New York, NY – January 13, 2010 — The 39 Clues™ is giving 66 lucky children an exciting kick-off to the New Year, as Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education, and media company, is announcing the fifth round of cash prizes in The New York Times bestselling multi-media book series, totaling $8,150. To date, more than 820,000 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 fifth 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 the full list of winners and prizes, visit www.the39clues.com/winners/episode5.

The 39 Clues top prize winners include:

Book #5 Episode Contest Winners:
1st prize winner of the Book #5 Episode Contest $1,000
Elizabeth L., 10, Fitchburg, WI, USA - Tomas

2nd prize winner of the Book #5 Episode Contest $750
Jackson M., 13, Notasulga, AL, USA – Lucian

3rd prize winner of the Book #5 Episode Contest $500 Benjamin R., 13, Avon, IN, USA – Ekaterina

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

1st prize winner of the Book #5 Episode Contest $300
Jason C., 11, Malaysia - Tomas

2nd prize winner of the Book #5 Episode Contest $250
Kelly C., 13, Malaysia - Lucian

Book #5 Sweepstakes Winners:

1st prize winner of the Book #5 Sweepstakes $500
Katie B., 13, New River, AZ, USA - Ekaterina

2nd prize winners of the Book #5 Sweepstakes $250 each
Alexander J., 13, Howell, MI, USA – Janus
Ashleigh B., 10, North Bay, ON, Canada - Lucian
Carly S.; 13, New Smyrna Beach, FL, USA - Ekaterina
Haley P., 9, Meridian, ID, USA – Janus
Ethan B., 10, Bakersfield, CA, USA – Lucian

3rd prize winners of the Book #5 Sweepstakes $100 each
Tim W., 11, Eau Claire, WI, USA - Tomas
Caitlin C., 13, Beamsville, ON, Canada – Ekaterina
Elijah H.; 8, Greenfield, CA, USA – Janus
Matthew K.; 11, Richmond Hill, ON, Canada - Ekaterina
Vincent J., 12, Oak Ridge, TN, USA - Ekaterina
Evan O.; 13, Ottawa, ON, Canada - Lucian
Tyler D.; 13, Calgary, AB, Canada – Ekaterina
Henry I., 12, Wellsville, PA, USA - Lucian

20 additional runners-up won prizes of $50

Book #5 Online Mission Sweepstakes Winners:

1st prize winner of the #5 Online Mission Sweepstakes $250
Drew L., 11, Portage La Prairie, MB, Canada - Janus

2nd prize winners of the #5 Online Mission Sweepstakes $100
Seth B., 10, Fair Oaks, CA, USA - Ekaterina
Max R., 8, Woodland Hills, CA, USA - Ekaterina
Keith F., 10, College Station, TX, USA - Janus
Zachary B., 10, Angola, NY, USA - Lucian
Jared S., 12, Northampton, PA - Ekaterina

20 additional runners-up won prizes of $50

"The 39 Clues continues to draw more and more readers from around the world, reading the books and joining the online hunt for more clues," said Ellie Berger, President Scholastic Trade. "We continue to see an overwhelming increase of activity on the website with each book release, and we are thrilled by the excitement that kids have for this multi-dimensional reading experience."

"Kids in my class were talking about the books and they sounded cool, so I started reading them. Now my brother and mom are reading them too!" said Elizabeth, age 10, who won $1,000 as the first prize winner of the Book #5 Episode Contest. She adds, "I'm going to share the money with my 11 year old brother and give five percent to a local animal shelter. I'll save the rest until I find something I really, really want."

The next series of sweepstakes and contest for Book #6: In Too Deep by Jude Watson began on November 3, 2009 12:00 AM EST and ends on February 1, 2010, at 11:59 PM ET. But kids can enter at anytime before December 31, 2010 to be part of the hunt and be eligible for the Grand Prize of $10,000 (US). On February 2, 2010, Scholastic will be releasing Book #7: The Viper's Nest by Peter Lerangis.

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.

* 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.

** Contest/Sweepstakes Descriptions: Episode Contest (US/CA only): participants play games in the “Arena 39” mini-game section of the39clues.com; top 3 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

Visit Scholastic at our online media room (mediaroom.scholastic.com), corporate blog (www.oomscholastic.com), or Twitter (www.twitter.com/scholastic).

CONTACT:

Sara Sinek
212-343-6899
ssinek@scholastic.com

Amanda Hebert
212-343-6657
ahebert@scholastic.com