SPECIAL TO THE REPORTER

Three Shelby County libraries will receive 15 classic books about &8220;Becoming American&8221; through the National Endowment for the Humanities&8217; We the People Bookshelf program.

The awards were announced last week by U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus.

North Shelby Library and libraries at Calera and Vincent high schools will receive the books.

&8220;We are a nation of immigrants and as our nation continues to grow and evolve, it is important that we hold dear our strongest common bond: that we are all Americans. It is my hope this program will give our communities a chance to come together, read and share our own stories of how we became Americans,&8221; Bachus said.

As part of the award, the libraries agreed to hold public programming for students including reading competitions, essay contests, guest speakers and other community-enriching activities.

Each library will receive the following books: &8220;The Lotus Seed&8221; by Sherry Garland, &8220;Watch the Stars Come Out&8221; by Riki Levinson, &8220;Grandfather&8217;s Journey&8221; by Allen Say, &8220;Immigrant Kids&8221; by Russell Freedman, &8220;The People Could Fly: The Picture Book&8221; by Virginia Hamilton, &8220;Rip Van Winkle&8221; by Washington Irving, &8220;In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson&8221; by Betty Bao Lord, &8220;Rifles for Watie&8221; by Harold Keith, &8220;The Glory Field&8221; by Walter Dean Myers, &8220;A Tree Grows in Brooklyn&8221; by Betty Smith, &8220;Dragonwings&8221; by Laurence Yep, &8220;Death Comes for the Archbishop&8221; by Willa Cather, &8220;Barrio Boy&8221; by Ernesto Galarza, &8220;Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin&8221; edited by Louis P. Masur and &8220;Giants in the Earth: A Saga of the Prairie&8221; by Ole Edvart Rolvaag.