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July 14, 2016 by Travis Jonker

The Mysteries of Cardboard Schu

July 14, 2016 by Travis Jonker   7 comments

In the beginning, it was fun.

John Schumacher, former school librarian and current Scholastic Ambassador for School Libraries had a cardboard cutout. How many people have a cardboard cutout? The reaction to the cutout’s debut at the American Library Association Annual Conference was enthusiastic:

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Me and Diane Hess and @MrSchuReads !!! #schuvisits @Scholastic #alaac16 pic.twitter.com/7jvxhr9E3U

— Deimosa Webber-Bey (@dataquilter) June 26, 2016

Look who I ran into at #alaac16 #schuvisits @scholastic pic.twitter.com/GEJp3m1fOA

— Cathy Potter (@cppotter) June 26, 2016

Me and @MrSchuReads #schuvisits @Scholastic pic.twitter.com/UnlH3Nmb9Y

— Kathy M Burnette ; (@thebrainlair) June 25, 2016

Hoping to win #schuvisits from @Scholastic Looking good @MrSchuReads #alaac16 Forgot pic in 1st tweet. :/ pic.twitter.com/xD59qd2szH

— KarinLibrarian (@kperry) June 25, 2016

Then things started to change.

While taking my picture with Cardboard Schu at ALA, I could have sworn he whispered his catch phrase in my ear, but with a slightly ominous twist:

Happy reading . . . Travis.

CS Huh

CS Huh 1

CS Huh

I’d be lying if I said it didn’t freak me out.

But the moment I truly realized something strange was going on was when, this past Monday at Nerd Camp, I walked around a corner and all of a sudden . . .

CS Full

. . . Cardboard Schu was RIGHT THERE, looking me in the eyes. It (he?) startled me and it felt, I don’t know, a little creepy.

But here’s the strangest part – I asked around and I couldn’t find anyone who knew how Cardboard Schu made it to Nerd Camp. I had an uneasy feeling.

Not long after, rumors began to surface about an “Emergency Backup Cardboard Schu”, locked away for safe keeping deep in the warehouses of Scholastic Inc. I wondered, “Why would an Emergency Backup Cardboard Schu be necessary? Are they concerned they might . . . lose control of the original Cardboard Schu??”

And then, yesterday, my worst fears were confirmed. Cardboard Schu became sentient. And started a Twitter account:

I like smelling books and I cannot lie.

— Cardboard Schu (@CardboardSchu) July 13, 2016

*Shudder*

Real Schu was clearly disturbed too. You could all but hear the nervous laugh that accompanied this reply tweet:

. @CardboardSchu Ummmm. Who taught you how to tweet at #nErDcampMI?

— John Schu (@MrSchuReads) July 13, 2016

It was clear that Cardboard Schu was made in the image of Real Schu . . .

@100scopenotes pic.twitter.com/oiGqL64kmM

— Cardboard Schu (@CardboardSchu) July 13, 2016

@100scopenotes @MrSchuReads His sense of style. #PlaidLife

— Cardboard Schu (@CardboardSchu) July 13, 2016

. . . but some things clearly got fuzzy in the replication process:

@100scopenotes That's a great questions. Who is your favorite author?

— Cardboard Schu (@CardboardSchu) July 13, 2016

I went to bed shaken, with one last question on my mind: where will this end?

And then, as if answering my nightmare, I woke up to this message . . .

CS Tweet

The mystery continues.

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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.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. :Donna says

    July 14, 2016 at 4:23 pm

    Since the chances of me meeting the REAL Mr. Schu are slim, I’d be happy meeting Cardboard Schu 😀

  2. Marjie says

    July 14, 2016 at 8:33 pm

    Best marketing ever!
    Who doesn’t know Mr. Schu?
    ????????

  3. Carol Kaner says

    July 14, 2016 at 11:30 pm

    This is so funny. I took my picture with Cardboard Mr Schu at Nerd Camp. Who could resist?

  4. Kathy Ishizuka says

    July 15, 2016 at 11:19 am

    Who needs Pokemon, I say.

  5. Jen walsh says

    July 15, 2016 at 12:07 pm

    Oh…yes!!!! A “where’s Mr. Schu app!”

  6. Donna Gephart says

    July 15, 2016 at 10:35 pm

    H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S!!!!!

  7. Jen Daly says

    July 16, 2016 at 11:07 am

    Really hoping that Cardboard Schu shows up at the Scholastic Reading Summit in Cincinnati…of course, the real Mr. Schu will be there too…do they ever show up at the same place at the same time?!

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