DreamWorks has attached Jeff Nathanson to write the screen adaptation of the first novel of The 39 Clues, a multiplatform adventure series launching Tuesday from Scholastic Media, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The studio acquired the film rights to the property in June, and Nathanson will crack the first novel in the series, The Maze of Bones, written by former middle school teacher Rick Riordan.

Nathanson's involvement with the project lends extra weight to the possibility of DreamWorks principal Steven Spielberg jumping into the director's chair. The scribe has worked on three previous scripts for Spielberg: Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (he ended up with story credit). Nathanson also wrote much of the scripts for the Rush Hour trilogy.

The 39 Clues is built around the extended Cahill family, the most powerful clan in the world. The series is designed as an interactive adventure for kids ages 8-12 that will involve books published simultaneously in several countries, online games and hundreds of collectible cards as readers compete to solve the mystery of the Cahills' power by searching around the world and through history. A The 39 Clues Web site will allow readers to track their progress and win prizes as they solve the riddles.

The second book in the series, One False Note by Gordon Korman, will be released Dec. 2. Ten books are planned within two years of its launch, setting up the studio for a potential kid-friendly franchise.

No production date is available.

The 39 Clues comes to theaters in 2014. The film is directed by Brett Ratner.