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This teacher needs your help!

Mrs. Breen from Hamden, CT is requesting books through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Mrs. Breen is requesting

Diverse Books Inspire Readers!

Help me give my students books with a diverse range of characters and a strong, sturdy cart to help to keep the texts organized, long-lasting and easily accessible.

  • $2,933 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

My Students

Mary Ellen Chase put it best when she said this; "There is no substitute for books in the life of a child." The students in this building are a beautifully diverse population of learners who crave high-interest books to accompany their reading curriculum.

This school is truly a community of acceptance that gives me hope about the types of people we are releasing into this ever-changing world.

The exciting and high-quality teaching that these children receive each and every day could be enhanced by increasing the book options that they have. Important literacy work is best accomplished by students who are fully engaged in the perfect books for the work that each individual needs to do to move forward.

Student engagement is the ultimate goal of high-quality instruction, and it is easier to excite students with the texts that they need to grow as individual learners.

My Project

In this day and age, books are not always the most exciting thing that a child can turn to for entertainment. Educators have an enormous responsibility to engage children in reading, and it is not an easy task! In addition, children need to feel that they are represented in the books in their hands. The characters should share similar personality traits, culture, or experiences to the reader in order to be considered a GREAT book that is relatable, and is more likely to become a "page-turner."

Ezra Highland points this out: "When you have children in school and the literature doesn’t look like them, it doesn’t sound like them, it does not deal with their issues, you’re pushing them out rather than inviting them in." The stories that we make available to engage children in the practices of a high-quality book club must be strategically picked as options to match the interests and background of the children in front of you.

Great books may be the strongest tool to turn a child into a lifelong reader!

High-quality books are important for ALL children, but particularly for those learners that require extra scaffolding to be successful. Children are much more likely to do the important work of a thorough reader when the books feel relatable. Children who are learning English as a second language will benefit from the images in the graphic novels chosen as well as bilingual picture books. Engagement in a text is a key factor in lighting a fire of excitement in a reluctant reader! Some of these novels feature a variety of diverse characters and social issues, while others are graphic novels that help to change the mindset of those children who do not think that reading is fun.

Mrs. Breen
Grades 3-5

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

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TEACHERS, FEELING INSPIRED?

You can start a project with the same resources being requested here!

Where Your Donation Goes

Materials Cost Quantity Total
LIBRARY CART BRETFORD SLANT SHELF BOOKTRUCK 37WX18DX42H SPECIFY COLOR • School Specialty $427.67 1 $427.67
Song for a Whale • Amazon Business $15.33 5 $76.65
Merci Suárez Changes Gears • Amazon Business $15.29 5 $76.45
The Night Diary • Amazon Business $13.52 5 $67.60
We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices • Amazon Business $13.29 5 $66.45
Blended • Amazon Business $12.88 5 $64.40
Genesis Begins Again • Amazon Business $12.32 5 $61.60
Solo (Blink) • Amazon Business $12.32 5 $61.60
Booked (The Crossover Series) • Amazon Business $11.89 5 $59.45
Tight • Amazon Business $11.89 5 $59.45
Front Desk • Amazon Business $11.89 5 $59.45
Rebound (The Crossover Series) • Amazon Business $11.89 5 $59.45
Patina (Track) • Amazon Business $11.89 5 $59.45
Sunny (Track) • Amazon Business $11.89 5 $59.45
George • Amazon Business $11.89 5 $59.45
The Unteachables • Amazon Business $11.72 5 $58.60
Roller Girl • Amazon Business $11.69 5 $58.45
Lu (Track) • Amazon Business $10.13 5 $50.65
The Distance Between Us: A Memoir • Amazon Business $10.07 5 $50.35
The Season of Styx Malone • Amazon Business $9.67 5 $48.35
The Crossover (The Crossover Series) • Amazon Business $9.38 5 $46.90
New Kid • Amazon Business $9.20 5 $46.00
Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation (Pantheon Graphic Library) • Amazon Business $14.88 3 $44.64
Ghost Boys • Amazon Business $8.49 5 $42.45
Stella by Starlight • Amazon Business $7.99 5 $39.95
Towers Falling • Amazon Business $11.89 3 $35.67
The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora • Amazon Business $8.33 4 $33.32
A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel • Amazon Business $10.41 3 $31.23
The Distance Between Us: Young Readers Edition • Amazon Business $6.21 5 $31.05
The Stars Beneath Our Feet • Amazon Business $6.47 4 $25.88
Come On, Rain! • Amazon Business $17.97 1 $17.97
Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me • Amazon Business $17.09 1 $17.09
Hello Lighthouse • Amazon Business $17.09 1 $17.09
Thank You, Omu! • Amazon Business $17.09 1 $17.09
The Rough Patch • Amazon Business $16.19 1 $16.19
The Good Egg • Amazon Business $16.19 1 $16.19
Say Something • Amazon Business $16.19 1 $16.19
The Day You Begin • Amazon Business $15.22 1 $15.22
Dreamers • Amazon Business $15.12 1 $15.12
Última parada de la calle Market (Spanish Edition) • Amazon Business $14.95 1 $14.95
Grumpy Monkey • Amazon Business $14.80 1 $14.80
Alma and How She Got Her Name • Amazon Business $14.39 1 $14.39
The Big Umbrella • Amazon Business $14.04 1 $14.04
A Bike Like Sergio's (A Junior Library Guild Selection) • Amazon Business $14.01 1 $14.01
Night Job • Amazon Business $13.98 1 $13.98
Julián Is a Mermaid • Amazon Business $13.98 1 $13.98
El día en que descubres quién eres (Spanish Edition) • Amazon Business $13.37 1 $13.37
Nonni's Moon • Amazon Business $13.05 1 $13.05
Each Kindness (Jane Addams Award Book (Awards)) • Amazon Business $12.99 1 $12.99
Soñadores (Spanish Edition) • Amazon Business $12.91 1 $12.91
Los deseos de Carmela (Spanish Edition) • Amazon Business $12.75 1 $12.75
Because • Amazon Business $12.75 1 $12.75
Carmela Full of Wishes • Amazon Business $12.75 1 $12.75
The Other Side • Amazon Business $12.59 1 $12.59
Juno Valentine and the Magical Shoes • Amazon Business $12.01 1 $12.01
The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora • Amazon Business $11.89 1 $11.89
Esos zapatos (Spanish Edition) • Amazon Business $11.52 1 $11.52
Drawn Together • Amazon Business $10.91 1 $10.91
The Best Part of Me: Children Talk About their Bodies in Pictures and Words • Amazon Business $9.99 1 $9.99
A Shelter in Our Car • Amazon Business $7.65 1 $7.65
Those Shoes • Amazon Business $6.99 1 $6.99
TOPAZ (TZ)- BRETFORD • School Specialty $0.00 1 $0.00
OPTION CLASS - BRETFORD BOOKTRUCK COLORS • School Specialty $0.00 1 $0.00

Materials cost

$2,384.48

Vendor shipping charges

$42.77

Sales tax

$0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$35.77

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$2,493.02

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$439.94

Total project goal

$2,932.96

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

$2,932.96

77 Donors

-$2,178.50

Donations toward project cost

-$1,880.44

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$298.06

match offer

-$720.68

Match offer toward project cost

-$612.58

Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$108.10

Excluded support for DonorsChoose

-$33.78

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

$0.00

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

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Project Activity

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