J.K. Rowling's Phenomenal Bestseller Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince to Be Released in Paperback on July 25, 2006

Harry Potter Books in Print in U.S. Top 120 Million

Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education and media company, will release the paperback edition of J.K. Rowling's sixth Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Half- Blood Prince, on July 25, 2006. With a first printing of 2 million copies, the paperback version brings the total number of all six Harry Potter books in print in the U.S. to over 120 million.

In the United States alone, the hardcover edition of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince sold 6.9 million copies in the first 24 hours, making it the fastest selling book in publishing history. The book hit stores at midnight on July 16, 2005. With an unprecedented initial print run of 10.8 million, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince broke all industry records, including that set in June 2003 by Rowling's fifth novel, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Since their publication all six Harry Potter titles have remained on bestseller lists.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has garnered extraordinary reviews. In The New York Times review, Michiko Kakutani wrote: "The achievement of the Harry Potter books is the same as that of great classics of children's literature, from the Oz novels to 'The Lord of the Rings': the creation of a richly imagined and utterly singular world as detailed, as improbable and as mortal as our own." And according to a four-star review in People, "This book is the most intense-and absorbing-yet."

The paperback edition will have a suggested retail price of $9.99 at 672 pages.

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books and a leader in educational technology. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, film, videos and toys. The Company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs, school-based book fairs, and school-based and direct-to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries and television networks; and the Company's Internet site, http://www.scholastic.com/.

Source: Scholastic Corporation
NEW YORK, Jan. 18, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --