Port Jervis School District libraries awarded
 We the People Bookshelf Collection Grant

The We the People bookshelf grant is awarded to 4,000 libraries across the country by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the American Library Association (ALA). The selected school and public libraries will receive free hardcover editions of 17 classic books and other materials through the grant program. The theme of this year’s Bookshelf is “A More Perfect Union.”

Port Jervis High School Library Media Specialist Tangeline Sechrist applied for the grant on behalf of the district. All four school libraries will receive the bookshelf collection.

The We the People Bookshelf collection contains the following books:
  • Kindergarten to Grade 3: “Tico and the Golden Wings” by Leo Lionni; “When Marian Sang: The True Recital of
     Marian Anderson” by Pam Muñoz Ryan; “A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution” by Betsy and
     Giulio Maestro
  • Grades 4 to 6: “César: ¡ Sí, Se Puede! / Yes, We Can!” by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand; “Darby” by Jonathon
     Scott Fuqua; “Eagle Song” by Joseph Bruchac; “The Great Little Madison” by Jean Fritz
  • Grades 7 to 8: “Chains” by Laurie Halse Anderson; “Hitch” by Jeanette Ingold; “Lincoln Shot: A President’s Life

     Remembered” by Barry Denenberg; “Warriors Don’t Cry” by Melba Beals
  • Grades 9 to 12: “American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic” by Joseph Ellis;
     “Carver: A Life in Poems” by Marilyn Nelson; “Killer Angels” by Michael Shaara; “Lincoln in His Own Words” by
     Milton Melzer; “Twelve Angry Men” by Reginald Rose; “The Souls of Black Folk” by W. E. B. DuBois
  • Bonus: “The Civil War: A Film by Ken Burns”; “The Civil War: An Illustrated History” by Geoffrey Ward,
     Ric Burns, Ken Burns; “Declaring Independence: The Origin and Influence of America’s Founding Document”

     edited by Christian Y. Dupont

The award is part of the NEH’s We the People initiative, which supports projects that strengthen the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture. Selected libraries in all 50 states each will receive a set of the 17 books, bonus materials including a DVD edition of “The Civil War,” the award-winning documentary by Ken Burns, posters, bookmarks, bookplates from the NEH and the ALA, and access to online planning and promotional materials. Since 2003, NEH and ALA have distributed 17,000 We the People Bookshelf grants to school and public libraries across the country.

Participating libraries will present programs on the theme of “A More Perfect Union” for their students or library patrons. The Port Jervis School Libraries will promote the We the People bookshelf by displaying the collection in each of our library media centers. Following the theme of a “More Perfect Union”, school librarians will lead a series of lessons/presentations using the materials from the collection and featuring different aspects of unity as well as quotations relating to the theme.

For more information about the We the People Bookshelf project, please visit http://publicprograms.ala.org/bookshelf.