"We the People" Grant

The Elmira City School District's Library Media Centers were the recipients of the "We the People" grant for the 2008-2009 school year. More information on the grant can be found at http://www.wethepeople.gov/

The “Created Equal” Bookshelf provides opportunities for young people to explore what the Revolutionary generation meant when it declared that “all men are created equal.” What challenges has America faced, and where has it shown progress, in its efforts to live up to the ideal of universal human equality? How did Abraham Lincoln, whose bicentennial we celebrate in 2009, contribute to the idea and the reality of human equality in America?

Three thousand libraries received the the “Created Equal” Bookshelf—a collection of seventeen classic hardcover books for young readers, all related to the “Created Equal” theme. In addition, libraries received four of these books in Spanish translation, a bonus “History in a Box” resource kit created by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and supplementary materials for programming, including bookplates, boomarks, and posters.

Books included in the “Created Equal” Bookshelf are:

Kindergarten to Grade 3
The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen
The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln
Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco
Pink Y Say by Patricia Polacco (translated by Alejandra Lopez Varela)
Grades 4 to 6
Saturnalia by Paul Fleischman
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
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Russell Freedman
Abraham Lincoln the Writer: A Treasury of His Greatest Speeches and Letters ed. by Harold Holzer
Breaking Through by Francisco Jiménez
Senderos Fronterizos: Breaking Through Spanish Edition 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 Pesc
Bonus:
History in a Box resource materials on Abraham Lincoln developed by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, including a resource book, CD, interactive CD-ROM, and posters featuring primary source documents, photographs, artwork, maps, songs, and other teaching resources.

NEH selected these books in consultation with members of the ALA and members of the Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC), a division of the ALA.

The "We the People" books are displayed in the SHS Library in a special area. They may be borrowed by students and staff.