Parish library receives book donation grant

By Special to The Democrat | The Natchez Democrat

Published Thursday, June 26, 2008

FERRIDAY — The Concordia Parish Library has received a major gift through the We the People Bookshelf national grant project.

The library was one of 3,000 libraries across the country selected to receive a We the People Bookshelf grant, which provided free hardcover editions of 17 classic books on the theme of “Created Equal,” Spanish translations of four of the titles and supporting materials to participating libraries. The grant was awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities in cooperation with the American Library Association.

The We the People Bookshelf on “Created Equal” contains books for different grade levels.

Kindergarten through third-grade books include “The Ugly Duckling” by Hans Christian Anderson, “The Gettysburg Address” by Abraham Lincoln and “Pink and Say” by Patricia Polacco.

Books for grades four through six are “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 and “Lyddie” by Katherine Paterson.

Seventh and eighth-grade books are “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 and “Breaking Through” by Francisco Jiménez.

Books for ninth through 12th graders are “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, “Lincoln’s Virtues: An Ethical Biography” by William Lee Miller and “Amistad: A Novel” by David Pesci.

Displays of these new materials with bookmarks and posters are exhibited at the Clayton, Ferriday and Vidalia libraries.

Special programs using these books will be June 30 through July 4 during the summer reading programs.

The library staff will be sharing these books with young readers along with the film “All Aboard America.”