MCLEAN, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Beloved storybook characters “Rocket” and “Duck and Goose” are scampering off the pages of Tad Hills’ best-selling picture books and onto LEAF College Savings gift cards.

LEAF College Savings gift cards are available from leafsavings.com in amounts ranging from $25 to $1,000, and may be transferred into any 529 college savings plan in the US. The gift cards offer purchasers a streamlined way to give the gift of higher education to a child with the assurance that it goes to the college fund. If a card isn’t redeemed within 90 days, the face value is refunded to the purchaser.

The Tad Hills cards join a line of more than two dozen cheerful LEAF College Savings gift-card designs, and are expected to appeal to preschoolers and beginning readers – the target audience for Tad Hills’ books. Hills is the author of more than 20 children’s books published by Schwartz & Wade Books, a division of Penguin Random House, including “How Rocket Learned to Read” and “Duck and Goose, It’s time for Christmas!”

“We are thrilled that Tad Hills was willing to lend his delightful characters and charming illustrations to LEAF College Savings gift cards,” said Joshua Bixler, co-founder of LEAF College Savings LLC. “Preschoolers and beginning readers are too young to really appreciate the thoughtful gift of an investment in their future, but they will be enchanted to see these familiar characters on the cards.”

To add to a child’s delight, LEAF College Savings is offering a complimentary copy of the brand new “Drop It, Rocket! (Step into Reading, Step 1)” to the first 100 purchasers of a Tad Hills-themed gift card.

“We read picture books to children because they love to listen, and this sets them on the path to become lifelong learners,” Hills said. “Helping defray the cost of a college education by giving to a child’s college fund is something friends and family want to do, and parents appreciate it. That’s a story Rocket, Duck and Goose are happy to be part of.”

Starting today, “LEAF Tuesday,” LEAF College Savings is waiving activation fees for all orders placed through December 1, 2014, and is offering 50% off activation fees from December 2 through December 25, 2014. (While there is no fee to redeem a LEAF College Savings gift card, there is an activation fee of $2.95 for cards purchased with a check, paper or electronic, and $2.95 and up for cards purchased with a credit card.)

Even a small gift to a child’s college fund can make a difference in helping to defray the rapidly increasing costs of higher education. Many college savings 529 plans now can be opened with as little as $25. Even for a parent who hasn’t yet opened a plan, a small gift can get them headed in the right direction. LEAF will regularly send them emails encouraging them to open a plan and provide links to industry resources.

The gift cards are issued by CBW Bank, Member FDIC.

In addition to gift cards, LEAF College Savings also offers an employee benefit that supports regular payroll contributions to a child's 529 plan and enables employers to offer a match. The gift cards are also available to employees who belong to the Tri-Net marketplace, with discounts on activation fees. (Fees are waived through December 1.) From November 25 to December 25, 2014, LEAF College Savings is offering a $25 gift card to employees who provide a referral to their company’s benefits representative, and a $100 gift card if the company signs up by yearend.

ABOUT LEAF COLLEGE SAVINGS

LEAF College Savings makes it simple and easy for family, friends and employers to contribute to a child’s higher education savings through gift cards and employee payroll deduction – even with employer matching – supporting any 529 college savings plan in the U.S. Visit http://www.leafsavings.com or call 800-645-LEAF.