Congressman Cohen Announces "We The People" Bookshelf Awards to Six Libraries in the 9th District

“Literature has the ability to convey our nation’s history in a way children of all ages can appreciate and understand,” said Congressman Cohen. “‘Created Equal’ encourages students to explore one of America’s greatest founding principles, and the books featured in this collection both address the concept of equality and recount the periods of our history which tested the declaration that ‘all men are created equal.’ As children in the 9th District remember the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the 40th anniversary of his assassination in Memphis, these books are particularly poignant.”

NEH Chairman Bruce Cole added, “The We the People Bookshelf program introduces young readers to important literature and promotes the understanding of vital ideas in our nation’s history. Through the power of these stories millions of young readers will have the opportunity to examine the central tenet of our American identity: that all human beings ‘are created equal.’”

The program will distribute 3000 sets of books to city, town, and neighborhood libraries as well as libraries in public, private, and charter schools and home school consortia in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each library will receive a set of the 17 books along with posters, bookmarks, and other promotional materials from NEH through the American Library Association (ALA), which is working in partnership with the Endowment. As part of the award, libraries are organizing programs or events to raise awareness of these classic books and engage young readers.

The books selected for the “Created Equal” Bookshelf include several on Abraham Lincoln to facilitate programming for the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial over the next year. These include a “History in a Box” collection of resource materials on Lincoln developed by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American history.

The We the People "Created Equal" Bookshelf contains the following books:

Kindergarten to Grade 3
· The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen
· The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln, illustrated by Michael McCurdy
· Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco
· Pink y Say by Patricia Polacco (translated by Alejandra López Varela)

Grades 4 to 6
· Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
· Give Me Liberty! The Story of the Declaration of Independence by Russell Freedman
· Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman
· Many Thousand Gone: African Americans from Slavery to Freedom by Virginia Hamilton
· Lyddie by Katherine Paterson
· Lyddie by Katherine Paterson (translated by Rosa Benavides)

Grades 7 to 8
· Saturnalia by Paul Fleishman
· Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Russell Freedman
· Abraham Lincoln the Writer: A Treasury of His Greatest Speeches And Letters edited by Harold Holzer
· Breaking Through by Francisco Jiménez
· Senderos Fronterizos by Francisco Jiménez (translated by Francisco Jiménez)

Grades 9 to 12
· Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution by Natalie S. Bober
· That All People May Be One People, Send Rain to Wash the Face of the Earth by Nez Perce Chief Joseph
· Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
· Flores para Algernon by Daniel Keyes (translated by Paz Barroso)
· Lincoln’s Virtues: An Ethical Biography by William Lee Miller
· Amistad: A Novel by David Pesci

The bookshelf program is part of the NEH’s We the People program, which supports projects that strengthen the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture.

Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the National Endowment for the Humanities supports learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities. NEH grants enrich classroom learning, create and preserve knowledge, and bring ideas to life through public television, radio, new technologies, museum exhibitions, and programs in libraries and other community places. Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities, its grant programs, and the We the People Bookshelf is available on the Internet at www.neh.gov.

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Contact:
Marilyn Dillihay, Press Secretary, 202-225-3265
Charlie Gerber, Communications Assistant, 202-225-3265