Avon Middle High School Library
awarded We the People Bookshelf Collection
from National Endowment for the Humanities

The Avon Middle High School  Library is one of 4,000 libraries across the country selected by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the American Library Association (ALA) to receive free hardcover editions of 17 classic  books as part of the We the People Bookshelf grant program. The theme of this year’s Bookshelf is “A More Perfect Union.” 

The We the People Bookshelf on “A More Perfect Union” 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 public and school 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  AMHS Library is planning  to use materials earmarked for younger readers in a cooperative program with the Avon Public Library where our students will share books with For more information about the We the People Bookshelf project, please visit http://publicprograms.ala.org/bookshelf.  We encourage you to visit the library to browse related displays and to peruse the latest edition to our expanding collection.