AUGUST 2025

Lasting Impressions

by Judy Newman

I am very happy to see that Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci are reuniting to make The Devil Wears Prada 2. At first, I thought the promotions I saw on my algorithmically challenged social media feeds were AI-generated “fake news.” But the movie seems to be real, and I can’t wait to see it. 

Saturday Night Live celebrated its 50th anniversary last year and is still going strong. 

And my 1974 MG is still chugging along (overcoming a recent clutch problem—it was not the throw-out bearing!) and I love driving it to the grocery store or to my weekend office. Everywhere I go with “Little Green Bean,” as 5-year-old Sophie calls my car, someone approaches me with fond MG stories—either the car they—or someone close to them—owned and loved during memorable milestones in their lives. For many people of a certain vintage, these inexpensive British imports, designed to be affordable and accessible for soldiers returning home, were their first cars. And so many people I meet think they remember the name of my car’s color: tundra green.

What makes something—a movie, a comedy show, a car—timeless and inspiring, able to stay relevant through many generations? I first saw The Devil Wears Prada in a movie theater 20 years ago, and these days, I watch it at least once a year on a streaming service. 

An aside: my Scholastic colleagues and I felt an extra special connection to the movie when Miranda Priestly, editor in chief of Runway magazine sent her second assistant, Andy Sachs, to get a copy of the as-yet-unpublished latest Harry Potter book for her twins. While we cheered the fictional Andy on, that never would have happened in real life. The release dates of each new book in the Harry Potter series were sacred. No copies got out before the fabulous midnight bookstore parties like the one in Watchung Booksellers in Montclair, NJ. I am so curious to see if there is another impossible-to-get book in The Devil Wears Prada 2.

When Saturday Night Live debuted on NBC, we watched it on the one TV in our Connecticut College dorm common room. Today I can still watch SNL live at 11:30 p.m., or if I don’t want to stay up late, choose some or all the segments to see online from anywhere in the world, any time. In addition to new skits including “The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party,” or Caitlin Clark appearing on “Weekend Update,” I  can watch classic material from years ago, including some of my favorites:  “More Cowbell,” “Two Wild and Crazy Guys,” “Roseanne Rosannadanna,” and “The Blues Brothers.”   

And while you can’t purchase a brand-new MG anymore, the vintage model I drive around still inspires incredible memories. When I want to see what other classic car owners—including Jay Leno, who writes a regular column—are up to, I read the gorgeously produced Hagerty magazine. 

Three historic experiences—designed in different eras that are still compelling and relevant today.

Alongside Meryl Streep and Lorne Michaels and Jay Leno, few things demonstrate a more compelling combination of enduring sustainability and brand-new approaches than children’s book publishing.

Thousands of new children’s books are published each year. They join millions of previously published titles—some become timeless classics; some are bestsellers for a while then disappear; and some are forgettable. Many (like Charlotte’s Web and Beverly Cleary’s Ramona titles) are repackaged with new covers—the stories inside are still the same but the new covers reflect their current audience. Many excellent children’s books are read by a few people, then have trouble reaching a larger audience. 

There is no shortage of wonderful children’s books for all ages and interests. But the process of connecting those children’s books to all potential readers—not just well-resourced kids who have lots of access to get books they want to read—is failing.

Scholastic was founded 104 years ago, and every year, the company recommits itself to supporting literacy for all kids by creating, publishing, and distributing the best quality and most popular stories and intellectual property through books and all forms of media. As we head into another school year, Scholastic properties and programming will come to life on millions of shelves and screens, and in thousands of Scholastic Book Fairs and bookstores, inspiring children to see themselves, learn about others, and nourish their imaginations.

Scholastic also knows that not all kids have equal access to choose and own their own books, so we have developed and piloted a new proven program—the United States of Readers—that is going to reverse the pernicious decline in literacy caused by lack of choice and access to high interest, brand-new, compelling, relatable books for PreK-8th grade kids living in poverty and attending under-resourced schools who don’t currently have access to bookstores or book fairs or libraries and don’t always have grown-ups in their lives who can support their literacy development.

As we work to create our Back to School 2025 United States of Readers flyers and spread the word about our new program, my team and I think long and hard about which combinations of new and classic books we should offer in each of the grade-specific flyers we create to inspire all kids to see themselves as readers—and support their educators and families in their reading journeys all year long. 

We want to curate a collection of new and old titles—introduce kids to characters they haven’t met yet and reconnect them to characters who have been inspiring kids for generations.

Winnie the Pooh, Pete the Cat, Captain Underpants, Dog Man, Ms. Frizzle, Fern, Charlotte and Wilbur, Llama, Llama, Frog and Toad, Clifford the Big Red Dog, the Cat in the Hat, Chrysanthemum, the Very Hungry Caterpillar, the Gruffalo, Esperanza, Greg Heffley—are all in the pantheon of timeless characters who continue to inspire kids across generations to want to read their stories.

Newly created characters continue to join the group: Flynn the Fly, Eva the Owlet, Jabari, Katniss Everdeen, Elephant and Piggy, The Little Blue Truck, and so many others, and it is our job as editorial curators to make sure they are introduced to all kids.

And that we help those kids learn how to choose—to develop their choosing muscles and figure out which books will inspire them to see themselves as readers. How can you make confident choices when you don’t have a regular opportunity to do so? It is the mission of the United States of Readers to help all kids develop their choosing muscles.

Developed by experts who have worked at Scholastic for decades, co-created with classroom teachers, and piloted with 50,000 students in every state in the US for logistical efficiency, the United States of Readers is uniquely able to serve the needs of the 10 million children who currently have no access to choose and own their own books which is crucial for them to develop their literacy. And to support their grown-ups—classroom teachers, families, and caregivers, who need help ensuring they can develop literacy for all American children.

The pieces are all in place: motivated children’s book authors, illustrators, and publishers who want their stories to reach all kids. Teachers who come to classrooms every day with a professional mandate to teach all their students how to read and ensure their students are literate members of American society. Families and caregivers who want their children to do well in school—which is predicated on knowing how to read. Communities and elected officials who want all children to be workforce, career, and/or college ready and avoid the well-documented illiteracy-to-prison pipeline. And everyone who wants all kids to have excellent mental health, which is positively correlated to reading proficiency.

And we have one program—the United States of Readers—which integrates all the research and best practices to ensure that all those timeless stories can reach their full audiences.

If you are interested in joining our movement, please contact me at judynewman@impactreading.org.

Judy •

Judy Newman, Chief Impact Officer, Scholastic