Knowledge of our nation’s history is an important part of the American experience. By understanding and remembering the struggles of our nation’s forefathers and the birth of our democracy, we are better able to appreciate our rights and privileges as residents and citizens of the United States. To that end, history and civics are an integral component of a public school education, and a required element in the U.S. naturalization and citizenship process. Yet, several polls over the past decade suggest that many Americans do not know their history or their civil rights.

In order to promote greater historical and civic consciousness, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has mounted an initiative to preserve historical documents, promote the teaching of American history in our schools, and offer summer seminars and institutes on history and government. The NEH also promotes learning about our civil rights through youth literature. Every year, the NEH, in collaboration with the American Library Association, releases the “We the People Bookshelf,” a list of books that celebrate the American experience. These texts offer fascinating literary perspectives on diversity, history, democracy, justice and immigration, among other topics.

The We the People Bookshelf 2006-2007 is “Pursuit of Happiness” and includes fifteen novels and short story collections that address American values and the American identity. These books, categorized by recommended reading level, are:

Kindergarten to Grade 3 Aesop's Fables by Aesop Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

Grades 4 to 6 Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt The Great Migration: An American Story by Jacob Lawrence These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung by Laurence Yep

Grades 7 to 8 Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Grades 9 to 12 Kindred by Octavia Butler O Pioneers! by Willa Cather The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Common Sense by Thomas Paine Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

School and public libraries may apply through the NEH to receive free hardcover copies of the We the People Bookshelf. Several of the books are also available in Spanish translation. Last year, 2,000 libraries received free copies of the bookshelf. For more information about the theme, the books or the application process, you may visit www.humanities.gov or www.ala.org/wethepeople .

In addition to the We the People Bookshelf, the American Library Association also offers a recommended children’s reading list. The following books also celebrate and explore the American experience, especially through issues of ethnic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic diversity:

A Rose for Abby by Donna Guthrie Aekyung’s Dream by Min Paek Bein’ With You This Way by W. Nikola-Lisa Building a Bridge by Lisa Shook Begaye Come Home with Me: A Multicultural Treasure Hunt by Aylette Jenness Father’s Rubber Shoes by Yumi Heo Grandpa’s Corner Store by DyAnne Di-Salvo-Ryan Heroes by Ken Mochizuki How My Parents Learned to Eat by Ina Friedman Mama Provi and the Pot of Rice by Sylvia Rosa-Casanova Miss Tizzy by Libba Moore Gray Molly’s Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen Nim and the War Effort by Milly Lee Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street by Roni Schotter Now We Can Have a Wedding by Judy Cox One Afternoon by Yumi Heo One Hundred is a Family by Pam Munoz Ryan Smoky Night by Eve Bunting Something Beautiful by Sharon Dennis Wyeth Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli Something’s Happening on Calabash Street by Judith Ross Enderle and Stephanie Jacob Gordon The Sneetches, and Other Stories by Dr. Seuss The Story of Ruby Bridges by Robert Coles The Trees of the Dancing Goat by Patricia Polacco The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin Tikvah Means Hope by Patricia Polacco Tomas and the Library Lady by Pat Mora Yoko by Rosemary Wells

I encourage you to share these books with your family. Although they are geared for school children, their lessons and insights can be appreciated by all. Read individually or together, they can supplement our understanding of and appreciation for our nation and the experience of being American.