New Online Club for Children Brings Books to Life

New Online Club for Children Brings Books to Life

- Kids Join Flashlight Readers at Scholastic.Com to Go Inside the World of Favorite Books -

NEW YORK, Feb. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Kids can enter a virtual world of books at the newly launched Flashlight Readers at Scholastic.com, a revolutionary online reading club for children at http://www.scholastic.com/flashlight. Created by Scholastic.com, the premier, award-winning Web site for children, parents and educational professionals, Flashlight Readers is the ultimate new multi-media experience for kids who love books. Young readers can join the virtual reading club by creating their own free membership cards, which gives them access to participate in moderated author chats, leave instant messages for other readers, explore the author's original manuscript pages and engage in interactive games that bring books to life.

Flashlight Readers, targeted to grades 3-5, will feature popular titles that kids love and teachers trust. The online reading club launched this month with the best-selling book Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo, and will be followed by Louis Sachar's Holes in March, and Pam Munoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising in April.

"Scholastic.com's Flashlight Readers is the first interactive online reading club dedicated to kids who love books," said Sylvia Barsotti, Editor-in-Chief of Scholastic.com. "Flashlight Readers is a multi-media experience that takes books to a new level and furthers the excitement of reading for every child."

Flashlight Readers also provides school to home learning opportunities with a comprehensive Teacher's Guide that offers lessons and activities to help teachers meet national standards, and a Parent's Guide with tips and advice on how to use the reading club at home.

Flashlight Readers at Scholastic.com features include:

* Interactive Games -- Book-themed activities, such as a reading
comprehension maze, encourage kids to use their imagination and help
strengthen their knowledge of story elements.
* Flash Board -- In this combination of "Instant Messenger" and "Magnetic
Poetry," kids can create messages and post them immediately for other
Flashlight Readers to see and respond to.
* Book Bulletin Board -- To help create a community around the featured
books, a Book Bulletin Board allows kids to communicate with other
readers.
* Author Chat -- Kids get a chance to interact with the author of the
featured book in a moderated chat, as well as gain insight into the
author's writing process through an online video slideshow.
* Book Specific Rewards -- Each session features hidden surprises, such
as a signed photograph of the author that club members collect in a
virtual drawer as they move through the site.



To explore Flashlight Readers, kids, parents and teachers can visit http://www.scholastic.com/flashlight.

About Scholastic.com

Scholastic.com is a leading website for K-8 teachers, students and families. For parents and families, The Scholastic Store Online offers a broad mix of merchandise carefully selected for its developmental appropriateness and kid appeal, with learning benefits endorsed by a panel of early childhood experts. A robust Family area on the site facilitates home-to-school connections through sections entitled Your Early Learner, Your School Age Child and All About Reading. For kids, the site includes games and activities featuring their favorite Scholastic characters, including Clifford the Big Red Dog(TM), Harry Potter(TM) and Captain Underpants(TM). For educators, The Teacher Store at Scholastic.com is a unique online shopping experience that features an extensive, relevant selection of classroom and professional development materials at preferred pricing. The Teacher Resource Center offers free, standards-based content that spans reading, language arts, math, social studies, and science. It includes thousands of teacher-tested lesson plans; engaging student online activities; tools for the creation of free, personalized classroom homepages; and online ordering for Book Clubs and Software Clubs.

About Scholastic

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books and a leader in educational technology. 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, school-based book fairs, and school-based and direct-to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries and television networks; and the Company's Internet site, http://www.scholastic.com/.


Source: Scholastic

CONTACT: Teodora Ignatova, +1-212-343-6402, tignatova@scholastic.com, or
Sara Sinek, +1-212-343-6899, ssinek@scholastic.com, both of Scholastic

Web site: http://www.scholastic.com/


-------
Profile: intent