We the People

Becoming American

Public and school (K-12) libraries were invited to apply to be among the 2,000 libraries selected to receive the third We the People Bookshelf, fifteen thematically related books along with supplementary materials, including bookplates, bookmarks, and posters, which embody the theme of "Becoming American."

Congratulations to five JPL Libraries for receiving the 2005-06 We the People Bookshelf "Becoming American"! Please contact your library for information about the books and related programs.

• Main Library
• Highlands Regional Library
• Mandarin Regional Library
• South Mandarin Regional Library
• West Regional Regional Library

The Bookshelf

Kindergarten through 3rd Grade

• The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland
• Watch the Stars Come Out by Riki Levinson
• Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say

4th Grade through 6th Grade

• Immigrant Kids by Russell Freedman
• The People Could Fly: African Black Folktales by Virginia Hamilton
• Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
• In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Betty Bao Lord

7th Grade through 8th Grade

• 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

9th Grade through 12th Grade

• Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
• Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin edited by Louis P. Masur
• Barrio Boy by Ernesto Galarza
• Giants in the Earth: A Saga of the Prairie by Ole Edvart Rølvaag

Related Links

We the People Bookshelf

Learn more about the We the People Bookshelf from the American Library Association.

National Endowment for the Humanities

An independent grant-making agency of the United States government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The We the People Bookshelf was provided by the NEH and the American Library Association.

Ben’s Guide to Government

Not everyone who lives in the United States is an American citizen. Learn about becoming an American with Ben Franklin.