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CONGRESSMAN YOUNG ANNOUNCES WE THE PEOPLE BOOKSHELF AWARD TO LOCAL LIBRARIES AND SCHOOLS
15 Classic Books on “Becoming American” Will Support Community Programs
Washington, D.C., Mar 28 -
Alaska Congressman Don Young today announced an award of 15 classic books on the theme of "Becoming American" to local schools and libraries. This award is made possible through the National Endowment for the Humanities’(NEH) We the People Bookshelf Program. "I am pleased to announce this award. What our nation reads speaks volumes to the character of who we are as a people. America is a melting pot of diverse cultures and nationalities, so it is no surprise that ‘Becoming American’ is a great theme of American literature. This award gives our communities a chance to come together, read, and share our own stories of how we have become Americans," said Congressman Young. The We the People Bookshelf program will distribute two thousand sets of books to neighborhood and public school libraries, as well as private schools, charter schools, tribal schools, and military schools in all 50 states. Each library will receive a set of the 15 books, 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 2005-2006 program is made possible with generous support from the McCormick Tribune Foundation. The We the People Bookshelf on "Becoming American" contains these books: Kindergarten to Grade 3 The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland Watch the Stars Come Out by Riki Levinson Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say Grades 4 to 6 Immigrant Kids by Russell Freedman The People Could Fly: The Picture Book by Virginia Hamilton Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord Grades 7 to 8 Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith The Glory Field by Walter Dean Myers A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith Dragonwings by Laurence Yep Grades 9 to 12 Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather Barrio Boy by Ernesto Galarza Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, edited by Louis P. Masur Giants in the Earth: A Saga of the Prairie by Ole Edvart Rølv These are Alaska schools and libraries that will receive the awarded books: Anchorage College Gate Elementary School Library Anchorage Anchorage Municipal Libraries, Mountain View Branch Anchorage Anchorage Municipal Libraries, Muldoon Branch Library Anchorage Anchorage Municipal Libraries, Samson-Dimond Branch Library Anchorage Anchorage Municipal Libraries, Z.J. Loussac Public Library Anchorage Lumen Christi School Library Eagle River Anchorage Municipal Libraries, Chugiak-Eagle River Branch Library Girdwood Anchorage Municipal Libraries, Scott & Wesley Gerrish Branch Library Shageluk Innoko River School and Community Library Thorne Bay Thorne Bay Public Library