scholastic

This is, beyond a doubt, the largest publisher of paperbacks that is totally ignored by the "vintage paperback community." The reason, of course, is that it is considered a "book club" rather than a dedicated mass market publishing concern. However, collectors today can't help thinking back on their "first books" and remembering them fondly. Scholastic has introduced the joy of books to more than two hundred million Americans over four generations.

During the first twenty years of its life, Scholastic was primarily in the "school magazine" business, as well as introducing the coveted "Scholastic Award" for young writers and artists. The Scholastic Book Club began in 1948 with TAB (Teen Age Books), priced at 25¢. The books were numbered with a "T" prefix, which carried over for Scholastic Books. The company went international in 1957, when it opened a subsidiary office in Toronto.

The letter prefixes designate reading groups: "T" for teens, "TK" for teens & pre-teens, "TX" for middle school, "TJ" for preschool. "TW" is for social skills and lessons designed for lower grade-levels.

The "Others" folder includes TAB, the TV-series (books based on television shows), later 5-digit numbers and other books.

Today, Scholastic is a major publisher not only for young audiences, but mainstream readers everywhere. It owns the American publishing rights to both the Harry Potter and the Hunger Games series.

The BookScans Database does not include books published after 1979.

For more information, please visit:

Collecting Scholastic Books: ebay Guide

(The scan above is Courtesy of Brian Maginnity)

This page was updated in January, 2013