Green Options » Scholastic

Remembering When Scholastic Meant Good Books

Robin Elton — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 04:01:38 +0000

I thought it was the best day of the month: the day the Scholastic book orders came in.

My teacher would sort the books into piles on the windowsill and hand out slips of paper recording the orders we’d filled out two weeks before, and we’d file by, grabbing the books we’d ordered and taking them back to our desks. Everybody always ordered at least one book so that they would receive the free poster, generally some cute photo of a baby animal. Remember?

I had a generous book club budget of ten dollars; on a good month that would procure five or six books. The best part, as I remember it, was that there were always a few 99 cent books offered, generally classics; and to stretch my book dollar I never failed to add these onto my order. In this way I came to read Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories, Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet, Sterling North’s Rascal, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man. These were all titles I never would have chosen otherwise.

Like so many things from my childhood, the Scholastic book club has changed, and not for the better. It’s glitzier, it’s flashier- and it’s not all about the books.

According to the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, about one-third of what is offered in your child’s Scholastic flier is not a book. Instead, your child is being marketed video games, makeup, jewelry, and toys. In school. In their “book club” order.

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Fabien Cousteau Joins the Lexus Eco Challenge to Inspire Young Minds

Beth Bader — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:41:32 +0000

Fabien Cousteau, left, listens to students in Bryn Mawr, Pa. share concerns about the environment. The Bryn Mawr school was one of the 14 first-place teams from last year’s challenge. Photo courtesy of The Ocean Futures Society.

Lexus and Scholastic announce the launch of the second annual Lexus Eco Challenge. The Challenge is open to middle and high school students with a focus on learning about the environment and taking action to improve it. One million dollars in grants and scholarships will be awarded to winning students, teachers and schools.

This year, The Challenge will be joined by Fabien Cousteau, grandson of Jacques Cousteau. Cousteau currently works with his father, Jean-Michel Cousteau for the environmental organization, Ocean Futures Society. Cousteau’s role with the challenge will be to help inspire more students to participate in The Challenge.

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Scholastic Goes Green

mcmilker — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:46:18 +0000

Parents are often the biggest converts to the green movement and those parents often become vigilant about going green. Often aiding them in their quest are their children and manufacturers who cater to this market.

Now the nations largest publisher and distributor of children’s books has joined the movement. Scholastic, announced recently that the company is further strengthening its sustainable paper procurement practices. Their goal:

…to increase its publication paper purchase of FSC-certified paper to 30% and its use of recycled paper to 25%, of which 75% will be post-consumer waste.

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Green Series: Kid’s Media Gets a Little Greener

Jennifer Lance — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 16:47:46 +0000

Editor’s note: This is the last of a weekly guest spot by children’s media consultant Ashley. Ashley is a television and online producer and Executive Editor of Children’s Media Consultant.com. She holds a B.A. from Columbia University and a M.A. concentrating in children’s educational media and preschool ecology from New York University. She resides with her family in downtown New York City. You can visit her blog at childrensmediaconsultant.com.

What an eco-friendly week for children’s media. Just when I thought “why isn’t kid’s TV more eco-friendly?,” other types of content delivery have stepped up to the plate to teach kids about environmental issues and green living choices.

Scholastic and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined forces to release “The Magic School Bus Gets Cleaned Up,” a new book from the “Magic School Bus” series that explores the ways people can protect themselves (including their lungs) from air pollution. Scholastic’s traveling Magic School Bus, a traveling interactive science experience for kids, has also added a new, more sustainable filter which has already reduced its diesel particulate by up to 90 percent.

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Harry Potter is Going Green

Amy Stodghill — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 13:46:02 +0000

Image: msnbc.comNow you can feel better about tearing through the final adventures at Hogwarts this summer. The final book in the Harry Potter series will be printed on Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper.

The Rainforest Alliance is working with children's publisher, Scholastic, to print the book using paper containing 30% post-consumer recycled content, and to make sure at least 65% of the 16,700 tons of paper needed for the initial printing of 12 million copies is FSC certified. There will also be a limited run of 100,000 copies on paper that contains 100% post-consumer content.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) sets the standard for sustainable forest management. Criteria for FSC certification includes biodiversity conservation, responsible harvesting of timber, worker and land-use rights and observance of international laws and treaties.

Each Harry Potter book has increased in length over the years. The sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, came in at just over 600 pages, and in the first 24 hours sold 6.9 million copies. The seventh installment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will be 784 pages and is anticipated to put up similar (if not greater) numbers in sales.

For a publisher to step up and purchase FSC certified paper and recycled content paper for a book of this magnitude is a big deal and will hopefully prompt other publishers to follow suit.

Via CSRwire.com and MSNBC