Helping parents and teachers find the books kids can’t wait to read

Many people associate Scholastic with Book Clubs before anything else, both because of the Book Clubs’ ubiquitous presence in American schools (we reach more than 80% of U.S. elementary and middle schools!) and because of the program’s deep roots in the Company. Scholastic’s founder, M.R. Robinson, first tapped into the business in 1948, building on the strong relationship with teachers the Company had fostered through its classroom magazines.

The basic book club concept, in which teachers facilitate students’ Scholastic book purchases by distributing book flyers, collecting and submitting orders, distributing the books when they arrive, and then earning free books and materials for their classrooms, lent itself to steady expansion in the following decades. Today, there is a club for every child in every age group from pre-school through middle school, as well as the Spanish-language Club Leo, and Special Offers targeting unique audiences are held throughout the year. And in addition to the traditional paper catalogs, Clubs offers tailored e-commerce options for both teachers and parents—sites that enable teacher recommendations, editorial picks, streamlined methods of managing orders, and the ability for parents to contribute books to their child’s classroom. About three-quarters of Clubs orders are now placed online.

Book Clubs fulfills Scholastic’s mission to get children excited about books and reading in simple ways: by encouraging young people to read for pleasure through expertly-selected titles, by making it easy for them to get their hands on the right books, at the right time, at the right price, and by bridging the home-school connection through partnerships with teachers, parents, and the community to benefit classrooms and, ultimately, students.

“We’re proud to continue the tradition of putting books into the hands of kids for so many decades,” said Judy Newman, President of Scholastic Book Clubs. “Teachers get to nurture their students’ reading habits and get free materials for their classrooms, parents get great books at great prices, and children get to experience the pride of reading and owning their own books.”

DID YOU KNOW?
In 2009, Scholastic Book Clubs sold its 6 billionth book! That’s about 663,000 miles of books when lined up end-to-end—long enough to circle the globe 27 times.