Out of nowhere (or at least off my radar) Scholastic Books is launching a 10-volume series of books called The 39 Clues, with the first to hit shelves Sept. 9. Not merely hitting shelves, it’s hitting the web in the form of an online interactive game, hitting kids with 350 “collectible” cards and assorted knick-knacks, and most of all hitting parents in the wallet and the bank account. As the book cover instructs us: “Read the book. Play the game. Win the prizes.” And naturally, eventually: See the movie. Buy the junk. Create the ancillary markets. Join the cult! This latest ATM Machine already has Stephen Spielberg attached to direct (after Tin-Tin and Lincoln?) and Jeff Nathanson (Catch Me If You Can) is writing the screenplay.
Amazon.com’s description of the series sounds like Ragtime meets Lemony Snicket meets The Amazing Race:
Grace is the last matriarch of the Cahills, the world’s most powerful family. Everyone from Napoleon to Houdini is related to the Cahills, yet the source of the family power is lost. 39 clues hidden around the world will reveal the family’s secret, but no one has been able to assemble them. Now the clues race is on, and young Amy and Dan must decide what’s important: hunting clues or uncovering what REALLY happened to their parents.
The 39 Clues is Scholastic’s groundbreaking new series, spanning10 adrenaline-charged books, 350 trading cards, and an online game where readers play a part in the story and compete for over $100,000 in prizes.*
*or roughly 1/100th of one percent of the massive piles of cash Scholastic and Dreamworks hope to haul in from this endeavor.
Dreamworks has a more business-model summary after the cut.
Plot Summary: “The 39 Clues,” due to launch globally in September, is a fully integrated multi-media adventure that spans across 10 supercharged books, 355 collectible cards, and a dynamic online game where kids can uncover information, play skill based games and collect cards to compete for prizes. The story revolves around the Cahills – the most powerful family the world has ever known – the source of whose power is a mystery that can only be unraveled by assembling 39 clues hidden around the world throughout history. Combining reading with online gaming and collecting, this breakthrough concept is uniquely positioned to reach millions of young people who are readers, gamers, collectors, or all three, and encourage them to participate in the hunt for the 39 clues. The initiative will roll out over a 24-month period starting in September 2008 ‚Äì with the web site serving as the home base for kids to participate in The 39 Clues experience. The first book in the series, “The Maze of Bones,” is written by Rick Riordan, a #1 New York Times best-selling author, who also outlined the series‚Äô 10-book story arc.