We’ve got a lot of books here at Scholastic headquarters in New York City. (Understatement of the week? Quite possibly!) But when most people head down to our Archives (which contain almost all of the books Scholastic has ever published!), they’re usually shown our copy of Boy Dates Girl from 1952.

Its condition reflects its age: the front and back covers aren’t attached to the spine anymore, so it must be delicately removed from the small manila envelope that holds all its pieces. The pages are frayed and yellow, and the librarian opens it just enough so visitors can peek inside to read its content. So why is this little book such an important part of Scholastic’s history?

Boy Dates Girl began as a teen etiquette column in The Scholastic magazine in the 30s. Margaret Hauser, writing under a pen name, would answer questions ranging from topics like dating, hosting parties, dealing with parents, and popularity. Collections of her answers were printed in the 30s and 40s, but it was in 1948 when Scholastic introduced the Teen Age Book Club (or, TAB) and changed everything.

Initially, TAB mainly sold books from other publishers. But then, Scholastic looked back to its archives to start selling original titles. Boy Dates Girl was one of the very first original Scholastic books to be sold as a mass market paperback through the book club. The 1952 edition – the one housed in our archives – is a revised edition, but is still considered one of Scholastic’s first books. Scholastic Reading Club is still going strong, and still brings a wide variety of books – Scholastic or otherwise – to excited young readers!

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

Working in the Scholastic archive, we sometimes discover materials in the stacks that take us on a walk down memory lane. Today that material is... issue #1 of Bananas.

Editor: Jovial Bob Stine (a.k.a. R.L. Stine!)

Cover Illustrator: Alex Ebel

Publication Date: 1975

Main articles:

• Cover story – “Chico vs. J.J.”
• Interviews – Don Martin (of MAD Magazine), Barry Manilow, Lori Payne
• “Dress for Cheap at the Army-Navy Store”
• “Flashback! Robert Redford”
• “Sports: Who is a Superstar?”

Contents:

This cover story combines commentary from Freddie Prinze and Jimmie Walker, stars of Chico and the Man and Good Times, respectively, with analysis of their impact on comedy and television. It explains their backgrounds growing up in New York City, how they got into comedy, and compares and contrasts the characters they played on TV. This first issue of Bananas also features activities, comics, humor, satirical advice columns, a Robert Redford poster, a contest for an electric typewriter, and… banana split recipes!

Comments:

One third of the cover story talks about racial humor and stereotypes, and it’s interesting to read what these well-known individuals thought when they were young and cast as characters telling jokes that some found offensive. Talking about playing J.J., Jimmy Walker said that he tried to make his jokes funny to everyone; and self-described 'Hungarican' Freddie Prinze (Hungarian + Puerto Rican) commented the protests of his casting, saying that he understood why folks were upset, “some people would prefer a real Mexican-American actor in the part”. Another feature article profiles motocross racer Jodi Payne, who reflected on taking a lot of kidding at school for being of the few women racing motorcycles at the time. “I don’t pay attention... If they knew how much fun it is, they wouldn’t say anything. They’d be out there on the track doing it themselves!”

Readalikes:

Scholastic Action magazine

The MAD Student Survival Guide for Those Bored of Education, by Usual Gang of Idiots

Real Bios, series from Scholastic Library Publishing

Working in the Scholastic archive, we sometimes discover a book in the stacks that takes us on a walk down memory lane. Today that book is... In the Morning of Time: the story of the Norse God Balder.

Author: Cynthia King

Illustrator: Charles Mikolaycak

Publication Date: 1970

Setting: Asgard (Iceland)

Main characters:

• Balder – “the most perfect god”, son of Odin, brother to Hoder, father of Forseti, husband of Nanna
• Odin – “creator of the worlds of men and gods”, chief of the gods, father of the gods, the first god, husband of Frigga
• Loki – “mischief-maker and evil thinker”, adopted brother of Odin, son of giants, parent of enemies, provider of precious gifts (like Thor’s hammer)
• Thor – “the mightiest god”, son of Odin, Sif’s husband, father of Mothi and Magni, possesses Mjollnir (the magic hammer)

Plot: 

Balder is having troubling dreams, and it turns out that he is prophesied to die. His mother, father, and siblings try to prevent this outcome, and while the narrative unfolds we learn the back stories for the various gods as they each step in to play a part in Balder’s storyline.

Comments: 

Prior to this month, my knowledge of Thor and Loki came solely from comics and movies, but now I am much better informed! Reading this took me back to childhood, when you first start reading myths, comparing and contrasting how different cultures explain natural phenomena and the world as a whole. The black and white artwork was a throwback as well; do you remember turning the page in a novel like The Secret Garden and finding an illustration plate? As I got to the end, there were two full page spreads that I found myself lingering on and ‘reading’.

At the back of the book there is a glossary/index, which defines words or explains the character, and then tells you where they appear in the story – the librarian in me loves that! Just as I love names like Draupnir (Odin’s golden ring), Gunningagap (a steaming void between fire and ice), Naglfar (a ship made of dead men’s nails), Ragnarok (the final conflict between Gods and giants), and Svartalfaheim (the land of the dark elves).

Readalikes:

D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths, by Ingri D'Aulaire and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire

Favorite Norse Myths, by Mary Pope Osborne

Odin's Family: Myths of the Vikings, by Neil Philip and Maryclare Foa

The Sea of Trolls, by Nancy Farmer

Working in the Scholastic archive, we sometimes discover a book in the stacks that takes us on a walk down memory lane. Today that book is...

Title: Scat!

Author/illustrator: Arnold Dobrin

Publication Date: 1971

Setting: New Orleans

Main characters:

• John, a.k.a. Scat – 8 years old
• Father – jazz trumpet player
• Grandma – “the real boss of the family”

Plot: 

Scat loves to follow his father at night to hear him play Blues music, but his grandmother doesn’t approve of the “wild, good-for-nothing noise”. Whenever she is resting or out with friends, Scat goes to town to listen to his father play the trumpet. He wants to learn to make music himself, so on his birthday his dad gets him his own harmonica, and he teaches himself to play it… which Grandma doesn’t care for! Black, white, blue, and brown illustrations set the tone for the story:

Comments: 

This was an unexpected surprise! I was in the 1970s area of the archive and pulled this book off the shelf (based on the title), and lo and behold the story features blues and the harmonica. This month we discussed Echo, by Pam Muñoz Ryan in our employee reading club, which also features blues and the harmonica--so yay for serendipitous discovery!

Readalikes:

Ben's Trumpet, by Rachel Isadora

Echo: a novel, by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Lentil, by Robert McCloskey

Rent Party Jazz, by William Miller and Charlotte Riley-Webb

Yolonda's Genius, by Carol Fenner