Segment Information (Details) - Schedule of segment reporting information (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	May 31, 2014		May 31, 2013		May 31, 2012		Nov. 30, 2013
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of reportable segments	5
Revenues	$ 1,822.3		$ 1,792.4		$ 2,139.1
Bad debts	8.2		6.8		12.3
Depreciation and amortization	121.8	[1]	115.4	[1]	123.9	[1]
Asset Impairments	28.0				7.0
Segment operating income (loss)	63.1		67.9		185.3
Segment assets	1,528.1		1,440.6		1,662.6
Goodwill	144.5		157.9		157.7
Expenditures for long-lived assets including royalty advances	373.7		153.9		145.9
Long-lived assets	828.2		689.7		684.3
Children's Book Publishing and Distribution [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	873.5	[2]	846.9	[2]	1,111.3	[2]
Bad debts	2.6	[2]	1.8	[2]	6.4	[2]
Depreciation and amortization	31.9	[1],[2]	31.5	[1],[2]	33.1	[1],[2]
Asset Impairments	28.0	[2]			0.5	[2]
Segment operating income (loss)	22.8	[2]	24.5	[2]	152.2	[2]
Segment assets	371.3	[2]	407.5	[2]	543.5	[2]
Goodwill	40.9	[2]	54.3	[2]	54.3	[2]	66.9
Expenditures for long-lived assets including royalty advances	43.4	[2]	52.3	[2]	44.4	[2]
Long-lived assets	135.3	[2]	165.3	[2]	167.5	[2]
Educational Technology and Services [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	248.7		227.7		254.7
Bad debts	0.9		1.1		0.7
Depreciation and amortization	28.0	[1]	22.7	[1]	22.2	[1]
Asset Impairments	0				0
Segment operating income (loss)	39.6		29.5		49.2
Segment assets	173.7		170.8		168.5
Goodwill	22.7		22.7		22.7
Expenditures for long-lived assets including royalty advances	30.7		40.3		26.2
Long-lived assets	119.0		116.5		101.1
Classroom and Supplemental Materials Publishing [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	229.6		218.0		208.2
Bad debts	1.6		1.4		1.9
Depreciation and amortization	10.5	[1]	9.4	[1]	7.7	[1]
Asset Impairments	0				0
Segment operating income (loss)	37.5		29.6		18.3
Segment assets	166.8		168.6		163.6
Goodwill	65.4		65.4		65.4
Expenditures for long-lived assets including royalty advances	10.2		10.9		17.9
Long-lived assets	90.1		91.4		90.3
Media, Licensing and Advertising [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	56.2	[2]	58.7	[2]	75.3	[2]
Bad debts	0.1	[2]	0.1	[2]	0.1	[2]
Depreciation and amortization	5.3	[1],[2]	3.0	[1],[2]	12.8	[1],[2]
Asset Impairments	0	[2]			0	[2]
Segment operating income (loss)	(0.7)	[2]	4.7	[2]	(4.9)	[2]
Segment assets	30.7	[2]	26.9	[2]	38.1	[2]
Goodwill	5.4	[2]	5.4	[2]	5.4	[2]
Expenditures for long-lived assets including royalty advances	8.1	[2]	3.7	[2]	6.3	[2]
Long-lived assets	14.1	[2]	12.0	[2]	11.6	[2]
Overhead [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	0	[2],[3]	0	[2],[3]	0	[2],[3]
Bad debts	0	[2],[3]	0	[2],[3]	0	[2],[3]
Depreciation and amortization	39.0	[1],[2],[3]	41.6	[1],[2],[3]	39.0	[1],[2],[3]
Asset Impairments	0	[2],[3]			6.2	[2],[3]
Segment operating income (loss)	(66.9)	[2],[3]	(60.2)	[2],[3]	(87.1)	[2],[3]
Segment assets	532.9	[2],[3]	402.1	[2],[3]	438.6	[2],[3]
Goodwill	0	[2],[3]	0	[2],[3]	0	[2],[3]
Expenditures for long-lived assets including royalty advances	269.6	[2],[3]	33.3	[2],[3]	37.9	[2],[3]
Long-lived assets	406.1	[2],[3]	236.5	[2],[3]	246.7	[2],[3]
Total Domestic [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	1,408.0		1,351.3		1,649.5
Bad debts	5.2		4.4		9.1
Depreciation and amortization	114.7	[1]	108.2	[1]	114.8	[1]
Asset Impairments	28.0				6.7
Segment operating income (loss)	32.3		28.1		127.7
Segment assets	1,275.4		1,175.9		1,352.3
Goodwill	134.4		147.8		147.8
Expenditures for long-lived assets including royalty advances	362.0		140.5		132.7
Long-lived assets	764.6		621.7		617.2
International [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	414.3		441.1		489.6
Bad debts	3.0		2.4		3.2
Depreciation and amortization	7.1	[1]	7.2	[1]	9.1	[1]
Asset Impairments	0				0.3
Segment operating income (loss)	30.8		39.8		57.6
Segment assets	252.7		264.7		310.3
Goodwill	10.1		10.1		9.9
Expenditures for long-lived assets including royalty advances	11.7		13.4		13.2
Long-lived assets	$ 63.6		$ 68.0		$ 67.1

[1] Includes depreciation of property, plant and equipment and amortization of intangible assets and prepublication and production costs.

[2] As discussed in Note 3, “Discontinued Operations,” the Company closed or sold several operations during the first quarter of fiscal 2012 and the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. All of these businesses are classified as discontinued operations in the Company’s financial statements and, as such, are not reflected in this table.

[3] Overhead includes all domestic corporate amounts not allocated to segments, including expenses and costs related to the management of corporate assets. Unallocated assets are principally comprised of deferred income taxes and property, plant and equipment related to the Company’s headquarters in the metropolitan New York area, its fulfillment and distribution facilities located in Missouri and its facility located in Connecticut. Overhead also includes amounts previously allocated to the Media, Licensing and Advertising segment for the Company’s direct-to-home toy catalog business that was discontinued in the first quarter of fiscal 2012 and amounts previously allocated to the Children’s Book Publishing and Distribution segment for the computer club business that was discontinued in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013.