In Conclusion

The thing I found most interesting about Scholastic was its apparent desire to get people (namely kids) reading. This may seem like the obvious goal, as Scholastic is a publisher of books and people read books. But, at least in the three months that I was watching Scholastic's moves, it seemed to me like they were far more interested in getting people to read books — any books regardless of the publisher — than specifically selling their own titles. Granted, they are working hard to promote their own titles—the OOM blog often features new and popular Scholastic books and some of the more popular books and series (Magic School Bus, The Hunger Games, The 39 Clues) have their own Facebook pages—and some of the non-Scholastic books they promote are available through Scholastic Book Clubs, but I truly believe that Scholastic just wants people to read. I find this fascinating and completely on-point with their mission to spread literacy across the globe.

I think that in light of declining hard and softcover book sales, Scholastic has also made a smart decision to ramp up its efforts in non-publishing areas, particularly dealing with community service and education. In September, Scholastic helped to launch The Teacher Wall, which connects teachers across the country giving them a forum for discussion of teaching techniques and the ability to discuss with and learn from each other. Scholastic also hosted several live webcasts (and offered coordinating classroom materials) this fall, which were available for teachers to use.

READ 180®, another of Scholastic's programs designed to enhance the teaching process, continues to be effective in helping struggling readers increase their reading comprehension. The original version of the program was launched in 1999, and in May, Scholastic released READ 180® Next Generation. Both programs are showing strong sales.

In October, Scholastic unveiled the Scholastic Family and Community Engagement (FACE) task force. The team, which was created in response to evidence that greater family involvement usually means increased academic achievement, will provide programs and support to five priority areas: early literacy, parent support and training, access to books at home, expanded learning, and mentoring partnerships.

Scholastic continues to appoint children to the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps, giving these budding journalists the opportunity to interview the country's leading politicians and entertainment stars. The 32 new members of the Corps (chosen from a pool of more than 200 applicants) will join 27 members from last year for Election 2012 coverage starting this spring.

Digitally, Scholastic has partnered with the digital developer Ruckus Media to create the Scholastic Ruckus imprint and with Sourcebooks to carry their e-books.

Scholastic is putting a lot of effort behind marketing the Hunger Games series, piggy-backing off the upcoming movie hype—they are releasing three movie tie-in titles and the first two chapters of the first book in the trillogy are available on the Scholastic Facebook page. The Invention of Hugo Cabret (and its movie counterpart Hugo) also saw love on the blog, facebook page, and through a red-carpet interview by a Kids Press Corps member. Earlier this fall, Scholastic used the 25th anniversary of The Magic Schoolbus series to spearhead a new marketing campaign for "the Friz" and her magical bus. In early November, Scholastic released a list of their 2011 Holiday predictions, as well as books guaranteed to get boys reading.

Financially, Scholastic had positive Q1 2012 results (9.6% increase in total revenue) and Scholastic Corporation stocks (SCHL) are holding steady at around $27 a share.

I believe that Scholastic is in a great position in the publishing world and will continue to produce great children's books, as well as quality programs for educators and families for many years to come.

Hunger Games Movie Tie-in Covers Are Here!

A few weeks ago I mentioned the new movie tie-in books for the upcoming Hunger Games movie and a few days ago, Scholastic released the cover art for three of those books. Check them out below.

From left to right: The Hunger Games: Movie Tie-in Edition, The Hunger Games Official
 Illustrated Movie Companion, and The Hunger Games Tribute Guide
via here.

These three books are scheduled to be released in February.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

The Hunger Games is not Scholastic's only book-turned-movie. Another Scholastic book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret written and illustrated by Brian Selznick, inspired Martin Scorsese to direct a 3D film by the same name.

Hugo opened in theaters nationwide Wednesday and so far it's getting great reviews!

Scholastic sent Kid Reporter Grace McManus (a member of Scholastic News' Kids Press Corps) to the New York red-carpet premiere on Monday where she interviewed several of the film's stars (including main characters Asa Butterfield and Chloe Grace Moretz), as well as the screenwriter and the author, Selznick.

Check out her interview below...

Pretty cool, huh?

In non-movie-related news, The Invention of Hugo Cabret has a pretty cool website, too. One of my favorite features is the About Hugo Cabret section, which lets readers see the process Selznick went though as he wrote the book. Did you know that when Selznick is creating a character, he makes it up in his head and then finds someone in real life who looks like his imaginary version? He found the boy behind Hugo while performing a puppet show at the Museum of Natural History in New York City and he found the girl who posed as Isabelle at a pizza shop in Brooklyn. He asked them (and their parents) if they would come to his house, get into costume, and then pose for the drawings Selznick would do for the book!

via Hugo models

32 New Kid Reporters Appointed

Thirty-two new kid reporters were appointed to the Scholastic News Kids Press Corps yesterday, bringing the number of reporters available to cover Election 2012 up to a total of 59.

The 32 students were chosen from a pool of more than 200 applications.

Congratulations everyone!

The full list of Kid Reporters, along with their bios, can be viewed here.

Here's a small example of what the new recruits will be doing their tenure in the corps.

For more information on the Kids Press Corps, check out this earlier post I wrote about them, or visit their website.

You can also check out videos of their interviews, here.

The First Thanksgiving: A Virtual Field Trip

Scholastic is taking classrooms across the country on a virtual field trip to Plymouth Plantation in Plymouth, MA today.

During "The First Thanksgiving" webcast (which starts at 1 p.m. EST) students will meet Colonial and Wampanoag interpreters and learn about life in colonial times. They will also get to take a virtual tour through the homes of Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Tribe.

Just like with the Dear America webcast in October, teachers will have free access to the webcast, along with classroom discussion guides, activities, and book lists. The virtual tours and other activities about the first Thanksgiving, the Mayflower journey, and the pilgrims will still be available on the Scholastic website following the webcast.

Scholastic's Chief Academic Officer Francie Alexander said in a press release that "using webcasts as part of a classroom lesson plan is a great way for teacher to make the learning experience more engaging for students — especially considering how many schools are facing steep cuts to their field trip budgets."

Hunger Games Movie Trailer

Judging from the screaming crowds at yesterday's first full-length trailer release on Good Morning America, The Hunger Games is seems to be gearing up for a Harry Potter/Twilight level of fandom. I'd say that spells good news (and an awful lot more merchandising opportunities) for Scholastic.

CNN Entertainment's Marquee Blog did a round up of reactions from various media outlets and all the reviews were very positive.

But don't take their word for it, check it out below!

The Hunger Games doesn't come out until March, so I'm sure that the Scholastic bigwigs are crossing their collective fingers for a successful media and merchandising blitz akin to the Harry Potter phenomenon. And with two more books (and probably three more movies) the Hunger Games Trilogy has a chance to make a big difference in the Scholastic bottom line.

Scholastic Spring 2012 Preview!

Scholastic posted this video on their OOM blog and Teacher website yesterday. It features editors, publishers, and authors talking about a bunch of the books Scholastic is publishing between January and June 2012. It's designed to give teachers and librarians a sneak preview of the books that are coming out soon, and the site includes links to the catalog and order form.

Fun Fact of the Week

Over half of kids age 9–17 say they are interested in reading an eBook and one-third of kids in the same age bracket say they would read more books for fun, if they could read them on an e-reader.

Statistic brought to you by the 2010 Kids and Family Reading Report