NEW YORK, NY — June 2, 2009 — The worldwide hunt for The 39 Clues®, the #1 New York Times bestselling multi-media adventure series from Scholastic, continues today with the release of Book 4: Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson, simultaneously in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, and India. Also today, Scholastic releases The 39 Clues Card Pack 2: Branch vs. Branch, a new wave of randomly assorted collectible game cards, to span Books 4, 5, and 6, plus the simultaneous audiobook edition of Beyond the Grave which includes exclusive bonus material.

"I'm thrilled to be the first female author to join The 39 Clues team," said Jude Watson, a pen name for National Book Award winning author Judy Blundell. "Writing this book was a blast! As a writer, it was an exciting challenge to pick up from Dan and Amy's adventures in Asia in The Sword Thief and whisk them off to Cairo. I hope readers will be as swept away as I was by the ancient mysteries of Egypt and the search for the clues in Beyond the Grave."

The interactive reading experience is gaining momentum online with more kids joining the hunt daily on The 39 Clues website. Launched in September 2008, The 39 Clues has drawn children from all 50 states and 191 countries with more than 500,000 online game users to date.

NEW ONLINE CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES TODAY: Where Will Amy and Dan Go Next?
Today, Scholastic introduces an online campaign leading kids to investigate the mystery surrounding Amy and Dan Cahill’s next destination. The campaign will feature a 6-part exclusive video report, kicking off today with an interview with Jude Watson, and continuing throughout the summer with interviews with Patrick Carman, author of Book 5: The Black Circle. To help kids on their quest, each video report will reveal a special password leading to free digital “evidence cards” to be released exclusively on The 39 Clues website. Amy and Dan's next global destination will be confirmed when Book 5: The Black Circle is released on August 11, 2009.

The 39 Clues launched on September 9, 2008, with Book 1: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan, which debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. On December 2, 2008, Book 2: One False Note by Gordon Korman was released and also debuted at #1 on The New York Times bestseller list. Since the release of Book 3: The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis on March 3, 2009, the series hit the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists and has more than 3 million books in print for books 1-4. Movie rights for The 39 Clues have been acquired by DreamWorks Studios with Steven Spielberg eyeing to direct.

The 39 Clues is a groundbreaking multi-media adventure series for children ages 8-12 that spans 10 adrenaline-charged books, hundreds of collectible game cards, and a website that allows readers to play a role in the story and compete for prizes. The series 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. The series highlights famous historical figures kicking off with Benjamin Franklin in The Maze of Bones, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in One False Note, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi in The Sword Thief. For more information about The 39 Clues and to download digital images, visit http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/The39Clues.

Jude Watson, a pen name for Judy Blundell, is the author of the bestselling Star Wars: Last of the Jedi and Jedi Quest books, the most successful licensing series of all time. Blundell was awarded the 2008 National Book Award in the Young People’s Literature category for her novel, What I Saw and How I Lied. She lives in Katonah, New York, with her husband and daughter.

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.

Contacts

Scholastic
Charisse Meloto
212-389-3785
cmeloto@scholastic.com