 123 Book

On Tuesday, February 12, Disney Children’s Book Group, LLC, announced that it was voluntarily recalling the children’s book Zowie’s 123, part of the Rolie Polie Olie book series. Disney made the move, in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), after it heard that a 15-month-old boy broke a bead from the book cover and placed it in his mouth. An adult removed the object, and the child was not injured.

On February 11, a letter detailing the public recall, along with instructions on refunding the book, was mailed and faxed to retailers, said Ellen Morgenstern, director of communications for Disney Publishing Worldwide. She added that consumers would be encouraged to return Zowie's 123 directly to Disney Press for a full cash refund. Toward that end, Disney will be providing retailers with an 8-1/2" by 11" counter card alerting consumers of the product recall. The counter cards will be sent to retailers on or around February 15.

Booksellers who have not heard from Disney, or still have Zowie’s 123 on the shelf, should return the book, and indicate shipping costs, to: Time Warner Trade Publishing, Attn.: Returns Facility, 322 South Enterprise Boulevard, Lebanon, Indiana 46051; or call Time Warner customer service at: (800) 759-0190 between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. ET. Retailers will be issued a full refund for the book and shipping if it is returned within the next 30 days.

Zowie’s 123 is a 12-page white boardbook with a yellow plastic abacus-like toy attached to the back book cover. It is based on the Rolie, Polie, Olie television series and depicts Zowie on the cover. The ISBN number is 0-7868-3307-6, found on the back cover in the bottom corner.