Scholastic, the global children's publishing and media company, in collaboration with Major League Baseball Properties and the Major League Baseball Players' Association, announced the production of The Major League Baseball Card Collector's Kit. The kit will be in stores in mid-April in time for the beginning of the 2002 Major League Baseball season.

Packaged in an official Major League Baseball(R) collectible card tin, The Major League Baseball Card Collector's Kit (Scholastic/Tangerine Press; May 2002; $9.99; Ages 7-13) has everything a young fan needs to start his or her baseball card collection. It features a 48-page guide to card collecting, which includes player photos, a brief history of collecting and how to start a collection, how cards are made, what makes cards valuable, assorted statistics on classic and current baseball cards, and information on card shops and Major League Baseball.

The collector's kit also contains four assorted packs of 2002 baseball cards (one from each officially-licensed manufacturer: Donruss, Fleer, Topps and Upper Deck) and a free card sleeve from Ultra-PRO.

To promote the release of the card collector's kit, Scholastic and Major League Baseball Properties have created the 2002 World Series Sweepstakes. The grand prize winner will receive an all-expenses paid trip for four to one of the 2002 World Series games, plus the chance to appear as an honorary ball boy or girl at Game One. Additionally, 100 runners-up will receive assorted trading cards and a mini-subscription to Tuff Stuff, a card collecting magazine. There is no purchase necessary to enter the sweepstakes; participants can fill out an entry form by logging on to Scholastic's website, http://www.scholastic.com/contests. Entry forms can also be found inside each card collector's kit. The sweepstakes will begin in April and will end on September 1, 2002; winners will be announced on or before October 1st. For more information about the sweepstakes, log on to http://www.scholastic.com/contests.