[kids-lib] "We the People" Bookshelf grant opportunity

[Katie Anderson]

Contact: Angela Thullen
Program Officer, Communications, PPO
(312) 280-5286
athullen at ala.org
  

NEWS
For Immediate Release
September 2, 2008   
NEH, ALA announce 6th annual “We the People” Bookshelf grant opportunity 
  
Apply through Jan. 30, 2009 for a collection of 17 titles on the theme “Picturing America”
  

CHICAGO – The American Library Association’s (ALA) Public Programs  Office is pleased to partner with the National Endowment for the  Humanities (NEH) for the sixth We the People Bookshelf project.  Part of the NEH’s We the People  program, the Bookshelf encourages young people to read and understand  great literature while exploring themes in American history.  

This year’s theme, “Picturing America,” explores the premise that a  nation’s literature, as well as its visual art, can be a window on its  character, ideals and aspirations. The We the People Bookshelf  on “Picturing America” will be a literary complement to the  NEH’sPicturing AmericaSM program – a free education resource that  provides reproductions of 40 pieces of great American art to schools  and public libraries to help educators teach American history and  culture through our nation’s art (www.PicturingAmerica.neh.gov).    

Public and school (K-12) libraries are invited to apply online from Sept. 2, 2008 through Jan. 30, 2009 at http://publicprograms.ala.org/bookshelf.   In spring 2009, NEH and ALA will select 4,000 libraries to receive the  17 books for young readers, plus three works in Spanish translation, as  well as bonus materials for readers of all ages. Selected libraries   will be required to use the Bookshelf selections in programs for young  readers in their communities.  

The Bookshelf grants are part of the NEH’s We the People  program, which aims to encourage and strengthen the teaching, study and  understanding of American history and culture through libraries,  schools, colleges, universities and cultural institutions.  NEH plans  to offer a We the People Bookshelf each year on themes related to ideas and ideals unique to America.  Since 2003, NEH and ALA have distributed 9,000 We the People Bookshelves to public and school libraries.  

The “Picturing America” Bookshelf will feature the following books,  selected by the NEH in consultation with members of ALA and the  Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the  ALA:  

* Kindergarten to Grade 3: “Walt  Whitman: Words for America” by Barbara Kerley; “Harvesting Hope: The  Story of Cesar Chavez” by Kathleen Krull; “Cosechando esperenza: La  historia de César Chávaz” by Kathleen Krull (translated by Alma Flor  Ada and F. Isabel Campoy);”The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” by Henry  Wadsworth Longfellow; “Sweet Music in Harlem” by Debbie Taylor   
* Grades 4 to 6: “The Birchbark House” by  Louise Erdrich; “American Tall Tales” by Mary Pope Osborne; “On the  Wings of Heroes” by Richard Peck; “Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule” by  Harriette Gillem Robinet; “The Captain’s Dog: My Journey with the Lewis  and Clark Tribe” by Roland Smith 
* Grades 7 to 8: “The Life and Death of Crazy Horse” by Russell Freedman; “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving; “La  leyanda de Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving (translated by Manual  Broncano); “Across America on an Emigrant Train” by Jim Murphy; “The  Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain 
* Grades 9 to 12: “Founding Brothers: The  Revolutionary Generation” by Joseph J. Ellis; “Restless Spirit: The  Life and Work of Dorothea Lange” by Elizabeth Partridge; “Travels with  Charley in Search of America” by John Steinbeck; “Viajes Con Charley –  En Busca de América” by John Steinbeck (translated by José Manuel  Alvarez Flórez); “Democracy in America” by Alexis de Tocqueville 
* Bonus: “Our White House: Looking In,  Looking Out” by The National Children’s Book and Literary Alliance;  “1776: The Illustrated Edition” by David McCullough 
  

Established in 1992, the ALA Public Programs Office has an exemplary  track record of developing library programming initiatives, including  the acclaimed reading and discussion series "Let's Talk About It," film  discussion programs on humanities themes, traveling exhibitions, LIVE!  @ your library® and other programs. Recently, it has established the  Cultural Communities Fund, an endowment created to help all types of  libraries across the country bring communities together through  cultural programming (www.ala.org/ccf).  For more information about the ALA Public Programs Office, visit www.ala.org/publicprograms.   

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, exhibitions  and programs in libraries, museums and other community places.   Additional information about the National Endowment for the Humanities  and its grant programs is available at www.neh.gov. 
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