As we continue to celebrate National Native American Heritage Month and honor the young Indigenous readers and writers in today's classrooms, we Scholastic librarians looked to the archive.

In particular, we paged through the October 24, 1936 issue (Vol. 29 No. 6) of The Scholastic Magazine, which focused on current events in 'Indian Country' at the time. This issue includes poems and essays written by Native American students in the weekly Round Table column, a section of the magazine that was open to all undergraduate high school students interested in creative writing.

The following poem is one of four written by a group of students at the Tohatchi School in New Mexico, "one child furnishing one line and one another," that was published in the column that issue:

Are you ready for the game on Sunday?

We’re talking about football in this week’s Throwback Thursday! Since lots of us will be tuning into the the big game this weekend, I took a trip to the Scholastic Archive to brush up on the competition and learn more about games that made headlines back in the day.

Below, you’ll find some of our titles and Scholastic Classroom Magazines articles discussing all things football. The books were released by our Four Winds Press imprint in the 1960s, giving us a look at how the sport was written about sixty years ago. Meanwhile, the magazine articles feature popular figures in modern football, like San Francisco 49ers head Coach Bill Walsh and quarterback Joe Montana. (Did you know? Over the course of his 16 season career, Joe Montana played for the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs… aka: the two teams that will face off in this weekend’s championship!)

How to Star in Football by Herman L. Masin, 1966

This basic and most usable “how-to” book covers all the elements of good play, from offense to defense.

Championship: The Complete NFL Title Story by Jerry Izenberg, 1966

It all began on a cold day in mid-December, 1933. Wrigley Field was the stage, and the Chicago Bears and New York Giants were in the spotlight.

“Emmitt Smith: America’s Back,” Science World, September 3, 1993

Dallas running back Emmitt Smith has taken America by the storm.

“…and So It Came to Pass,” by Timothy Nolan, Coach and Athletic Director, January 1997

The Professor (Bill Walsh) tells us how the West Coast Offense got started, how he motivated his players to play better than they ever thought they could, and issues a warning for the future.

“Move that Mass!” by Chana Steifel, Science World, January 12, 1998

In the upcoming big game, football linemen may be mean and massive. They’re also experts in physics!

Special thanks to Gina Asprocolas and the Scholastic librarians for their help with this series!

In this week’s throwback, we’re looking at the Archive’s collection of brain teasers!

Did you know that January is International Brain Teaser Month? The month emphasizes the importance of keeping our minds sharp by testing our problem-solving skills. To honor the occasion, I found some of our older titles and booklets containing fun brain teasers for young readers. Many of these books were published by Scholastic Book Services, a division of Scholastic Magazines, Inc.

Challenge your brain and see if you can solve any of the riddles, quizzes, or puzzles below:

Science World Book of Brain Teasers, edited by Simon Dresner, 1962

Cut the Circle: Into how many different pieces can a circle be cut by drawing only four straight lines across the circle?

Can You Solve It? by Gerard Mosler, 1965

How accurate are your powers of estimation? Using the portion of the building marked 100 feet as the basis for your estimate, try to tell at a glance the height of the tower from base to top.

Mad Mad Puzzle Parade by Jim Razzi, illustrated by Tom Eaton, 1974

What a mix-up! Here are eight proverbs, but they're all in halves. 

The All Sports Puzzle and Quiz Book by George Sullivan, 1980

Which of the terms below have been spelled correctly?

Celebrity Quiz-O-Rama: Music Mania! by Jo Hurley, 2000

You and a friend have decided to attend a super-duper band contest. Competing for the title of "Best Bang in the Land" are some of your faves: 98°, BBMak, Backstreet Boys, 'NSYNC, and No Authority.

And here are the answers to the brain teasers:

Science World Book of Brain Teasers: The circle can be cut into eleven pieces

Can You Solve It?: The tower's height is 375 feet. If you guessed 350 or 400 feet, you made a good estimate.

Mad Mad Puzzle Parade: catches the worm; gathers no moss; it pours; are soon parted; save nine; laughs best; want not; is not gold

The All Sports Puzzle and Quiz Book: javelin; mitt; apparatus; barrel; toboggan; deuce

Celebrity Quiz-O-Rama: Music Mania!: 1-Backstreet Boys; 2-98°; 3-BBMak; 4-'NSYNC; 5- No Authority

Special thanks to Gina Asprocolas and the Scholastic librarians for their help with this series!

This week in the Archive, we’re looking at animal posters!

Did you know that you could order posters through Scholastic Book Clubs? The Archive has a massive collection of posters that were available for order through Clubs flyers, depicting all things pop culture — from cars to movies to boy bands. Of course, I zeroed in on all the ones featuring animals, which also came with great titles like “Get Wrapped Up in Reading” and “Pup Rock.” We even have a poster that OOM blogger Mackenzie dug up from her basement, which she bought (and framed) when she was in elementary school!

You can check out what we found below. Were any of these hanging on your bedroom walls? (And if you can’t get enough of the cuteness, here’s a post dedicated entirely to kitten posters.)

A Friend is Someone to Lean On, 1979

Can We Talk?, 1986

Pup Rock!, 1991

Christmas Pups, 1991

See Ya at the Beach, 1993

Be My Friend, 1995

You Can Count On Us!, 1996

Get Wrapped Up in Reading!, 1996

Hang in There!, 1996

Friendship is the Porpoise of Life!, 2003

November is Picture Book Month, so this week we’re taking a look back at—you guessed it—picture books!

Picture Book Month is dedicated to celebrating print picture books as well as their authors and illustrators. Below are some of our oldest titles from Scholastic Book Services, a division of Scholastic Magazines, Inc. and the earliest version of Scholastic Book Clubs. Plus, we have picture books from Four Winds Press, one of our first imprints which launched in 1965. You’ll notice that the first book in the collection is by Normal Bridwell; while it’s not about Clifford, it is about animals! And of course, I had to include the original Clifford title on the list!

Crazy Zoo, story and pictures by Norman Bridwell, 1963

Mrs. Penny wants to change the zoo! But Timmy doesn’t want her to—Would you?

The Happy Egg, story by Ruth Krauss, pictures by Crockett Johnson, 1967

There was a little little bird. It was just born. It was still an egg.

Stone Soup by Ann McGovern, pictures by Nola Langner, 1968

A young man was walking. He walked and he walked.

Catch a Little Fox by Fortunata, pictures by Brinton Turkle, 1968

Oh a-hunting we will go.

A-hunting we will go.

Old Witch and the Polka Dot Ribbon by Wende and Harry Devlin, 1970

Howling winds sent branches scraping against the windows and shutters of the old Jug and Muffin Tearoom.

Kitten for a Day by Ezra Jack Keats, 1974

Four playful kittens and a good-natuured and friendly (but somewhat confused puppy), add up to a day of fun for all.

Moose, Goose, and Little Nobody by Ellen Raskin, 1974

One day a big wind blew. Trees fell and a gas pump flew.

Pickle Creature by Daniel M. Pinkwater, 1979

Some good things happen in this world. For example, you might go out one night and find a Pickle Creature.

Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell, 1985 reprint

I’m Emily Elizabeth and I have a dog. My dog is a big red dog.

Special thanks to Gina Asprocolas and the Scholastic librarians for their help with this series!

The leaves have begun to change colors and the pumpkin-spiced treats are out, which means it's officially fall! 

Here are some autumnal throwbacks to celebrate the season. This week, I found books to match the red and orange hues of the trees here in the Northeast. The oldest book in the collection below is an anthology of plays by Scholastic Book Services, a division of Scholastic Magazines, Inc. You’ll also see some articles from Instructor, a Scholastic Classroom Magazine for educators, which has fun activity ideas for the classroom. And of course, what season or holiday would be complete without a Clifford book?

Appalachian Autumn and Other Plays, selected by the editors of Scholastic Scope magazine, 1971

An abandoned mine. Pillars of coal have been left to support the roof. Jared and Hugh are removing a pillar, piece by piece. They are loading it onto a cart, hitched to a pony.

“Big Creative Patterns With Skill-Building Activities,” Instructor, August 1991

This fall, capture your students’ imagination and develop their basic skills with reproducible patterns, projects and activities that make learning fun.

“A Leaf Sample,” Instructor, October 1991

Autumn is the time when the leaves of many deciduous trees change from green to red, yellow, and orange.

Baby-sitters Little Sister #32: Karen’s Pumpkin Patch by Ann M. Martin, 1992

Karen’s daddy has given Karen a special job for Halloween. She is in charge of the pumpkin patch. And there are so many pumpkins!

It’s Pumpkin Time! by Zoe Hall, illustrated by Shari Halpern, 1994

All summer long, my brother and I get ready for our favorite holiday.

Can you guess what it is?

Halloween!

Fresh Fall Leaves, written by Betsy Franco, illustrated by Shari Halpern, 1994

Fresh fall leaves…

Watching them fall,

And collecting them.

Clifford’s First Autumn by Norman Bridwell, 1997

The flowers were gone, and there were pumpkins in their place. Clifford had never seen pumpkins before.

Special thanks to Gina Asprocolas and the Scholastic librarians for their help with this series!

In this week’s edition of Throwback Thursday, we’re celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month!

From September 15 to October 15, we honor the cultures, histories, and contributions of those who trace their roots to Latin and South America. Fun fact: the holiday begins in the middle of September because in 1821, five Latin American countries - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua - declared their independence on the 15th. Mexico and Chile also celebrate their independence in September, on the 16th and 18th respectively. (Although, they both declared their independence a bit earlier, in 1810.)

Here is a collection of some titles from the Scholastic Archive featuring stories by or about those from the Latinx and Hispanic communities:

Arroz con leche selected and illustrated by Lulu Delacre, 1989

Here is a colorful array of cheerful songs, games, and rhymes mined from Latin America’s extraordinarily rich heritage.

Pictured above:

¿De quién es este sombrero? by Cecilia Avalos, illustrated by Mary Lynn Blasutta, 1992

De quién es este sombrero? Es de una bombera.

Todo tiene nombre by Cecilia Avalos, illustrated by Tom Lulevitch, 1992

Todo tiene nombre. La ciudad tiene nombre.

El rancho despierta by Cecilia Avalos, illustrated by Eric Velasquez, 1992

Con un canto despierta el gallo.

Una camisa para Carlos by Cecilia Avalos, illustrated by Jon Levy Lieberman, 1992

Ven, Carlos, a comprar una camisa.

Pictured above:

Canto una  canción by Cecilia Avalos, illustrated by Glen Davis, 1992

Con mi guitarra canto una canción del desierto.

¡Vamos al supermercado! by Cecilia Avalos, illustrated by Doug Cushman, 1992

Vamos al supermercado a comprar huevos…

Los ojos by Cecilia Avalos, illustrated by John Hart, 1992

Hay ojos tiernos.

Mi casa by Cecilia Avalos, illustrated by Margaret Hewitt

En mi casa vivo yo.

In the Barrio by Alma Flor Ada, illustrated by Liliana Wilson Grez, 1994

In the barrio, I see children playing in the schoolyard.

Cocoa Ice by Diana Appelbaum, pictures by Holly Meade, 1997

On the island of Santo Domingo, the sun bakes the earth until it is hot and steamy like a roasted plantain.

Although not quite a throwback, here’s a bonus image of our first Club Leo flyer from 2001, our Spanish-language flyer by Scholastic Book Clubs:

Special thanks to Gina Asprocolas and the Scholastic librarians for their help with this series!

This week’s throwback was inspired by my coworker Royivia Ferguson’s piece on graphic novels! In the post, she talks about the benefits of reading graphic novels and comic books, and mentions some of the great titles published by our Graphix imprint.

Her post made me recall how I loved to read comic books as a child, and got me wondering what Scholastic’s selections looked like in the past. A trip down to the Archive left me with a stack of comics and cartoons from the 70s through the 90s, along with magazines dedicated to comic strips. Below, you’ll see multiple issues of Bananas magazine, a teen publication from the 70s and 80s with funny stories, dating tips, and celebrity profiles. Fun fact: its editor was a certain “Jovial Bob Stine,” otherwise known as R.L. Stine!

"Who Reads Comic Books?" a report by Scholastic Magazines, 1948 

Cartoons of the Month, Scholastic Book Services, 1971

A gaggle of giggles especially selected for teen-agers!

Chicken Fried Fudge, Scholastic Book Services, 1971

Can someone who looks like this draw funny cartoons?

The Cartoon Book of Sports by Clare and Frank Gault, 1977

Cartoons about 30 favorite sports.

Bananas Issue #52, 1982

Bananas Issue #58, 1982

Bananas Issue #60, 1982

Bananas Issue #68, 1983

The Drawing Book by John Deacon, 1984

Learn all the tricks and techniques from this great step-by-step guide.

The Cartoon Book 1 by James Kemsley, 1990

Hints on drawing cartoons, caricatures, and comic strips.

Comic Fun: How to Create Your Own Comics by Frank Rodgers, 1992

Packed with practical advice and topical tips this is the book for YOU if you’ve ever wanted to create your own comics.

The Comic Strip Book by Peter Foster, 1993

Hints on how to make your own adventure comic strip.

The Cartoon Book 2 by James Kemsley, 1994

Dazzle your family and friends with your very own cartoon characters and story-lines and leave them begging for more!

Little Comic Shop of Horrors (Give Yourself Goosebumps #17) by R.L. Stine, 1997

Laugh at your own risk! You’re walking through a creepy part of town when you find a new comic shop—Milo’s Comics Dungeon. Dungeon is right!

Special thanks to Gina Asprocolas and the Scholastic librarians for their help with this series!

Vinyl records are back! Look inside any bookstore or walk down Williamsburg in Brooklyn, and you’ll see the sleek covers of vinyl LPs stacked prominently for a new generation of listeners.

If you need more proof, check out this article on the New York Times on how vinyl sales are affecting the music charts again. For this week’s throwback, we’re taking a look at the records published by Scholastic. Down in the Archive, we found a fantastic collection of audiobooks and learning supplements in record form.

Growing up, record players where something I saw as little more than “antique” pieces of furniture—which means I had to ask our librarian Deimosa how records even worked, to her horror. She explained that Scholastic distributed 33 ⅓ rpm records, which have longer play times and were ideal for albums.

The items below were published by Scholastic Records, which was housed under Scholastic Magazines, Inc. We came upon many Clifford the Big Red Dog records, of course, along with classic stories, nursery rhymes, and educational supplements with filmstrips:

Pictured above:

• Clifford Takes a Trip by Norman Bridwell, Scholastic Records, 1966
• The Three Billy-Goats Gruff by Susan Blair, Scholastic Records, 1967
• Daytime/Nighttime by Judy Reisman, Scholastic Records, 1969

Pictured above:

• Train Ballads, arranged and conducted by Buryl Red, Scholastic Records, 1969
• City Mouse-Country Mouse and two more tales from Aesop narrated by Eric Berger, Scholastic Records, 1970
• Just in Time for the King’s Birthday, narrated by Robert Dryden, 1970

Pictured above:

• The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter, narrated by George Rose, Scholastic Records, 1971
• Clifford Gets a Job by Norman Bridwell, Scholastic Records, 1972
• The Magic Fish by Freya Littleday, narrated by Alan Mills, Scholastic Records, 1972

Pictured above:

• The Elves and the Shoemaker, retold by Freya Littledale, Scholastic Records, 1975
• Miss Nelson is Back by Harry Allard, narrated by Sandy Duncan, 1988
• The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, narrated by Jane Harvey, Scholastic Records, 1989

Special thanks to Gina Asprocolas and the Scholastic librarians for their help with this series!

Pass, kick, GOAL!

In this edition of Throwback Thursday, we’re spotlighting titles and articles about women in soccer. It’s a summer of tournaments for a few different sports, so I have to admit my attention is divided between the U.S. soccer team excelling at their World Cup and Bangladesh participating in the Cricket World Cup (go Tigers!). The American team, however, has been dominating soccer for some time now, and we found articles in the Archive to prove it. Unsurprisingly, many Scholastic Classroom Magazine issues from the 90s featured soccer icon Mia Hamm, whose legendary status has made the sport more popular here in the last few decades.

Here’s to hoping that our team brings the trophy home!

How to Be a Good Soccer Player by Clare and Frank Gault, illustrated by Toni Goffe, 1978

Soccer is the most popular team sport in the world. In most places, it is called “football”. That’s natural, because in soccer the ball is kicked.

Soccer Game! by Grace Maccarone, illustrated by Meredith Johnson, 1994

We start the game. We’re ready. We aim. We pass.

The Bailey School Kids: Zombies Don’t Play Soccer by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones, 1995

Coach Graves has really turned the Bailey School soccer team around. But after a confrontation with a strange old woman, she seems to fall under some sort of spell.

The Baby-sitters Club #110: Abby the Bad Sport by Ann M. Martin, 1997

Abby has joined a Special Olympics Unified Sports soccer team! Playing soccer every day with a new group of friends is awesome. 

“A Superstar's Burden,” The New York Times Upfront, Sep 6, 1999

Now that she’s queen of America’s fastest-growing sport, soccer star Mia Hamm may have to act like one, too.

“Women Rule Soccer,” Scholastic News, Senior Edition, Sep 6, 1999

Forget baseball. Forget basketball. Americans are getting a kick out of soccer, thanks to the U.S. Women’s National Team.

“Soccer: Girls Rule,” Scholastic News, Ed. 4, Sep 6, 1999

This summer, fans across the U.S. cheered the team to a 5-4 penalty-kick win over China in the Women's World Cup.

“Mia Hamm,” Scholastic Action, Mar 6, 2000

This soccer star scores on and off the field.

Special thanks to Gina Asprocolas and the Scholastic librarians for their help with this series!