September 15 through October 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month, so I thought it would be fun to look back at some of the early books from some of our Latino/Hispanic authors and illustrators. Have you read any of these titles?

Gary Soto's A Fire in My Hands (A Book of Poems), 1990

"...in this beautifully readable collection of poems, Gary Soto brings to life themes of growing up, family, friendship, and first love. Drawn from a background of growing up Mexican-American in the San Joaquin Valley, all of the poems are about everyday experiences familiar to us all. Some are funny, some are sad or thoughtful, but all are truly memorable poems to be read again and again."

Pam Muñoz Ryan's Riding Freedom, 1998

"Charlotte Parkhurst is raised in an orphanage for boys, which suits her just fine. She doesn’t like playing with dolls, she can hold her own in a fight, and she loves to work in the stables. Charlotte has a way with horses and wants to spend her life training and riding them on a ranch of her own. The problem is, as a girl in the mid-1800s, Charlotte is expected to live a much different life – one without freedom. But Charlotte is smart and determined, and she figures out a way to live her dreams with a plan so clever and so secret – almost no one figures it out."

My Momma Had a Dancing Heart, illustrated by Raúl Colón (written by Libba Moore Gray),  1995

Raúl Colón has illustrated over thirty children's books, including My Momma Had a Dancing Heart, for Orchard Books, an imprint that was bought by Scholastic.

"Captured by her mother's infectious love of dance, a young girl joyously follows her mother in a dance through the seasons."

One of Colón 's beautiful illustrations.

Special thanks to Librarian Deimosa Webber-Bey for her ongoing help with this series!

Back in October 2015, Scholastic announced that America’s longest-running and largest magazine for educators, Instructor Magazine®, was being renamed Scholastic Teacher™.

This wasn't the first name change Instructor Magazine experienced; it was originally published in 1891 with the name The Normal Instructor. Then it became The Normal Instructor and Primary Plans, THEN The Instructor, and for a short time, Instructor and Teacher. (Phew!) When Scholastic finally acquired the magazine in 1990, we simplified the title to Instructor Magazine®.

So, for this back-to-school edition of Throwback Thursday we reached out to Tara Welty, Editor-in-Chief of Scholastic Teacher™, for some vintage covers. Here's what she passed along to us, and be sure to check back later this year when we'll be celebrating the 125th anniversary of Scholastic Teacher™ with a special double issue!

For my last Throwback Thursday post, I went down to the Scholastic Archive and found a bunch of the #1s of the Baby-sitters Club series. As Scholastic librarian Deimosa and I walked up and down the aisles, I noticed lots of other BSC tie-in books that weren't included in the numbered series, but that still pinged my sense of nostalgia. Do you remember any of these books?

The Baby-sitters Club Notebook

A handy guide for anyone looking to start their own BSC. It includes tips for dealing with parents, babies, healthy recipes, jokes, and a place to log clients and how much money you've earned.

The Baby-sitters Club Postcard Book

This book contains tearaway postcards featuring the beautiful artwork from all the BSC covers! Deimosa told me she has this book, and thinks it's too much pressure to actually mail the postcards out, so she only sends them to her sister so she can always get them back. A quality tactic!

(A postcard featuring the cover art from Baby-sitters Club Super Special #2: Baby-sitters' Summer Vacation)

The Baby-sitters Club Chain Letter and The Baby-sitters Club Secret Santa

These are the two books that I definitely remember owning in elementary and middle school. These books include letters, cards, and other "handwritten" notes from the atual members of the BSC (and some letters from Karen Brewer, star of the Little Sister spin-off series). In some cases, you have to open the envelopes to take out the note! (And some are filled with confetti, which I recently just learned. What a mess; thanks Mary Anne!) Sometimes you'd find a photo strip, necklace, or even a friendship bracelet but honestly, what I was most interested in was obsessing over everyone's handwriting!

A letter from Claudia to Dawn (complete with friendship bracelet!)

Logan's Secret Santa gift to Mallory

Special thanks to Librarian Deimosa Webber-Bey for her ongoing help with this series!

With the 30th anniversary of The Baby-sitters Club this week, was there ever any doubt that this week's Throwback Thursday would be dedicated to Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne and Stacey? Specifically, we're looking back at some of the #1s in Ann M. Martin's popular series, from Super Specials to Little Sister spin-offs.

First, let's look back at the #1 that started it all ... Kristy's Great Idea!

This book, published in 1986, would go on to inspire four related series, approximately 250 individual titles, a TV show, a movie ... and millions of fans! 

Each BSC story was told from the point-of-view of one of the club members. As the series took off, more members were added to the core four (including Dawn, Mallory, and Jessica), and more related series were created. Check out Mystery #1: Stacey and the Missing Ring, Super Special #1: Baby-sitters On Board!, and Super Mystery #1: Baby-sitters' Haunted House!

The Mystery books are pretty self-explanatory; each book was from the POV of one of the girls (just like in the original series), and featured a creepy or mysterious story that needed to be solved. The Super Specials had larger plots than the ones featured in the regular series, and tied in POVs from multiple characters. Combine those two structures and you got the Super Mysteries!

(BTW, that big sticker covering the artwork of Mystery #1? It says that this book is property of Scholastic. When Scholastic librarian Deimosa and I were looking for all these #1 books in the catalogue, so many copies were already checked out by employees. The BSC series is just as popular as ever, and these stickers help ensure that our copies make it back to the Library! [This one has unfortunately been stuck to the front, a rare occurance.] But I won't leave you hanging; here's what the cover artwork looks like!)

Now, let's talk spin-offs! Here we have California Girls #1: Dawn, and The Baby-sitters Little Sister #1: Karen's Witch! The California Girls series featured BSC member Dawn Schafer and her life in California. The themes and plots in this series were a bit more adult than those in the BSC series. And on the other end of the spectrum, we had a series focused on the adventures of Karen Brewer, BSC President Kristy's seven-year-old stepsister! (Fun fact: That series also had Super Specials!)

Special thanks to Librarian Deimosa Webber-Bey for her ongoing help with this series!

The last time I went to the Scholastic Archives for this series, I not only found some adorable kitten posters, but also these ancient (just kidding!) media artifacts: cassette tapes!

As a member on the tail-end of the generation that made mixtapes on cassettes, I got a thrill out of spotting these in the Archive. I also found it so interesting to see which artists were featured, and which are still relevant today, 15 years later! (Weird Al just had his first-ever number one album last year, Britney Spears has a Vegas residency and is releasing a new album, the Backsteet Boys are reuniting for a new album...)

While researching these cassettes, we tracked down someone in Scholastic Reading Club who remembers them! Here's what she told us: "They were used in the summer (then all year long) continuity program called Funtastic. Students could order the initial package though the student news in the Book Clubs. Then we would ship the kids the packages directly to their home."

So neat! With vinyl becoming more and more popular among collectors once again, maybe it's only a matter of time for cassettes! We'll be sure to catalog and archive these in the meantime.

Special thanks to librarians Karen VanRossem and Deimosa Webber-Bey for their ongoing help with series!

For this week's Throwback Thursday, I headed down to the Archives hoping for a bit of inspiration from the Library team. They did not disappoint.

In their weekly meeting (which they kindly let me join), they told me they were currently cataloguing all the old posters sold by the Scholastic Reading Club to teachers and students. They had boxes upon boxes lining the walls, and they were making an elaborate spreadsheet listing every poster we had (noting the subject matter and amount of each), and putting them in massive, black file cabinets.

"Anything interesting?" I asked.

"There are SO many cat posters," they replied.

The lightbulb over my head switched on. (Figuratively, not literally.) So, without any further adieu, here are some classic cat posters. Enjoy!

Calling All Cats, 1992

I'm a Star, 1984

Three Kittens, 1979

Trick or Treat, 1981 (I was totally expecting this poster to feature a cat sitting in a jack o' lantern, fyi.)

Christmas Kittens, 1979

Bucket of Fun, 1995

Special thanks to Scholastic librarian Deimosa Webber-Bey for her help with this series!

Happy Throwback Thursday, everyone! For this week's post, we're celebrating the official start of summer (the Summer Solstice was this past Monday!) with some vintage books all about this sunny season.

(Look at those beautiful covers!)

Our librarian Deimosa found May Garelick's Down to the Beach for me. This beautiful hardcover book was published by the Scholastic imprint Four Winds Press back in 1973. This book is all about what happens during a day at the beach – swimming, making sand castles, watching seagulls, etc. Barbara Cooney's sweet watercolor paintings are absolutely stunning and are as soothing as laying under a big beach umbrella on a hot, sunny day.

Next, Seventeenth Summer and Summer at Ravenswood caught my eye from the shelves. Seventeenth Summer was written by Maureen Daly. Here's a blurb about Maureen from the back cover:

Maureen Daly won literary recognition when her short story SIXTEEN was awarded first prize in the Scholastic Writing Awards. Before she was twenty years old, SEVENTEENTH SUMMER, about a girl's pre-college romance, won her the Dodd, Mead Intercollegiate Literary Fellowship contest, and quickly became a best-seller.

Although Seventeenth Summer wasn't originally published by Scholastic, the paperback edition I found in our Archives features a photograph by 17-year-old Maurice Sanders on the cover, and, that photo won a Scholastic Photography Award in 1967!

The cover for 1977's Summer at Ravenswood by Marilyn Granbeck features a young girl caught in the wind as she stares at a large, looming house. That young girl is Carol Martin, who goes to work for the summer at her father's elderly aunt house after he dies. There, she encounters an unfriendly housekeeper and her daughter; a noisy, old house; and other mysterious occurances. It's an engaging and quick mystery, complete with moody illustrations; perfect for the summer.

The last book, 1981's The Cool Kids' Guide to Summer Camp, was written by someone familiar – R.L. Stine! Actually, on this book he's credited with his earlier pen name from when he was a humor writer: Jovial Bob Stine. You'll also notice the name Jane Stine listed as one of the authors; not only is Jane R.L. Stine's wife, she's also his editor!

The book features funny illustrations, quizzes, and tips for kids going to summer camp for ths first time. Some sections of the book include:

• The Cool Kids' Guide to Counselors
• What You Missed Today on Daytime TV
• Guaranteed Homesickness Cure
• Visiting Day: A Warning

Special thanks to Scholastic librarian Deimosa Webber-Bey for her help with this series!

Happy Thursday, everyone! We are right in the middle of the 2016 NBA Finals; Game 3 just took place last night. It's a familiar sight: last year's champions the Golden State Warriors are facing the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second straight year, putting superstars Stephen Curry and LeBron James up against each other for a rematch. The Warriors currently lead two games to one.

In honor of the NBA Finals, I went down to the Archives to find some vintage basketball books for Throwback Thursday. Take a look at these!

I even found a book dedicated specifically to the NBA Finals! (It looks like it was published around Michael Jordan's heyday with the Chicago Bulls in the 90s.)

Scholastic still highlights current players and teams; here are some of the most recent entries in our Basketball Superstars series. It looks like K.C. Kelley took over the basketball beat from Bruce Weber – although I'm sure there were a bunch of authors covering the sport in between now and the late 70s! (And yup, Steph Curry & LeBron James are featured in the 2016 book!)

Special thanks to Scholastic librarian Deimosa Webber-Bey for her help with this series!

All of us here at Scholastic HQ in New York City are so excited for the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards National Ceremony next week. It will take place at the legendary Carnegie Hall, and feature some of the most talented and creative students (and their work) from all across the country.

But this isn't Future Friday (mainly because I just made that up), it's Throwback Thursday! In the spirit of looking back, today we have the 1926 book Saplings on display.

I found this little book in the Scholastic Library in a box with older editions of the series. So what is Saplings, and how does it tie-in with the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards?

According to Scholastic: A Publishing Adventure: 

Scholastic was six years old when it first flirted with the book business, issuing two titles in 1926: Saplings, a 78 page, 5 1/2" x 8" cardboard-covered collection of verse, short shories, and essays from the entries submitted for the 1925 student-written numbers of The Scholastic [...]. Annually thereafter for 14 years, a new, now-clothbound edition of Saplings presented the best of the preceding year's Writing Awards entries, selling for $1.50 and later $2 per copy. The end of Saplings was not the end of anthologies of the Writing Awards.

Let's take a peek inside Saplings, and check out some award-winning poetry from 1925.

And here's what the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards anthology book looks like today! One big difference? It includes artwork!

Special thanks to Scholastic librarian Deimosa Webber-Bey for her help with this series!

Today marks the beginning of the National Football League (NFL) Draft, an annual event where professional football teams pick new players from college teams. It lasts a few days over the course of several rounds, and it's structured so that the team that came in last the previous season gets first pick of the prospective players. (Teams can also trade their position in the draft with another team.)

On a previous trip to the Scholastic Archives, I noticed a small paperback book on the shelf: All-Pro Football Stars 1976. It stuck out to me because it was such a specific title that's now 40 years old. It also got me wondering what other old football books we had. So, in honor of the start of the 2016 NFL Draft, today's Throwback Thursday is a collection of some "touchdown titles" from the archives!

Some quick notes:

1963's Pro Quarterback is a fiction title about a boy who joins a pro team, coached by his father. You may recognize author Y.A Tittle as a former NFL quarterback who played for the Baltimore Colts, San Francisco 49ers, and the New York Giants! He co-wrote the book with Howard Liss, an author who wrote all kinds of sports books about or with a number of athletes.

Some recognizable names featured in the 1975 title Great Quarterbacks of Pro Football are Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, and Terry Bradshaw.

All-Pro Football Stars 1976 rates players on a 1-5 football scale in the following categories: Quarterbacking, Running Game, Receiving, Offensive Line, and Total Defense.

Are you ready for some football?

Special thanks to Scholastic librarian Deimosa Webber-Bey for her help with this series!