SCOTLAND’S favourite children’s book character Badger is scratching hard at the door of the Chinese market.

Talks are underway at the moment between Badger The Mystical Mutt publishers Lunicorn and publisher’s representatives in Beijing, with a view to buying the foreign rights.

“There have been various developments with Badger,” said Badger co-creator Lyn McNicol.

“Publishing agents in Beijing , Andrew Nurnberg Associates International Ltd, have been in touch to say how much they loved the series and reckon they’ll soon sell the foreign rights in China.

“They’ve assured as that this is the year Badger will go global.

“And it really is a fantastic thought that kids in China will be reading about Badger.”

Lyn, a former BBC publicist adds; “It’s certainly a great opportunity for us. China is now on the top ten publishers in the world and more than half of Chinese parents prefer purchasing books to borrowing from the library.

“And of course China is a massive market.”

Badger The Mystical Mutt is now in his seventh book adventure. The uncanny canine with special powers, whose adventures always tie in with an important social message, is a huge favourite with the five -nine age group.

But Badger’s sales success is not simply down to primary school kids’ loving his tales. It’s about talented creators.

Badger was conceived back in 2005 when Lyn McNicol, a former BBC publicist and Laura Cameron Jackson, a Liverpool-born artist, decided to write a tale aimed at kids addressing issues such as bullying, disability and prejudice.

Seven editions later, the Badger brand is expanding. However the duo have worked tirelessly to promote the book in schools, libraries and halls, taking turns to dress up in Badger costume.

Now, the hard work looks to be paying off.

“We have a CD of Badgical Magical Beats coming out in August,” says Lyn. “We’re now appearing at 400 – 600-seater gigs and kids all sing the theme tune, so we can sell the cds after the gigs.

“And the CD company owner Ronnie Simpson is set to distribute it digitally to 120 countries.”

The Badger success has resulted in interest from another Scottish publisher.

“It was nice to get that interest,” says Lyn, “but we’re doing well ourselves. The idea is we launch Badger internationally and then talk about the possible TV animation series.

“And from a UK perspective, things are going really well. We've printed more than 10,000 books this year alone and we’ve already visited over 120 schools since January this year and the offers keep coming in.

“We've also done a deal with a wholesaler in Leicester to sell the book through his 392 active outlets from post offices to supermarkets.”

The Badger ambition doesn’t stop there. The publishers aim to develop the concept into a stage show.

“It’s all evolving naturally. “And we’ve got plans for another six books. The ideas aren’t hard to come up with.”

The storylines are all worked out.

“One will feature the Liver Birds statues in Liverpool docks. The fable is if the birds fly away the city will crumble. And when this disaster strikes, Badger has to travel to Liverpool to save the city.”

Other new Badger adventures feature the Narwhale, the underwater unicorn. And he meets up with Vanessa , a Loch Ness monster, whom he saves when her water wings fail to work.

“Hopefully, the kids’ appreciation will continue,” says Lyn.

“And if China takes us on, we will be set to conquer the world.

“We’re hoping to move on to a TV animation series, but we want to sort out the foreign rights first. It’s all about getting the bigger platform first.”

• Badger is set to appear in Glasgow at Waterstones in Glasgow Argyle street on Saturday August 8