NEW YORK, N.Y. — January 11, 2011 — Scholastic Book Clubs today announced the launch of a monthly bestsellers list designed to inform parents, teachers, librarians, book sellers and book lovers about which children's books are most popular with kids.

Accessible online on Book Talk, the official Scholastic Book Clubs blog, the Scholastic Book Clubs bestsellers list will be issued on the second Tuesday of each month, starting January 2011, and lists the five most popular children’s books based on books purchased through Scholastic Book Clubs in each of the following categories: Picture Books, Transitional Readers, Early Chapter Books, Chapter Books, Middle Grade, Young Adult, and Nonfiction. People can sign up to receive the list by e-mail each month by posting in the comments on the blog or sending an e-mail to bookclubsbestsellers@scholastic.com, or they can access the list through the Scholastic Book Clubs Facebook page.

"Parents and teachers trust Scholastic Book Clubs to be the experts on the books kids love and can't wait to read," said Judy Newman, President of Scholastic Book Clubs. "This list will give the book-loving community even more information about what books kids are choosing. Research shows that when kids choose their own books they are more likely to become avid, lifelong readers. We hope this list will be another way to let parents and teachers know which books can really spark a love of reading in their children or students."

The bestsellers are chosen based on unit sales data of titles available through Scholastic Book Clubs at the time of each month’s report. Special offer books available each month for $1 are not included.

To find out more about Scholastic Book Clubs offers and connect with editors and other book lovers, check out Scholastic Book Clubs’ Book Talk blog and Facebook page.

For more than 60 years, Scholastic Book Clubs has provided monthly catalogues offering top quality books and reading materials from all publishers to teachers and students in pre-school through high school. Six different Scholastic Book Clubs reach over one million teachers each month, providing the most sought-after titles at affordable prices for children in classrooms nationwide. Over 90% of all elementary school teachers in the United States participate in Scholastic Book Clubs. Today, more than half of the orders from parents and teachers are received through Scholastic Book Clubs' new online ordering system.

For more information about Scholastic or Scholastic Book Clubs, visit our Media Room at http://mediaroom.scholastic.com

Contact

Tyler Reed
Scholastic Inc.
212-343-6427
treed@scholastic.com