I’m Matt, the editor of Goosebumps. You might already know that in the newest Goosebumps books R.L. Stine has been writing about the Most Wanted Goosebumps villains of all time. But did you also know that Goosebumps aren’t just popular in America? They’re wanted all over the world.

In the spirit of Halloween (the MOST Goosebumps-y time of the year) and as we prepare for this Wednesday's social media takeover by R.L. Stine, we wanted to share some photos of the Goosebumps books from around the world. Which one's your favorite?

Check out Goosebumps on Facebook for more fun! See you Wednesday...

Halloween is just around the corner, and we have a guest post from Scholastic Media's Amabel Ryan about a spook-tacular giveaway!

With Halloween just a few short days away, families around the country are putting the finishing touches on costumes, getting their treats (or tricks!) prepared, and anxiously awaiting Hallow’s Eve! Halloween is great for kids of all ages – even the youngest of kids. And, while thrills and scares may not be the bailiwick of young children, there’s plenty ‘boo-tiful’ treats to go around for them to enjoy for Halloween!

Season after season, one of the most popular books for Halloween has been I SPY Spooky Night by Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick. The book is the inspiration behind the interactive games for Wii and iPhone/iPad called I SPY Spooky Mansion. But now there’s more spooky fun for kids! Families now can share the experience of I SPY Spooky Mansion with their young learners with the new app for Leapster Explorer™ and LeapPad™! The new game offers the beautiful, photo-realistic scenes I SPY fans love, 45 new exciting riddles and three puzzle games! Best of all, the new I SPY Spooky Mansion app allows players to develop their critical thinking, reading skills and vocabulary all while having fun!

GIVEAWAY

To kickoff the weekend before Halloween, Scholastic is hosting a SPOOKY giveaway in honor of I SPY Spooky Mansion’s release on LeapFrog’s App Center! Three lucky winners will be chosen at random to receive their own copy of the I SPY Spooky Night book and a $20 LeapFrog App Center Download Card! To enter, just leave a comment naming three objects you spy in the image above! See official rules here.

This week, we've shared with you Kazu Kibuishi's illustration and companion resources that are a part of our Art of Read Every Day campaign. We recently had each Art of Read Every Day illustration (13 in total) framed to hang in a gallery in our corporate headquarters. Above is a picture we grabbed of Kibuishi's work right before it was framed.

What I love most about this work is the story behind it. During an interview with Kibuishi about this project he said, "It was actually a soft tribute to the kids in Newtown, because it happened around that same time...The piece represents these children finding some kind of solace in literature. They're going into this fantastic world that is a happy, friendly place."

And what a lovely tribute it is. You can watch the full interview with Kibuishi here. 

Each Friday, we share a handful of links we found interesting, provocative, funny — or just plain cool. We call it In Our Feeds. Have a good weekend!

Life of (Pumpkin) Pi? Get in the Halloween spirit with these literary pumpkins!

It just goes to show you that age is only a number! A 105-year-old man receives his high school diploma.  On top of that, he just celebrated his 70th wedding anniversary with his wife! Congrats, Bill.

Ever wonder what books the Harry Potter characters would read? Would Draco Malfoy read The Wolf on Wall Street? Is Hermoine Granger a Louisa May Alcott fan? Share your ideas in the comments below!

Are you a word nerd like me? Let's see if you can ace this vocabulary quiz. Good luck and "may the odds be ever in your favor."

Tearjerker of the week: Every parent should be this proud of his or her kid! Dad cries tears of joy over son's grades.

Does it alwasy have to be health vs. Halloween when it comes to Trick or Treating? Do you limit candy intake? Are you a "no candy" household? Share your thoughts.

Which U.S. State matches your personality? I wonder which state reflects my interest in wearing a Snuggie and reading a book before bed?

Horror saves lives? Robin Wasserman shares how Stephen King novels helped her get through the difficult years of adolecense.

Big news from Choices magazine today -- we're now available on the Kindle Fire!

Previously available only in the classroom, parents can now purchase a subscription to Choices for their teens to read at home. The magazine is designed to help teens navigate their everyday challenges. Each month, we feature amazing teens who are doing great things and cover the topics that are on the minds of teens, like bullying, relationships, health and nutrition, and technology.

The November/December issue has a fantastic Holiday Survival Guide that offers tips and advice for everything from gift-giving on a budget to surviving awkward family functions. We also feature three incredible teens who acted fast in emergency situations and saved the lives of people in danger.

My favorite feature in the magazine is the "Different Like You" story. Each month, a "regular" teen who has lived through an unusual circumstance is featured. This month's issue tells the story of Kevin, a teen whose family lost everything and became homeless for two years before getting back on their feet. His story and his optimism are so inspiring!

Don't forget to check out the Teenbeing blog for daily tips, resources and fun tidbits, too!

It happened again this weekend. I was chatting with friends over lunch, when one of them casually mentioned she had just picked up a new book, Tenth of December, by George Saunders. Not three seconds had passed since the words left her lips, and I pounced.

"What do you think? Do you like it? I love George Saunders. Big fan. Especially his early work. Have you read Pastoralia? Highly recommend. And In Persuasion Nation literally had me rolling on the floor laughing. In fact, when I was a senior in college, he guest taught one of my creative writing classes. It was brilliant. Oh! And when he spoke at the New Yorker Festival a few weeks ago, did you go? Deborah Treisman from The New Yorker interviewed him. So during the panel he said—“

“Whoa,” My friend interjected, putting up her hand.

"What?" I asked.

"You….you need to just….chill."

I looked around the table and saw it on my friends’ faces: second-hand embarrassment. Directed at me. And I realized: I was sputtering, hyper, overeager, obnoxious. Arms flailing, eyes wide, talking a mile a minute, and the poor girl hadn’t even started the book yet. I knew what was happening. I was one-upping again. I was being a reading one-upper. My friend’s innocent acquisition of a new book had just turned into me on my soapbox, pitching the greatness of Saunders and professing my love for his work like my life depended on it, trying to prove once again to the world how much I love literature. I was scaring people.

This isn’t the first time this has happened. Just the other day a little girl told me she was reading Clifford at the Circus. 

"Oh yea?" I said, smiling. “What about Clifford the Firehouse Dog?" She shook her head. "Clifford Goes to Hollywood?" Nothing. "Clifford’s Bedtime? Surely you’ve read Clifford's First Christmas? Clifford's Puppy Days? Really???” And there it was, that same look. That leave-me-alone-with-my-book look that shook me to the core.

I’m not proud. But I’m working on it. And I know I’m not alone. Maybe you exhibit some of these same symptoms? Maybe you lapse into reading one-upping behavio? Share your stories here (and I promise, I will not try to one-up you.)

It's a time-honored tradition, and it's back!

Two years ago we invited R.L. Stine, that master of all things spooky (and the bestselling author of the Goosebumps series) to take over our social media channels on Halloween. It was wildly successful, a ton of fun, and just a little bit creepy! Last year, he was all set to do it again, but Hurricane Sandy struck and thwarted our plans.

We're so excited to have him back this year! Join us on October 30 from 2-3pm ET on the following platforms and at #goosebumps for some spine-tingling fun!

• Scholastic's Facebook
• Scholastic's Twitter
• Scholastic's Instagram
• Scholastic's Google+

The Official Goosebumps Facebook page and R.L. Stine's personal Twitter account will also get in on the action, so be sure to follow along!

R.L. Stine will be posting prompts, jokes, photos, and videos to get fans in the Halloween spirit, and will answer fan-submitted questions, so get 'em ready. We'll also have the editor of Goosebumps, Matt Ringler, in the room, and he's promised to bring some cool, old-school Goosebumps merchandise to show off.

And did I mention we'll be giving away 10 signed copies of Goosebumps books to participating fans? :)

Be prepared to be scared! (But mostly just entertained!)

Today OOM welcomes Noël Baca Castex, Janelle DeLuise, Caite Panzer, Hillary Doyle, and Veronica Grijalva (pictured from left to right, photo credit: Christina Goefron) from Scholastic’s Foreign Rights Team to discuss their experiences at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Frankfurt, Germany. Take it away, Foreign Rights Team!

One of the best parts of working in Foreign Rights is getting to meet with publishers from around the world and tell them about our books. At the recent Frankfurt Book Fair in Frankfurt, Germany, our team met with over 150 publishers, agents, and scouts hailing from Thailand to Turkey, and everywhere in between!

Building buzz

Even before the Fair begins, scouts like to send out “hotlists,” to alert publishers to the most interesting upcoming titles. We were delighted to see several Scholastic books selected for these lists, including Victoria Scott’s thrilling YA title, FIRE & FLOOD (March 2014) and Andy Marino’s unforgettable debut, THE DOOR (May 2014).

The SPIRIT ANIMALS phenomenon has taken the US by storm and is going global! We have 9 foreign rights deals already signed to date. At Frankfurt there was a lot of interest in the New York Times bestselling series, which launched in September.

Spotting trends

What are international publishers looking for these days? 

Just as in the US, foreign publishers are drawn to fun, fast-paced Middle Grade stories like Matthew J. Kirby’s forthcoming magical action-adventure series, THE QUANTUM LEAGUE #1: SPELL ROBBER (February 2014); and LOOT: HOW TO STEAL A FORTUNE by 39 CLUES fan-favorite, Jude Watson (July 2014). They were also excited to see that Dav Pilkey’s RICKY RICOTTA series will return in May 2014, with a fresh, new look and amazing, kid-friendly, full-color artwork by Dan Santat.

On the picture book front, our list was particularly strong this year, with great lead titles from bestselling authors and illustrators, and a wide range of art styles to suit more commercial to artistic tastes. Publishers loved the concept of Jim Benton’s THE END (ALMOST), to be published in March 2014, and the striking art of Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichenheld’s recently published EXCLAMATION MARK (March 2013), combined with its universal story of self-acceptance, won rave reviews.

Next stop: Bologna!

Although we are now more connected with our colleagues and customers in international markets than ever before, nothing beats the experience of being on the ground and meeting face-to-face. For our team, the Frankfurt Book Fair and the children’s book-focused Bologna Book Fair in the spring are the must-attend events that bookend our year. These Fairs help us take the pulse of the global book market and better understand the changing trends and tastes that shape our industry, so that we can help bring our books to readers the world over.

Today OOM welcomes Publicity Manager Sheila Marie Everett to the blog to share some fascinating insight into Year of the Jungle by Suzanne Collins and illustrated by James Proimos. Take it away, Sheila Marie!

As November approaches, excitement is building for “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”, the film based on the novel by Suzanne Collins due in theatres on November 22nd. But, November also will bring Veterans Day (November 11th), the federal holiday honoring those who have served in the armed services. Suzanne Collins’s recently released picture book, Year of the Jungle, is based on the year her father spent serving in Viet Nam when she was just six. The story is told from a young child’s point of view with illustrations by her longtime friend James Proimos. Year of the Jungle has received four starred reviews, with Kirkus extolling,“With a notable lack of patriotic rhetoric or clichés about bravery and honor, Collins holds firm to her childhood memories, creating a universal story for any child whose life is disrupted by war. Important and necessary.”

Suzanne Collins and James Proimos have talked about their collaboration in a series of videos, and today they share further insight into their individual processes, the differences between being an author or illustrator, as well as the differences in writing novels versus picture books, and the significance of the Ogden Nash poem Suzy’s father reads to her in Year of the Jungle.

Read about these questions and more here:

Q&A with Suzanne Collins

Q&A with James Proimos

Do you have questions about the Common Core State Standards? Are you looking for free resources and nonfiction and literature book lists? Well, look no further!

We are excited to announce the upgrade and redesign of our Common Core State Standards website, “Common Sense for Common Core."

Highlights of the site, www.scholastic.com/commoncore include:

●Expert Videos – Educational videos from leading experts and authors covering such topics as text complexity and growth mindset are available for access anytime.

●Get Answers – A team of 17 expert educators specializing in technology, writing, math, early literacy and special education will answer questions about the Common Core from parents, teachers and administrators.

●Nonfiction and Literature Book Lists – Sortable Common Core book lists for grades K-12, curated by librarians and reading experts, help teachers go beyond the “exemplars” in Appendix B of the Common Core and find nonfiction text types arranged according to themes and a literature list arranged according to genres – from historical fiction to poetry to drama.

●Improved Product Finder – Research-based programs that will help students develop the reading comprehension and fluency skills needed to be college and career ready and to thrive in an ever-changing world. Scholastic’s Common Core-ready offerings provide skill assessment tools and a range of products for Grades K-12 designed to meet the new standards and foster a love of learning.

●Common Core Basics– A starting point for teachers and parents to learn and understand the Common Core State Standards, the site includes basic information about which states have adopted the standards, a glossary of key words and phrases that have a meaning unique to the Common Core, and the most up-to-date information on implementing the Language Arts and Math standards. 

●Free Resources for Educators – Educators can find tips on how to craft effective evidence-based questions, download Common Core lesson plans and watch video introductions to the Standards for Mathematical Practice.

●Books to Read at Home– Reading at home helps children succeed in the classroom. A list of our experts’ favorite books for grades 1-8 helps parents choose texts to read at home with their children. All titles are available in the Scholastic Store.

●Ways to Connect – The “Common Sense for Common Core” website helps educators and parents find Common Core conversations on Twitter and Facebook, and aggregates content from frizzle, Scholastic’s blog on education, and Scholastic Administr@tor magazine, an essential resource for education leaders on technology, best practices, assessments and leadership strategies