SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Pearl's & Ruby's
  • Politics in Practice
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • 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

June 5, 2021 by Travis Jonker

Endangered Series #20: The 39 Clues

June 5, 2021 by Travis Jonker   3 comments

Popularity comes, popularity goes. As librarians we’re always balancing between what will circulate like crazy and what we need to have in the collection. And we’re not the Library of Congress – we can’t (and shouldn’t) keep everything.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

An endangered series is one that appears to be waning in terms of popularity. But popularity isn’t everything. Should it stay, or should it go? Or think of it this way – if you were starting a library today, would this series make the cut? Let’s discuss.

The 39 Clues (Series) by various authors

This adventure series began in 2008 with Maze of Bones and continued (through various spin-off series) until 2016. A lot of well-known authors wrote books in the series. It made a big splash, with interactive online elements for readers to explore.

The Case for Keeping: The series isn’t all that old yet (or am I being too generous?). It still feels fairly modern and the adventure/mystery genre is always a page-turner. A big-screen adaptation could potentially give a boost. Steven Spielberg acquired the film rights in 2008, but the movie has yet to make it to the production stage (so we probably shouldn’t hold our breath on that).

The Case for Not: I don’t know about your library, but the interest in these books at my school has really dipped. They are paper over board books, and our collection is looking a little ragged at this point.

Refresh? Since this is a relatively new series, there are no new covers or reboots.

My Verdict: We are weeding the damaged copies and not replacing, unless a booktalk next year can get them going again.

What are you doing with this series at your library?

Previously:

Endangered Series #1: The Boxcar Children

Endangered Series #2: The Hardy Boys

Endangered Series #3: American Girl

Endangered Series #4: The Baby Sitter’s Club

Endangered Series #5: The Bailey School Kids

Endangered Series #6: Nate the Great

Endangered Series #7: Cam Jansen

Endangered Series #8: The Kids of the Polk Street School

Endangered Series #9: Pony Pals

Endangered Series #10: Little Bill

Endagered Series #11: Animal Ark

Endangered Series #12: Arthur

Endangered Series #13: The English Roses

Endangered Series #14: Marvin Redpost

Endangered Series #15: Little Critter

Endangered Series #16: Spiderwick Chronicles

Endangered Series #17: Junie B. Jones

Endangered Series #18: Magic School Bus

Endangered Series #19: Dear America

Filed under: Endangered Series

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

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

A Fuse #8 Production

A Complete Listing of Children’s Literature Statues: 2025 Edition

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Carousel Summer | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

Nine More Titles: May Mock Newbery 2026 Suggestion Titles

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Politics in Practice

When Book Bans are a Form of Discrimination, What is the Path to Justice?

by John Chrastka

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Cindy Crushes Programming: Button Silhouettes, with teen librarian Cindy Shutts

by Karen Jensen, MLS

The Yarn

‘The best poem is the one that starts with ‘and”: Mk Smith Despres Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Best Nonfiction Middle to High School 2024 | SLJ Best Books

Best Nonfiction Elementary 2024 | SLJ Best Books

Best Young Adult Books 2024 | SLJ Best Books

Best Picture Books 2024 | SLJ Best Books

SLJ’s 2024 Best Books Cover Unveiled. Download a PDF of the Full List.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Claire says

    June 7, 2021 at 8:48 am

    My copies sat on the shelf, unloved for a long time, but we had a guest teacher this year who read them as a read-aloud while our kids were having lunch. Now I can’t keep them on the shelf!

  2. Jennifer Nelson says

    June 11, 2021 at 2:06 pm

    Here are a couple I’m struggling with right now:
    Puppy Place
    Time Warp Trio

    I’d especially love some advice on better options than our extensive collection of Great Illustrated Classics! 🙂

    I love these posts, so thank you for continuing them!

    • Travis Jonker says

      June 12, 2021 at 11:16 am

      Thanks for mentioning these! Puppy Place is still doing well in my K-3 library. Not so much for TWT.

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
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books 2024
    • 2024 Stars So Far
    • 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
    • Pearls & Rubys
    • Politics in Practice
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • Reasons to Love Libraries
    • 2025 Youth Media Awards
    • Defending the Canon:SLJ & NCTE Review 15 Banned Classics
    • Refreshing the Canon Booklist
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Read Free Poster
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies

    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 © 2025


    COPYRIGHT © 2025