The "Created Equal" Bookshelf
The American nation, observed Abraham Lincoln, was “conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”
The “Created Equal” Bookshelf provides opportunities for young people to explore what the Revolutionary generation meant when it declared that “all men are created equal.” What challenges has America faced, and where has it shown progress, in its efforts to live up to the ideal of universal human equality? How did Abraham Lincoln, whose bicentennial we celebrate in 2009, contribute to the idea and the reality of human equality in America?
Three thousand libraries received the the “Created Equal” Bookshelf—a collection of seventeen classic hardcover books for young readers, all related to the “Created Equal” theme. In addition, libraries received four of these books in Spanish translation, a bonus “History in a Box” resource kit created by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and supplementary materials for programming, including bookplates, boomarks, and posters.
Books included in the “Created Equal” Bookshelf are:
Kindergarten to Grade 3
- The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen
- The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln
- Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco
- Pink Y Say by Patricia Polacco (translated by Alejandra Lopez Varela)
Grades 4 to 6
- Saturnalia by Paul Fleischman
- 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
- Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
- Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Russell Freedman
- Abraham Lincoln the Writer: A Treasury of His Greatest Speeches and Letters ed. by Harold Holzer
- Breaking Through by Francisco Jiménez
- Senderos Fronterizos: Breaking Through Spanish Edition 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 Pesc
Bonus:
History in a Box resource materials on Abraham Lincoln developed by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, including a resource book, CD, interactive CD-ROM, and posters featuring primary source documents, photographs, artwork, maps, songs, and other teaching resources.
NEH selected these books in consultation with members of the ALA and members of the Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC), a division of the ALA.
Applications and awards
Applications are no longer being accepted. The application period was September 10, 2007, through January 25, 2008.
In April 2008, 3,000 libraries received the “Created Equal” Bookshelf. Find the names and locations of the libraries that received awards.
Programs on the theme “Created Equal” theme take place in libraries between May 1, 2008, and April 30, 2009.
Find out more about the We the People Bookshelf.
