Charlie Classics Reading Guide

Program Overview

To encourage you to read literary classics, the Charlie Classics Reading Program offers a series of incentives provided by Designing Women Foundation. You may participate in the program at any time during grades 7-12, as much as you like.  Students who read 100 classics from the Charlie Classics reading lists will be eligible for the Charlie Classics Scholarship offered at the end of their senior year. You are more likely to reach the goal of reading 100 classics if you begin participating as early as seventh grade. (For scholarship rules, see below.)

Your goal should be to read 100 Charlie Classics by the time you graduate!

 Getting Started

  • Read a book from the appropriate Junior High or Senior High Charlie Classics list.

  • Contact a mentor from the appropriate online mentor directory at poplarbluff.org/charlieclassics and make an appointment to discuss the book with a mentor.

  • If you satisfactorily demonstrate you read the book, mentors will present you with a two-part reading receipt for verification. Save yellow copies of reading receipts to collect incentives and for the Charlie Classics scholarship; white copies of reading receipts are given to English teachers.

 Incentives

For every five books read, just submit five reading receipts to Nikki Davis, Junior High Librarian, or Marcia Priest, Senior High Librarian, to obtain $5 gift cards.

Rules for all incentives:

  • To receive incentives, the student must be attending a school in the Poplar Bluff R1 School District.

  • To receive incentives, you must read and have mentored the books listed on the Charlie Classics reading lists. Senior high students must read from the senior high reading list.  Junior high students may read from either the junior high reading list or the senior high reading list.

  • To receive credit for reading a book, you must ask a mentor to verify that you have read the selected book.  Photo ID may be required. Mentor information is provided by the Designing Women Foundation. Mentors will provide you with a completed reading receipt if you demonstrate satisfactory knowledge of the book.  You must keep the YELLOW copy of the reading receipt and give the white copy to your English teacher.

  • You must be mentored by approved mentors listed on the junior high and senior high mentor directories.  Mentors can verify only their assigned titles in the directories. The only exception applies to English teachers in participating schools.

  • To receive incentives, present the appropriate number of yellow copies of reading receipts to Nikki Davis, Junior High Librarian, or Marcia Priest, Senior High Librarian.

  • All books on the senior high reading list count toward the scholarship, but on the junior high reading list, only books marked with asterisks count toward the scholarship. As noted above, you may only read from the junior high reading list while a junior high student.

  • You may begin reading for the scholarship as early as May 1st prior to your seventh grade year, and reading receipts must be dated on or before April 30th of your senior year to qualify for the scholarship.

  • To prove eligibility for the Charlie Classics Scholarship, you must deliver your 100 yellow reading receipts and a completed reading log to Designing Women Foundation by April 30th of your senior year.

  • Since reading lists may be revised, titles of classics read must match the senior high or junior high reading list version that was active on the date of the reading receipt.

  • If you successfully demonstrate eligibility for the scholarship, scholarship monies are paid directly to the college or university of your choice after your enrollment is verified.  It is your responsibility to ensure Designing Women Foundation has the correct contact information for the college or university.

  • Students who alter reading receipts or otherwise present false information on reading receipts will be ineligible to participate in the Charlie Classics Reading Program.