Up Close: Scholastic's The 39 Clues

By Karyn M. Peterson -- Playthings, 10/1/2008

[Editor's note: An abbreviated version of this story, “Kids Get ‘Clued’ In,” appeared in the October 2008 issue of Playthings magazine.]

Move over, Nancy Drew! Today’s young super sleuths are about to be drawn into an even more intriguing mystery series, one that combines chapter books, online gaming and card collecting into an expansive two-year treasure hunt with real-life rewards.

Scholastic’s trailblazing new multimedia venture, The 39 Clues—which kicked off last month with the publication of its first book and the launch of a dedicated Web site, www.the39clues.com, simultaneously in the U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Canada—will have kids ages 8 to12 “traveling” all around the world and back through history in an attempt to solve the 500-year-old secret of the powerful Cahill family.

As kids will read in the first title in the series, Rick Riordan’s Maze of Bones, the last matriarch of the Cahill family changed her will just before her death, leaving her grandchildren Amy and Dan Cahill with a choice: would they rather receive $1 million, or the first of 39 clues that will reveal the source of the family’s power, and explain what really happened to their parents?

According to David Levithan, executive editorial director of fiction and multimedia publishing for Scholastic Press, Riordan—author of the bestselling Percy Jackson series—was the top choice for the job of transforming Scholastic’s idea involving a powerful family and a treasure hunt (which came out of an editorial brainstorming group) into a rich, fully fleshed-out story.

Every three months a new hardcover book will debut from a different prominent author of young-adult fiction; the next authors in the series are Gordon Korman, Peter Lerangis and Jude Watson.

By 2010, Scholastic will have published 10 hardcover books, audio book versions that feature bonus content and 350 collectible cards. At the same time, the company will be continually adding content to its online game, in which even more information about the Cahill family will be revealed. Each book will come with six collectible cards; cards will also be sold in packs of 16. Online, kids can register cards, manage their card collections, track clues and earn points for the more than $100,000 in prizes that Scholastic will distribute over the next two years. And once a participant finds all 39 clues, they are entered into a pool of eligible candidates that will compete for the chance to win a grand prize of $10,000.

Eventually, Scholastic hopes to debut a feature film franchise, Leslye Schaefer, senior vice president of marketing and consumer products for Scholastic Media, tells Playthings. Scholastic also hopes to significantly extend the series into the licensing realm.

Playthings: How was The 39 Clues conceived of and developed?

David Levithan: There were many stages to the development of The 39 Clues. A very loose story idea involving a powerful family and a treasure hunt came out of an editorial brainstorming group, while at the same time, the technological side came out of the research and development of an in-house think tank called The Lab for Informal Learning. The multidimensional reality of The 39 Clues came to life when these two groups—and ideas—were put together. Then Rick Riordan really transformed the idea into a story, and that’s when the excitement really hit fever pitch. While we created a framework, Rick built and decorated the house.

Playthings: How did Rick Riordan get involved?

DL: From his very first book for children, The Lightning Thief, Rick was a huge favorite in the Scholastic school channels. Ever since I had met him on a panel at the Texas Library Association, I had wanted to work with him, and when The 39 Clues emerged, it seemed like the perfect project for him. Not only was he a stellar writer for kids, but he was also a former history teacher and a gamer. Plus, for backup, he had two sons who were also gamers.

Playthings: What kind of guidance did Scholastic give Riordan? Did he have a lot of leeway in creating his first book and the story arc of the series?

DL: To put it in terms of another book, it was as if we’d said to Rick, “Hey, how about a book about a girl from Kansas who goes into another world” and he had come back with The Wizard of Oz. He gave the story its characters, its voice, and all of its twists and turns. His background as a teacher was a guiding light—he had firsthand knowledge of what parts of history most interested kids, and we shaped the series accordingly. He could do whatever he wanted—that was the fun of it, setting a fantastic author loose to play with 500 or so years’ worth of history.

Playthings: What was Scholastic’s immediate reaction upon reading his manuscript? What did Riordan bring to the table?

DL: Rick’s book is everything we wanted and more. Because the books are the heart and soul of the whole project, even if kids don’t use the cards or go online, we wanted this to be a wonderful, exciting, involving book series. And that’s what Rick and the other authors have delivered. All of the creativity that imbues the cards and site come out of that.

Playthings: How did you select your other authors? Who are they?

DL: We wanted authors we knew would both continue Rick’s master plan but also add their own voices and strengths to the mix. This was always conceived to be a “dream team”… and I feel that’s what we got. The second book is by Gordon Korman, who’s one of the masters of middle-grade fiction and one of the bestselling authors in our school fairs and clubs. The third book is by Peter Lerangis, who’s written such series as Watchers and Spy X. And the fourth book is by Jude Watson, a #1 New York Times bestselling author who we knew would bring a female point of view to the mix. The fifth book is also by a New York Times bestseller… but we’re not giving away all our secrets at once!

Playthings: Can you tell us more about the decision to launch simultaneously in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand?

DL: We always wanted this to be a worldwide English-language launch, so readers everywhere could experience the thrill of being at the door when it opened. There was a remarkable amount of coordination between all of our English-language subsidiaries, which has been immensely rewarding.

Playthings: What kind of feedback have you been getting so far from literary critics, booksellers, hobby (collectible cards) retailers, librarians, teachers, parents and kids?

DL: To be honest, although the reviews have been great, the most exciting feedback in the first week has been the emails we’ve gotten directly from kids, parents, librarians and teachers, who are all really excited about 39 Clues… and determined to be the first to find all 39!

Playthings: If The 39 Clues is a big success, do you think Scholastic will pursue other series in this vein? If so, do you think they will they be mystery-based, or an entirely new genre?

DL: We are fully committed to broadening the scope of our publishing, and to continue to break new ground in the area of multimedia publishing. Our next big venture is Skeleton Creek, (January 2009) written by Pat Carman and created by his PC Studios, which combines written storytelling with web videos to create an exciting, haunting mystery for readers 10 and up. It’s a really amazing achievement, and (like The 39 Clues) it takes publishing in a new, kid-friendly direction. I’m really excited about that.

Playthings: What do each of the different formats in the series (the Web site, the collectible cards, the audio books) offer and how is the experience of each one unique?

Leslye Schaefer: The 39 Clues takes a 21st Century approach to publishing, and it will be a truly multimedia experience for kids, incorporating the website, the collectible cards, gaming and prizing, audiobooks, and, eventually additional consumer products and a feature film. Our goal with this property is to ensure that all components of this unique story complement one another and to provide kids with a rich and immersive experience. While the audiobook, for example, offers the same story that is told in the paperback, it also includes extra exclusive content designed to provide more insight to the characters.

Playthings: What are some of the ways in which these different formats will be integrated for kids? Do you think kids will utilize all the formats?

LS: Over the last few years, we’ve definitely seen a trend of kids looking to multiplatform, technology-forward brands for their entertainment. Kids, especially ages 6 to 12, like to be immersed in what they love and are continually looking to expand their experiences with a property through as many multimedia platforms as possible.

Because of the scope of story and the possibilities that The 39 Clues offers as an entertainment property, kids will be able to become immersed like never-before, and we think they will. Kids will need to read the books, collect the cards and play the game online in order to find all of the 39 clues. It’s the most organic play between content, online gaming and product extensions that we’ve ever seen. The story of the Cahill siblings is electric and each component of the property will feed into one another, to ultimately reward one lucky winner with the grand prize of $10,000 at the end of the series. The process of all divisions of Scholastic working together on this project has been extremely rewarding so far. The brainstorming between so many different facets of business lends itself to grander ideas and greater opportunity.

Playthings: What kinds of additional products do you think might get added to the project? Are you anticipating demand for licensed items, such as board games, toys, school supplies, etc.?

LS: On September 9, the release of the first book—Book One: The Maze of Bones in September—effectively kicked off The 39 Clues property for us. It released simultaneously with the website and the first batch of cards. On the Scholastic Media side, our merchandising program will definitely be ongoing, which will coordinate with the release of subsequent books in the series. New books are added to the series every three months, until the tenth and final book is released in September 2010, so we really have an opportunity to continue to expand the property through 2010 and beyond.

We introduced the property to the licensing world at Licensing Show in June, and are continuing to look to build upon real world merchandising and promotional extensions aimed at its target audience of children ages 8 to 12 years old. Because this property is fully interactive, it will lend itself very well to consumer products—particularly those that are technology-based, which we think will resonate with the tween demographic. This is a great opportunity for prospective partners because it allows them to create product that will reinforce and become an integral part of a story that will build an intimacy with its audience. For that reason we’ll work very closely with partners to ensure that any product or promotional extensions complement or advance the story in an appropriate way.

Playthings: Do you have any special retail partnerships or promotions lined?

LS: The books and cards debuted in virtually every retailer on September 9. We are working closely with retailers to develop special promotion and product opportunities. The Scholastic Book Fairs, Book Clubs and magazines are supporting The 39 Clues with extensive promotions throughout the series. Remember too, that this property launched in the U.K., Australia and New Zealand on 9/9 and is slated to launch around the world over the coming year.

Playthings: Can you give us any insights into the recently announced feature film deal?

LS: In June we announced that DreamWorks Studios has acquired the movie rights from Scholastic Media to the series, and the reaction has been incredibly positive. At this point, Deborah Forte, President of Scholastic Media, will produce and Steven Spielberg is eyeing to direct. We also recently signed on screenwriter Jeff Nathanson to pen the first script.