Apply for'We the People' Grants

Want to a new set of hardcover American history books for your public or school library? Then apply for the We the People Bookshelf grant, which encourages kids to read and understand great literature while exploring themes in American history.

Sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), along with the American Library Association’s (ALA) Public Programs Office, this year’s theme is “A More Perfect Union” and will feature the following books, selected by NEH in consultation with the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of ALA:

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

A DVD edition of The Civil War: A Film by Ken Burn (which includes rights to show the series to public audiences); 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 will also be distributed.

Public and K-12 school libraries are invited to apply online from now until Jan. 29, 2010..

In April, NEH and ALA will select 4,000 libraries to receive the 17 books for young readers, as well as bonus materials for readers of all ages, and the option to receive three titles in Spanish translation. Libraries selected 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. Since 2003, NEH has awarded 13,000 We the People Bookshelves to public and school libraries.