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This teacher needs your help!

Mrs. Smothers from Joliet, IL is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Mrs. Smothers is requesting

Bluestem Buzz: Fueling a Year of Reading!

Help me give my students books for a taste of this year's Illinois Readers Choice award list.

  • 5 donors
  • $392 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Keep the momentum going! Make a donation to Mrs. Smothers for her next project!

Help Mrs. Smothers

Keep the momentum going! Make a donation to Mrs. Smothers for her next project!

My Project

Each year, I run a special program in our school library focused on our state’s Reader's Choice Awards. For our third through fifth grade students, that means diving into the incredible titles on the **Illinois Bluestem Award** list. In the fall, I introduce each Bluestem nominee through engaging book talks, sparking curiosity and enthusiasm in my students. Throughout the year, I encourage and incentivize them to read as many of the books as they can. Then, in late winter, we hold an exciting vote to choose our school’s favorite title—allowing our students to take part in the official statewide voting!

The buzz these Illinois Bluestem Award list books generate keeps students reading all year long; however, the demand for these titles far exceeds what our Media Center can supply—we simply don’t have enough copies to go around.

With your support, we can add another complete set of Bluestem Award books to our library. This will ensure that more students—and entire classrooms—can access these engaging and high-quality books throughout the year.

And here’s the best part: At the end of the year, students submit the titles they’ve read from the list. Each one earns them a raffle ticket for a chance to win a copy of a Bluestem book to keep forever! Teachers who read the books aloud with their class can also enter, helping to build classroom libraries and keep these books in students' hands for years to come.

Mrs. Smothers Grand Prairie Elementary School Grades 3-5

Equity Focus

At this school, more than 50% of students are Black, Latino, and/or Native American, and more than 50% come from low-income households. Learn how your donation to this school supports a more equitable education.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

More about Mrs. Smothers

Joliet, IL View local requests

Half of students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

250 students impacted 5donors

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Expand the "Where your donation goes" section below to see exactly what Mrs. Smothers is requesting.

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
Unsolved Case Files: The 500 Million Dollar Heist: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Thirteen Missing Masterpieces (Unsolved Case Files, 3) • Amazon Business $21.99 1 $21.99
Squished: A Graphic Novel • Amazon Business $19.34 1 $19.34
Unsolved Case Files: Jailbreak at Alcatraz: Frank Morris & the Anglin Brothers' Great Escape (Unsolved Case Files, 2) • Amazon Business $17.30 1 $17.30
Swim Team: A Graphic Novel • Amazon Business $17.28 1 $17.28
Good Different • Amazon Business $16.46 1 $16.46
Nell of Gumbling: My Extremely Normal Fairy-Tale Life • Amazon Business $13.49 1 $13.49
Friend or UFO (The Area 51 Files) • Amazon Business $12.60 1 $12.60
The Deep!: Wild Life at the Ocean's Darkest Depths • Amazon Business $12.05 1 $12.05
Unsolved Case Files: The 500 Million Dollar Heist: Isabella Stewart Gardner and Thirteen Missing Masterpieces (Unsolved Case Files, 3) • Amazon Business $11.79 1 $11.79
The Lost Library • Amazon Business $11.73 1 $11.73
Unsolved Case Files: Jailbreak at Alcatraz: Frank Morris & the Anglin Brothers' Great Escape (Unsolved Case Files, 2) • Amazon Business $10.98 1 $10.98
Millionaires for the Month • Amazon Business $10.84 1 $10.84
Dogtown • Amazon Business $10.79 1 $10.79
Swim Team: A Graphic Novel • Amazon Business $10.20 1 $10.20
Butt or Face?: A Hilarious Animal Guessing Game Book for Kids • Amazon Business $10.13 1 $10.13
Batcat (Batcat Book 1): A Graphic Novel (Volume 1) (Batcat, 1) • Amazon Business $10.10 1 $10.10
Unsolved Case Files: Escape at 10,000 Feet: D.B. Cooper and the Missing Money (Unsolved Case Files, 1) • Amazon Business $9.71 1 $9.71
Squished: A Graphic Novel • Amazon Business $9.29 1 $9.29
The Big Flush (The Area 51 Files) • Amazon Business $8.99 1 $8.99
The Area 51 Files • Amazon Business $8.99 1 $8.99
The Double Life of Danny Day • Amazon Business $8.80 1 $8.80
Better With Butter (Wish) • Amazon Business $7.60 1 $7.60
Curlfriends: New in Town (A Graphic Novel) (Curlfriends, 1) • Amazon Business $7.59 1 $7.59
Butt or Face? Volume 2: Revenge of the Butts • Amazon Business $7.53 1 $7.53
The Guardian Test (Legends of Lotus Island #1) • Amazon Business $6.50 1 $6.50
The Guardian Test (Legends of Lotus Island #1) • Amazon Business $6.50 1 $6.50

Materials cost

$298.57

Vendor shipping charges

 FREE

Sales tax

 $0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$4.48

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$333.05

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$58.77

Total project goal

$391.82

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $391.82

4 Donors

-$195.47

Donations toward project cost

-$166.90

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$28.57

match offer

-$195.47

Match offer toward project cost

-$166.15

Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$29.32

Excluded support for DonorsChoose

-$0.88

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Smothers and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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