We the People Bookshelf: A More Perfect Union
The "More Perfect Union" Bookshelf Theme
The We the People Bookshelf theme, “A More Perfect Union,” invites reflection on the idea of the United States as a “union,” a “One” as well as a “Many,” and is the literary complement oflibrary programs observing the sesquicentennial of the Civil War in American history and culture.
In spring 2010, 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 Books and Resources
K-3
4-6
7-8
9-12
Bonus
—Grades K-3—
Tico and the Golden Wings—Leo Lionni (K-3)
In this beautifully illustrated book, a bird comes to know himself and his own worth through selfless acts for others.
[©1964] (Knopf Books for young Readers, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0394817494 / ISBN-13: 978-0394817491
Related Lesson Plans
- Helpful Animals and Compassionate Humans in Folklore
- Aesop and Ananse: Animal Fables and Trickster Tales
- Folktales and Ecology: Animals and Humans in Cooperation and Conflict
Related Websites
- International Children's Digital Library
- Art Safari
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- National Gallery of Art
When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson—Pam Muñoz Ryan (K-3)
Marian Anderson’s recital at the Lincoln Memorial was a dramatic moment in the nation’s long quest to rise above racial divisions.
Brian Selznik (ill.)
(Scholastic Press, 2002)
ISBN-10: 0439269679 / ISBN-13: 978-0439269674.
Related Lesson Plans
- Dr. King's Dream
- Let Freedom Ring: The Life & Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Eleanor Roosevelt and the Rise of Social Reform in the 1930s
Related Websites
- American Experience: Marian Anderson
- History Matters
- African American History Month
- Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project (George Washington University)
- The History of Jim Crow
- National Park Service: Marian Anderson's recital at Lincoln Memorial
- Marian Anderson: The Lincoln Memorial Concert (1939, film)
- PBS The Presidents: FDR
A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution—Betsy and Giulio Maestro (K-3)
The authors offer a clear and simple account of why and how thirty-nine
men devised a Constitution that tied thirteen separate states into one United States of America.
(Lothrop Lee & Shepard, 1987)
ISBN-10: 0688068391 / ISBN-13: 978-0688068394
Related Lesson Plans
- The Preamble to the Constitution: How Do You Make a More Perfect Union?
- The First Amendment: What's Fair in a Free Country?
- Balancing Three Branches at Once: Our System of Checks and Balances
Related Reviewed Websites
—Grades 4-6—
Cesar: ¡Si, Se Puede! / Yes, We Can!—Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, David Diaz (ill.) (4-6)
The life and times of César Chávez are vividly re-created in this collection of poems. Where most biographies stick to the facts of what a person did, this one also touches on the man's character and values. Children will learn about Chávez, but, more importantly, they will learn the important lessons he taught, and they will be able to apply them to their own lives.
(Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books, 2005)
ISBN-10: 0761451722 / ISBN-13: 978-0761451723
Related Lesson Plans
- Esperanza Rising: Learning Not to Be Afraid to Start Over
- Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Power of Nonviolence
Related Reviewed Websites
Darby—Jonathon Scott Fuqua (4-6)
It is 1926, and nine-year-old Darby creates a stir in her small South
Carolina town by writing columns for the local newspaper urging whites to treat blacks as equals.
(Candlewick, 2002)
ISBN-10: 0763622907 / ISBN-13: 978-0763622909
Related Lesson Plans
- Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird: Profiles in Courage
- Dr. King's Dream
- Ordinary People, Ordinary Places: The Civil Rights Movement
Related Websites
Eagle Song—Joseph Bruchac (4-6)
Danny Bigtree, fresh from the Mohawk reservation, is taunted by his new Brooklyn schoolmates. The students move toward greater understanding and peace after they learn the story of Hiawatha, the Iroquois Peacemaker.
Related Lesson Plans
- Native American Cultures Across the U.S.
- Anishinabe/Ojibwe/Chippewa: Culture of an Indian Nation
- Not 'Indians,' Many Tribes: Native American Diversity
Related Reviewed Websites
- PBS We Shall Remain (online video)
- Celebrate We Shall Remain for Native American Heritage Month
- Earth Works (University of Cincinnati)
- National Museum of the American Indian
- Native American History
- Raid on Deerfield: The Many Stories of 1704
The Great Little Madison—Jean Fritz (4-6)
This biography traces the events and ideas that led James Madison
to become a great champion of a strong union and the Father of the Constitution.
(Putnam Juvenile, 1998) [©1989]
ISBN-10: 0399217681 / ISBN-13: 978-0399217685.
Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans
Related Reviewed Websites
- American President: James Madison
- EDSITEment’s Constitution Day minisite
- Congress for Kids: The Constitution
- American Experience: Dolley Madison
—Grades 7-8—
Chains—Laurie Halse Anderson (7-8)
This fast-paced novel reveals the heartache and struggles of a country and slave fighting for freedom. The characters are well developed, and the situations are realistic. An author's note gives insight into issues surrounding the Revolutionary War and the fight for the nation's freedom even though 20 percent of its people were in chains.
(Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, 2008)
ISBN-10: 1416905855 / ISBN-13: 978-1416905851
Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans
- After the American Revolution: Free African Americans in the North
- African-American Communities in the North Before the Civil War
- Perspective on the Slave Narrative
- Taking Up Arms and the Challenge of Slavery in the Revolutionary Era
Related Reviewed Websites
- African American History Month
- Africans in America
- African-American Women On-line Archival Collections
Hitch—Jeanette Ingold (7-8)
Out of work and out of money, Moss Trawnley signs up for a “hitch” in
the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), helping Montana ranchers facing Depression and drought.
(Harcourt Children’s Books, 1st ed., 2006)
ISBN-10: 0152047476 / ISBN-13: 978-0152047474
Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans
- African Americans and the New Deal’s Civilian Conservation Corp
- Dust Bowl Days
- Depression-Era Photographs: Worth a Thousand Words
EDSITEment Spotlight
Related Reviewed Websites
Lincoln Shot. A President’s Life Remembered—Barry Denenberg (7-8)
Noted children’s book biographer Barry Denenberg, award-winning illustrator Christopher Bing, and book designer Rich Deas collaborate on an intimate portrait of Abraham Lincoln. This arresting combination of Bing’s award-wining illustrations, plus archival photography and period typefaces and design is presented as a 19th century newspaper memorial edition.
(Feiwel & Friends, 2008)
ISBN-13: 9780312370138
Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans
- Abraham Lincoln on the American Union: “A Word Fitly Spoken”
- Picture Lincoln
- We Must Not Be Enemies: Lincoln's First Inaugural Address
EDSITEment Spotlight
Warriors Don’t Cry—Melba Pattillo Beals (7-8)
Melba Beals recounts her experience as one of the “Little Rock Nine,” the group of students who led the way to desegregation.
First choice:
ISBN-10: 0671866389 / ISBN-13: 978-0671866389
Second choice:
ISBN-10: 0671866397 / ISBN-13: 978-0671866396
Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans
- Dr. King's Dream
- Let Freedom Ring: The Life & Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Power of Nonviolence
- Martin Puryear’s Ladder for Booker T. Washington
- Ordinary People, Ordinary Places: The Civil Rights Movement
Related Reviewed Websites
—Grades 9-12—
American Creation: triumphs and tragedies at the founding of the republic—Joseph Ellis (9-12)
A brilliant examination of the period between the War of Independence and the Louisiana Purchase. Six stories, each centering on a significant creative achievement or failure, combine to portray often flawed men and their efforts to lay the republic's foundation.
(Knopf, 2007)
ISBN-10: 030726369X / ISBN-13: 978-0307263698
Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans
- The American War for Independence
- George Washington: The Living Symbol
- The Declaration of Independence: “An Expression of the American Mind”
- What Made George Washington a Good Military Leader?
- The Native Americans' Role in the American Revolution: Choosing Sides
- The Federalist and Anti-federalist Debates on Diversity and the Extended Republic
- The Constitutional Convention of 1787
- The Sedition Act: Certain Crimes Against the United States
- The First American Party System: U.S. Political Parties: The Principle of Legitimate Opposition
Related Reviewed Websites
- Alexander Hamilton: The Man who Made Modern America
- Jefferson’s Monticello: Thomas Jefferson and the Louisana Purchase
- Teaching American History
- Louisiana Digital Library
- Louisiana Territory at the time of the Purchase
- American Experience: Alexander Hamilton film
Killer Angels—Michael Shaara (9-12)
Michael Shaara won the Pulitzer Prize for this riveting and unforgettable novel about the Battle of Gettysburg.
(Ballantine Books, 2001) [Ó 1974]
ISBN-10: 0345444124 / ISBN-13: 978-0345444127
Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans
- The American Civil War: A “Terrible Swift Sword”
- The Gettysburg Address (1863)—Defining the American Union
- Life in the North and South 1847-1861: Before Brother Fought Brother
Interactives
Related Reviewed Websites
- National Park Service, Links to the Past
- Documents Civil War Women
- Valley of the Shadows
- Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
Lincoln in His Own Words—Milton Meltzer (9-12)
Historian Milton Melzer contributes context and commentary on the life and times, ideas, and achievements of Lincoln. Otherwise he lets Lincoln speak for himself.
Stephen Alcorn (ill.) (1993)
First choice:
Harcourt; 1st edition (October 1, 1993) ISBN-10: 0152454373 / ISBN-13: 978-0152454371
Second choice:
Sandpiper; Reprint edition (January 1, 2009) ISBN-10: 0152064362 / ISBN-13: 978-0152064365
Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans
EDSITEment Spotlight
Related Reviewed Websites
Carver: A Life in Poems—Marilyn Nelson (9-12)
Marilyn Nelson’s lyrical poems, complemented by black and white photographs, speak eloquently about the inspiring life and character of George Washington Carver.
(Front Street imprint of Boyds Mill Press, 1st ed., 2001)
ISBN-10: 1886910537 / ISBN-13: 978-1886910539
Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans
- More Amazing Americans: A WebQuest
- Martin Puryear’s Ladder for Booker T. Washington
- The Battle Over Reconstruction
Related Reviewed Websites
Twelve Angry Men—Reginald Rose (9-12)
This stage play, recounting the deliberations of a twelve-man jury in a murder case, examines the complexity of justice in a democratic society.
(Penguin Classics, 2006) [written in 1954]
ISBN-10: 0143104403 / ISBN-13: 978-0143104407
Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans
- Twelve Angry Men: Trial by Jury as a Right and as a Political Institution
- Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird: Profiles in Courage
- To Kill A Mockingbird and the Scottsboro Boys Trial: Profiles in Courage
Related Reviewed Websites
The Souls of Black Folk—W. E. B. DuBois (9-12)
Looking back at Emancipation and its effects, DuBois’s proclamation that “the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color line” anticipates and advances the civil rights movement.
(Oxford University Press, 2007) [written in 1903]
ISBN-10: 0192806785 / ISBN-13: 978-0192806789
Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans
- African-American Soldiers in World War I: The 92nd and 93rd Divisions
- African-American Soldiers After World War I: Had Race Relations Changed?
Related Reviewed Websites
- African American History Month
- CSpan American Writers: W.E.B. Du Bois
- Harlem 1900-1940: An African-American Community
- The History of Jim Crow
—Bonus—
The Civil War: A Film by Ken Burns
The Civil War: An Illustrated History—Geoffrey Ward, Ric Burns, Ken Burns (Bonus)
In the acclaimed, best-selling companion volume to the PBS series, text is interwoven with more than 500 illustrations: rare Civil War photographs, paintings, lithographs, and maps in full color.
(DVD set released 2004)
(to be purchased directly at a discount from PBS)
Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans
- The Growing Crisis of Sectionalism in Antebellum America: A House Dividing
- Life in the North and South 1847-1861: Before Brother Fought Brother
- Families in Bondage
- Abraham Lincoln on the American Union: “A Word Fitly Spoken”
- The American Civil War: A “Terrible Swift Sword”
- The Red Badge of Courage: A New Kind of Courage
- The Emancipation Proclamation: Freedom's First Steps
- Picture Lincoln
Related Reviewed Websites
- National Archives
- The Lincoln Institute: Studies of Abraham Lincoln
- Lincoln/Net
- Teaching American History
- HarpWeek
- Valley of the Shadow
Declaring Independence: The Origin and Influence of America’s Founding Document—ed. Christian Y. Dupont (Bonus)
This handsome volume features images and artifacts from the Albert H. Small Declaration of Independence Collection at the University of Virginia, and includes scholarly essays and biographies of the Declaration’s signers.
(University of Virginia Press, 2008)
(to be reprinted and purchased by National Trust for the Humanities)
Related EDSITEment Lesson Plans
- The Declaration of Independence: “An Expression of the American Mind”
- Declare the Causes: The Declaration of Independence
- Common Sense: The Rhetoric of Popular Democracy
- The American War for Independence
Related Reviewed Websites
- Library of Congress: American Memory
- National Parks Service: Links to the Past
- Internet Public Library