Libraries Catch on to'39 Clues'
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By Lauren Barack -- School Library Journal, 05/13/2009
Libraries are taking advantage of the phenomenon around "The 39 Clues" series (Scholastic) to attract a new crew of young patrons through their doors to meet, share, and sleuth to solve the fantasy adventure as a team.
“There’s a lot of cooperation, they take turns, and work together,” says Vida Lashgari, assistant head of children’s services at the Farmington Library in Farmington, CT, about the kids who come to the library’s computer lab the first Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. to discuss the popular series. “It’s really kid driven and that’s how we want it.”
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Kids visit the Farmington Library in Farmington, CT, the first Tuesday of each month to discuss the popular series |
"The 39 Clues" series has taken young readers by storm since the first book, The Maze of Bones, was published in September 2008. With the fourth book set to appear on June 2 (there are 10 planned), readership has only grown, spawned by the quest of a sister and brother, sent across the globe to unravel a family mystery.
But it’s the detective work that attracts many children to the clues that are buried in the story, on the Web site, and through playing cards that come with each title. These let them help the Cahill siblings in their race for information.
Each tale weaves geography, history, and even art lessons into the puzzles and narrative, making libraries the perfect spot to work the clues. And that connection was not lost to Scholastic, which put nearly four years of work into the project before printing the first title, carefully working the “subversively educational basis” into the story line, says David Levithan, vice president and editorial director of Scholastic Trade Publishing. “We knew it would have a library and school piece to it.”
Farmington Library’s Lashgari seemed to know that as well, launching the library’s 39 Clues Club just as the first book appeared. To help propel interest in the club, she decided early on to buy regular copies of the book instead of library editions, which don’t come with the popular clue-backed playing cards.
Lashgari gives cards away to kids at each meeting, and even buys additional packs to entice club members to come again. They work the clues on one of 10 computers in the library’s lab and track their efforts on a SMART Board.
And if they also discover other events going on in the library while they’re there? So much the better, says Lashgari.
“The more they come, the more they learn about the other programs that we do,” she says. “They’ve gotten comfortable and now they know the staff. We’re thrilled to have this age, because it’s the hardest to get in the door.”
