Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson announced today an award of 17 classic books on the theme of “Created Equal” to the following libraries: Boise Public Library, Jefferson Elementary Library (Boise), St. Joseph’s Catholic School Library (Boise), Burley Public Library, Portneuf District Library, Ammon Elementary School (Idaho Falls), Idaho Falls High School Library, Mountain Home Public Library, Madison Library District (Rexburg), Ririe Public Library, and Wendell High School Library. This award is made possible through the National Endowment for the Humanities’(NEH) We the People Bookshelf program. 

“History fascinates me,” Simpson said. “I’m pleased that so many libraries in Idaho will benefit from the We the People Bookshelf Award. Our young readers will gain a greater understanding of what it means to be an American based on the premise that all people are created equal.”

The We the People Bookshelf program will distribute 3000 sets of books to city, town, and neighborhood libraries as well as libraries in public, private, and charter schools and home school consortia. Each library will receive a set of the 17 books along with 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 books selected for the “Created Equal” Bookshelf include several on Abraham Lincoln to facilitate programming for the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial over the next year.  These include a “History in a Box” collection of resource materials on Lincoln developed by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American history.

The We the People "Created Equal" Bookshelf contains the following books:

Kindergarten to Grade 3

• The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen
• The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln, illustrated by Michael McCurdy
• Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco
• Pink y Say by Patricia Polacco (translated by Alejandra López Varela)

Grades 4 to 6

• Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
• Give Me Liberty!  The Story of the Declaration of Independence  by Russell Freedman
• Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman
• Many Thousand Gone: African Americans from Slavery to Freedom by Virginia Hamilton
• Lyddie by Katherine Paterson
• Lyddie by Katherine Paterson (translated by Rosa Benavides)

Grades 7 to 8

• Saturnalia by Paul Fleishman
• Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Russell Freedman
• Abraham Lincoln the Writer: A Treasury of His Greatest Speeches And Letters edited by Harold Holzer
• Breaking Through by Francisco Jiménez
• Senderos Fronterizos by Francisco Jiménez (translated by Francisco Jiménez)

Grades 9 to 12

•   Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution by Natalie S. Bober
• That All People May Be One People, Send Rain to Wash the Face of the Earth by Nez Perce Chief Joseph
• Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
• Flores para Algernon  by Daniel Keyes (translated by Paz Barroso)
• Lincoln’s Virtues: An Ethical Biography by William Lee Miller
• Amistad: A Novel by David Pesci

The bookshelf program is part of the NEH’s We the People program, which supports projects that strengthen the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture.