Washington, D.C. - United States Representative Chris Van Hollen today announced an award of 15 classic books on the theme of “courage” to Bethesda’s Lycee Rochambeau School Library, made possible through the National Endowment for the Humanities’(NEH) We the People Bookshelf program.
"Libraries serve as beacons of learning in schools and communities," said Van Hollen. "The We the People Bookshelf enables younger readers to examine the meaning of courage from many perspectives. These books inspire readers with stories of characters, real and fictional, who demonstrated personal courage when faced with difficult situations in uncertain times."
The We the People Bookshelf program will distribute one 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, 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 We the People Bookshelf on "courage" contains the following books:
Grades K-3: The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz, Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott, and Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig.
Grades 4-6: The Matchlock Gun by Walter D. Edmonds, The Dream Keeper and Other Poems by Langston Hughes, My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George, and Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
Grades 7-8: Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass, and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein.
Grades 9-12: The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
The bookshelf program 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.