New York, NY – October 7, 2009 – Hundreds of thousands of kids around the world have joined the hunt for The 39 Clues™, and today, Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education, and media company, is announcing the fourth round of cash prizes in The New York Times bestselling multi-media book series, totaling $8,150 and won by 66 lucky children. More than 660,000 kids have registered at www.the39clues.com to digitize cards, play games and earn points, and over the course of the two-year, 10-book series, $125,000 in prizes will have been awarded. Kids ages 6-14 (as of December 31, 2008) can enter to join the hunt at anytime for the chance to win prizes at www.the39clues.com. (Prizes vary according to each country’s rules.)*

Each of the adrenaline-charged books in the 10-book series offers kids an immersive reading and online experience that involves joining one of four branches of the Cahill family (Lucian, Ekaterina, Janus, or Tomas) – the most powerful family in the world. Once part of the family, they can begin their hunt for The 39 Clues, and have chances to win exciting prizes with each book release through the Book Sweepstakes, Online Mission Sweepstakes and Episode Contests **(see below for descriptions). The participant who finds all 39 Clues by the end of the series and discovers the Cahill secret has the chance to win the grand prize of $10,000 (US).

The fourth round of 66 winners has been selected from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore and India, and winners will receive cash prizes totaling $8,150. In addition, Australia has selected 39 more winners and will be awarding alternative prizing including an XBOX 360 and special The 39 Clues prizes. For full list of winners and prizes visit http://www.the39clues.com/winners.

The 39 Clues top prize winners include:

Book #4 Episode Contest Winners:
1st prize winner of the Book #4 Episode Contest $1,000
John C., 11, Chicago, IL, USA - Lucian

2nd prize winner of the Book #4 Episode Contest $750
Olivia D., 11, Toronto, ON, Canada – Janus

3rd prize winner of the Book #4 Episode Contest $500
David D., 11, Memphis, TN, USA - Janus

In addition, winners were selected in Malaysia, Singapore and India:

1st prize winner of the Book #4 Episode Contest $300
Kelly C., 13, Malaysia – Lucian

2nd prize winner of the Book #4 Episode Contest $200
Kieron N., 13, Malaysia – Ekaterina

3rd prize winner of the Book #4 Episode Contest $100
Parth A., 13, India – Ekaterina

Book #4 Sweepstakes Winners:
1st prize winner of the Book #4 Sweepstakes $500
Lauren P., 12, Zionsville, IN, USA - Lucian

2nd prize winners of the Book #4 Sweepstakes $250 each
Jackson C., 12, Westville, OK, USA – Ekaterina
Timmy H., 12, Solana Beach, CA, USA - Lucian
Jack T., 9, Edgewood, MD, USA - Ekaterina
Zachary T., 13, East Freetown, MA, USA – Tomas
Matthew G., 11, Annapolis, MD, USA - Ekaterina

3rd prize winners of the Book #4 Sweepstakes $100 each
Ryan Thomas K., 9, Kanata, ON, Canada - Janus
Eric J., 12, USAFA, CO, USA – Tomas
Joseph P., 11, Stoughton, MA, USA – Ekaterina
Joseph C., 12, Manahawkin, NJ, USA - Janus
Soven B., 12, Basking Ridge, NJ, USA - Janus
Romney M., 12, Chesterfield, MO, USA - Tomas
Alexandra W., 12, Schertz, TX, USA - Ekaterina
Lucas L., 10, Bennington, VT, USA - Ekaterina

20 additional runners-up won prizes of $50

Book #4 Online Mission Sweepstakes Winners:
1st prize winner of the #4 Online Mission Sweepstakes $250
Cassie H., 9, Batesville, IN, USA - Tomas

2nd prize winners of the #4 Online Mission Sweepstakes $100
Alex S., 11, Toronto, ON, Canada - Ekaterina
Kennedy G., 9, Lewisville, TX, USA - Ekaterina
Matt S., 12, Bagley, MN, USA - Janus
Trevor K., 10, Danville, CA, USA - Ekaterina
Casey W., 10, Arlington, VA, USA - Lucian<

20 additional runners-up won prizes of $50

“Kids around the world continue to join the hunt for The 39 Clues, and it’s thrilling to see the ongoing enthusiastic response from new readers as they discover this multi-dimensional reading adventure,” said Ellie Berger, President Scholastic Trade.

“Winning was the best thing ever!” said John, age 11, who won $1,000 as the first prize winner of the Book #4 Episode Contest. “I'll probably spend some of the money on books. I can't wait for Book #6: In Too Deep. I'd also like to buy my own laptop.” John also loves the playing the mission games on www.the39clues.com – “Each mission is different, so it's always exciting to do a new one.”

The next series of sweepstakes and contest for Book #5: The Black Circle by Patrick Carman began August 11, 2009, at 6:00 AM EDT and ends on November 2, 2009 at 11:59 PM EDT. But kids can enter at any time before December 31, 2010 to be part of the hunt and be eligible for the Grand Prize of $10,000 (US). On November 3, 2009, Scholastic will be releasing Book #6: In Too Deep by Jude Watson.

The 39 Clues centers around the Cahills—the most powerful family the world has ever known. But the source of the family’s power has been lost. Grace Cahill, the last matriarch of the Cahills, changed her will minutes before she died, leaving her descendants an impossible decision: receive a million dollars or a clue. The first Cahill to assemble all 39 clues hidden around the world will discover what makes the family so powerful—a reward beyond measure. It’s Cahill versus Cahill in a race to the finish, with readers hot on the heels of the main characters, fourteen-year-old Amy Cahill and her eleven-year-old brother, Dan.

** Contest/Sweepstakes Descriptions:
Episode Contest (US/CA only): participants play games in the “Arena 39” mini-game section of the39clues.com; top three point earners are the winners
Book Sweepstakes: participants digitize any of the cards that come with the book and are automatically entered into the book sweepstakes
Online Mission Sweepstakes: participants initiate activity in an online mission game to be automatically entered into the online mission sweepstakes

* NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. For more information on the prizes and prize winners, as well as complete details on how to enter and official rules for sweepstakes and contests, visit www.the39clues.com/info/prizes or visit the media room at http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/The39Clues.

About Scholastic
Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) is the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books and a leader in educational technology and children’s media. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, film, videos and toys. The Company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs and school-based book fairs, retail stores, schools, libraries, television networks and the Company’s Internet Site, www.scholastic.com.

CONTACT:
Cathy Lasiewicz, 212-343-6570, clasiewicz@scholastic.com
Amanda Hebert, 212-343-6657, ahebert@scholastic.com