Gullane Entertainment has signed a deal with educational products developer LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. to create THOMAS & FRIENDS interactive storybooks. THOMAS THE REALLY USEFUL ENGINE will be created for the "LeapPad" learning system and will include curriculum-based activities that are integrated into each page of the story. This title is part of LeapFrog's pre-reading series of books and is geared toward children in pre-kindergarten through first grade. The second title, THOMAS AND THE SCHOOL TRIP, will be developed for the "My First LeapPad" learning system. The activity book is geared toward children ages three and older. The LeapPad and My First LeapPad learning systems use intuitive technology and interactive educational games to help children develop phonemic awareness, spelling and vocabulary while reading. Both THOMAS & FRIENDS titles are expected to be available in October 2002.