March 4, 2013On Our Radar

Storia, The Teacher-Recommended E-Reading App for Kids Created by Scholastic, to Offer Non-Fiction Titles From UK Publisher, Arcturus

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK, NY – February 27, 2013 – Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL), the global children’s publishing, education and media company, today announced an agreement with the UK based publisher, Arcturus Publishing Limited, to offer a selection of their internationally celebrated non-fiction titles on Storia^®, the classroom-based, teacher-recommended eReading app for kids.   A collection of children’s nonfiction reference ebooks ranging from art, to modern history, science, nature and magic will be available for purchase by teachers and parents on Storia, through Scholastic Book Clubs and Scholastic Book Fairs beginning in June 2013.

Available for free download on iPad, PC, and select Android tablets (with more platforms to come in 2013), the Storia eReading app, is designed exclusively for children with a personalized approach to helping them become better readers. Storia offers thousands of titles for kids from toddlers through teens with more content being added weekly.  Storia was recognized by Warren Buckleitner with the “Editor’s Choice Award” for children’s eBook.

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Arcturus to Storia and to offer their titles for young children to enjoy reading digitally,” said Jenny Frost, SVP ePublisher and eBook Strategy, Scholastic Book Clubs and Ecommerce. “With the new Common Core State Standards being implemented into schools there is a need for more non-fiction books for kids, and Arcturus’ unique collection is ideal for our school market and Storia app.”

“This is an exciting time for young readers who are experiencing reading through different platforms and we are excited to bring our titles to them in digital format on Storia,” said Ian McLellan, CEO of Arcturus. “For 20 years we have been creating titles that inform, inspire and entertain, and that remains our ambition in today’s growing and changing publishing landscape.”

The Storia eReading app is designed to meet the needs of a 21^st Century classroom, giving teachers the support and tools they need to keep their students motivated and excited to read. Teachers using Storia can access the free Spotlight on Storia, a teacher’s guide to using Storia in the classroom.  The guide offers how-to videos that showcase students and teachers using Storia in small groups, as a whole-class activity and on an interactive white board. Spotlight also provides teachers with free booktalks and discussion guides to use with Storia ebooks, and other downloadable teaching materials and activities to supplement Storia books.

Scholastic is currently working with several other top publishers to offer their front- and backlist titles on Storia.

About Scholastic:

For more information about Scholastic, visit our media room at http://mediaroom.scholastic.com. The online press kit for Storia is available at: http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/storia.