SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • *Best New Books*
    • Annual Best Lists
  • Reviews
    • One Star Review
    • Nonfiction
    • Toon Reviews
  • Articles
    • Authors
    • Link Du Jour
  • Covers
    • Covering the Newbery
    • Cover Curiosity
    • Unfortunate Covers
  • News
    • Books on Film
    • Morning Notes
  • Newsletter

October 12, 2010 by Travis Jonker

Photos: Let’s Order Books Like it’s 1992

October 12, 2010 by Travis Jonker   19 comments

Let’s, for a moment, unlock the vault labeled “Recent History” (a.k.a. an old box my wife was recently unpacking), and see what we find…

(click images to enlarge)

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Ahh, yes – a Scholastic Book Club flier from 18 years ago. Right around the time our current college freshmen were born. You know about these fliers, right? Distributed monthly to schools in just about every last corner of the country, the book club flier brings back fond memories for many. I’m feeling the urge to make a couple wildly random observations:

Dynamite #164 featuring Beverly Hills 90210. Nice.

I loved this show when it was on. I don’t think it gets enough credit (/blame) for popularizing use of the ridiculous word “bro” among male friends. Take a look at the details and you’re in for another pop-culture flashback: Paula Abdul and C&C Music Factory posters inside. College freshmen were born when this came out? Hmm, this wasn’t that long ago. I’m feeling out of touch.

Novelty pencils, how quaint.

The heart themed pencils seem downright ancient compared to the whiz-bangery served up nowadays, where writing utensils write in invisible ink, light up, and/or create a smokescreen kids can use to lengthen recess time.

$.95 books.

This looks crazy, doesn’t it? I know that Scholastic currently does $1 specials, but dropping down into the cents? I think I can hear the change jars rattling from here in 2010.

Newbery books.

It can’t be said that Scholastic wasn’t pushing the Newbery books. The Golden Goblet, Lincoln: A Photobiography, Moccasin Trail – all Newbery-recognized.

Aww Yeah. You Be the Jury.

I still have these around somewhere. The case is presented, you predict the verdict. I loved these, and am still waiting for my shot at jury duty when I can put the skills I honed to the test.

In 1992 Dell Yearling and Apple paperbacks were still kinda cool.

Case in point: Everyone Else’s Parents Said Yes above. Now I’m starting to feel bad. The paperback editions that have graced many an Unfortunate Covers post were still in their heyday.

Wildly random observations complete.

Filed under: Articles

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Travis Jonker

Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

January 2023

Your 2023 Caldecott Comment Card

by Travis Jonker

January 2023

Who's Published the Most Newbery Winners in the Last 25 Years?

by Travis Jonker

January 2023

2023 Caldecott Medal Predictions

by Travis Jonker

January 2023

The Ten Most Eye-Opening Caldecott Books of All Time

by Travis Jonker

January 2023

Enter the World of Incredibly Specific Children's Literature Instagram Accounts

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Your 2023 Caldecott Comment Card

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Will Spring Be Early? Or Will Spring Be Late? by Crockett Johnson

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Monkey Prince Vol. 1: Enter the Monkey | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Readers’ Poll Results

by Steven Engelfried

Teen Librarian Toolbox

The Value of Innocence for BIPOC Students, a guest post by David Mura

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Luminous Review, Twitter Exodus, and a Thoughtful Airport Encounter | Readers Respond

Truth Teller, A. S. King | The Year in SLJ Covers

The hOle Story: Kids’ Books Come to Life on a Giant Scale at a New Kansas City Venue

Changing the Narrative | The Year in SLJ Covers

Ellen Oh, Linda Sue Park, and Ami Polonsky Speak Out Against Censorship at Florida School Board Meeting

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tina says

    October 12, 2010 at 7:35 am

    What a blast from the past! I still get excited as an adult to look through new Scholastic fliers – I loved looking at this old one!

  2. Abby says

    October 12, 2010 at 9:09 am

    Awww, I loved the Scholastic book catalogs! I’d save up my allowance and my parents would match every dollar I wanted to spend on books. Happy days, those. 🙂

    • Travis says

      October 12, 2010 at 10:27 am

      I’m with you. How much fun was it when those books arrived?

  3. adrienne says

    October 12, 2010 at 9:48 am

    Oh, that’s really fun. You know, we still have a couple of those You Be a Jury books in the library collection.

    • Travis says

      October 12, 2010 at 10:25 am

      Nice! Mine are in a box with my most valuable possessions from when I was a kid: comics, sports cards, and Garfield and Far Side anthologies.

  4. BookMoot says

    October 12, 2010 at 10:15 am

    They were always such a good deal. No tax, no shipping. Always got the Calvin & Hobbs.

  5. Christine Pennacchio says

    October 12, 2010 at 10:37 pm

    Awesome! I remember these flyers with excited nostalgia.

  6. Sarah says

    October 12, 2010 at 10:56 pm

    Wow! I just threw out the exact copy of COUSINS (Scholastic Apple edition, same cover, most likely ordered in 1992) from my classroom libray. It was missing too many pages. 🙂 But hey, 18 years is a good lifespan for a cheap copy!

    Sarah

  7. Fuse #8 says

    October 19, 2010 at 7:13 pm

    You know what I really love about these? The copy some folks wrote to get kids interested in the books. This is really good copy! That blurb for “Cousins” has ME wanted to read it, all of a sudden. Well played, random Scholastic employees of the 90s.

    • Travis says

      October 20, 2010 at 7:34 am

      Ha – yeah, they did a pretty good job generating interest here. Tough to do in one or two sentences.

  8. christina says

    October 22, 2010 at 7:07 am

    This is fantastic. I love your comments. Haha, and yes, we still get those fliers in middle school. Gotta love ’em. 🙂

  9. Joanne says

    October 25, 2010 at 8:17 pm

    Miss McGoey would always choose a student to place a date stamp in the “return by” box on the book club forms. It was a sought after honor to yield that date stamper!

  10. Jan H. says

    October 25, 2010 at 10:23 pm

    For me it would have to be 1962. I can’t even remember the company, could it have been Scholastic? A few years ago I found some of my OLD favorites at a yard sale. Thought I had found a treasure. Still looking for one that took place, I believe, in India. A boy went in search of a lost city. Can’t remember the name of the book.
    Book day was the best!

    • Jane says

      October 26, 2010 at 11:44 am

      @Jan H. “If you don’t remember anything more than a plot line, ASK A LIBRARIAN. We have finding tools for this purpose, including reference books that are subject catalogs of fiction, both for adults AND for children, which may provide brief summaries and reviews as well.”

      • Travis says

        October 26, 2010 at 11:45 am

        Always sound advice.

  11. Angela says

    September 7, 2014 at 10:40 am

    Oh wow, I’m pretty sure I ordered from this exact catalogue! I know I ordered about 5 of these books at once, (not to mention some stickers… I only remember this because I remember experiences with books).

  12. marjorie says

    October 16, 2016 at 1:27 pm

    DYNAMITE. i loved Dynamite so much.

  13. Terry says

    October 24, 2016 at 4:21 pm

    What struck me first was the diversity of the book characters. Not great by 2016 standards, but better than I remembered.

    Went back and read the copy … Betsy’s right. Well done.

Trackbacks

  1. 15 Things We Did At School That Future Students Will Never Understand - My Mental Medley says:
    January 18, 2015 at 10:19 pm

    […] Book Club forever. […]

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • Author/Illustrator Blogs

    • Erin Stead Illustration
    • Hey, Rabbit!
    • James Preller's Blog
    • MATTHEWCORDELLBLOGS
    • Mo Willems Doodles
    • The Scop
  • Book Blogs I Like

    • A Book and a Hug
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • A Kids Book a Day
    • A Year of Reading
    • Abby (the) Librarian
    • Awful Library Books
    • Becky’s Book Reviews
    • Better Book Titles
    • Book-A-Day Almanac
    • Bookends
    • books4yourkids.com
    • bookshelves of doom
    • Bottom Shelf Books
    • Calling Caldecott
    • Caustic Cover Critic
    • Chad C. Beckerman
    • Charlotte’s Library
    • Cheryl Rainfield
    • Chicken Spaghetti
    • CHILDREN’S ILLUSTRATION
    • Collecting Children’s Books
    • Cybils
    • EarlyWord
    • educating alice
    • Finding Wonderland
    • For Those About to Mock
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Good Show Sir
    • GottaBook
    • Great Kid Books
    • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
    • Hi Miss Julie!
    • Jen Robinson’s Book Page
    • Kidsmomo
    • Maria T. Middleton Design
    • Nerdy Book Club
    • Neverending Search
    • Nine Kinds of Pie
    • One Book, Two Books, Old Books, New Books
    • Out of the Box
    • Oz and Ends
    • PlanetEsme
    • Read Roger
    • Reading Rants!
    • Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
    • sharpread
    • ShelfTalker
    • so tomorrow
    • The Children's Book Review
    • The Miss Rumphius Effect
    • Uncovered Cover Art
    • Waking Brain Cells
    • Watch. Connect. Read.
  • Library Blogs

    • ALSC Blog
    • Blue Skunk Blog
    • librarian.net
    • LISNews
    • Stephen's Lighthouse
    • Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology
    • Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology
    • Unshelved
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023