Exploring Top Books of Shelfari

Tags: we the people bookshelf on a more perfect union

Filter with multiple tags

plan to read
reading now
I’ve read it
favorite
want to own
own it
remove book
Twelve Angry Men
by Reginald Rose
A blistering character study and an examination of the American melting pot and the judicial system that keeps it in check, Twelve Angry Men holds at its core a deeply patriotic faith in the US legal system. The play centres on Juror Eight, who is at first the sold holdout in an 11-1 guilty vote. Eight sets his sights not on proving the other jurors wrong but rather on getting them to look at the situation in a... (more)
plan to read
reading now
I’ve read it
favorite
want to own
own it
remove book
Darby
by Jonathon Scott Fuqua
In 1926, nine-year-old Darby Carmichael stirs up trouble in Marlboro County, South Carolina, when she writes a story for the local newspaper promoting racial equality.
plan to read
reading now
I’ve read it
favorite
want to own
own it
remove book
Eagle Song
by Joseph Bruchac
Danny Bigtree's family has moved to a new city, and Danny can't seem to fit in. He's homesick for the Mohawk reservation, and the kids in his class tease him about being an Indian— the thing that makes Danny most proud. Can he find the courage to stand up for himself? "This appealing portrayal of a strong family offers an unromanticized view of Native American cultureand gives a subtle lesson in the meaning of... (more)
plan to read
reading now
I’ve read it
favorite
want to own
own it
remove book
Cesar
Si, Se Puede!/ Yes, We Can!
by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, David Diaz
An award-winning title now available in Spanish Born in 1927 in Yuma, Arizona, César Chavez lived the hard-scrabble life of a migrant worker during the Depression. Although his mother wanted him to get an education, César left school after eighth grade to work. He grew to be a charismatic leader and founded the National Farm Workers Association, an organization that fought for basic rights for farm workers.... (more)
plan to read
reading now
I’ve read it
favorite
want to own
own it
remove book
A More Perfect Union
The Story of Our Constitution
by Betsy Maestro
This easy-to-understand book tells why and how the Constitution of the United States was created. "Simple, attractive, informative....The most accessible history of the Constitution to date."--School Library Journal.
plan to read
reading now
I’ve read it
favorite
want to own
own it
remove book
The Great Little Madison
by Jean Fritz
In the days before microphones and TV interviews, getting people to listen to you was not an easy task. But James Madison used his quiet eloquence, intelligence and passion for unified colonies to help shape the Constitution, steer America through the turmoil of two wars, and ensure that our government, and nation, remained intact. uAn excellent, fascinating, indispensable resource. -- Kirkus Reviews , pointer... (more)
plan to read
reading now
I’ve read it
favorite
want to own
own it
remove book
Tico and the Golden Wings
by Leo Lionni
All Tico the wingless bird wants is a pair of golden wings to carry him up over the mountaintops. But when Tico's wish is granted, none of his friends will talk to him. What's so wrong with being different? Tico wonders all alone. One day Tico helps a crying man by giving him one of his golden feathers. A black feather appears in its place. Each day he gives a feather away to someone in need until his golden wings... (more)
plan to read
reading now
I’ve read it
favorite
want to own
own it
remove book
When Marian Sang
by Pam Munoz Ryan, Brian Selznick
Marian Anderson is best known for her historic concert at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939, which drew an integrated crowd of over 75,000 people in pre-Civil Rights America. While this momentous event showcased the uniqueness of her character, and the struggles of the times in which she lived, it is only part of her story. Like the opera arias Marian would come to sing, Ryan's text is as moving as a libretto, and... (more)
plan to read
reading now
I’ve read it
favorite
want to own
own it
remove book
Carver
A Life in Poems
by Marilyn Nelson
This collection of poems assembled by award-winning writer Marilyn Nelson provides young readers with a compelling, lyrical account of the life of revered African-American botanist and inventor George Washington Carver. Born in 1864 and raised by white slave owners, Carver left home in search of an education and eventually earned a master’s degree in agriculture. In 1896, he was invited by Booker T. Washington to... (more)
plan to read
reading now
I’ve read it
favorite
want to own
own it
remove book
Seeds of America: Book 1
Chains
by Laurie Halse Anderson
If an entire nation could seek its freedom, why not a girl?As the Revolutionary War begins, thirteen-year-old Isabel wages her own fight . . . for freedom. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, she and her sister, Ruth, in a cruel twist of fate, become the property of a malicious New York City couple, the Locktons, who have no sympathy for the American Revolution and even less for Ruth and Isabel.... (more)
plan to read
reading now
I’ve read it
favorite
want to own
own it
remove book
Declaring Independence: The Origin and Influence of America's Founding Document
Featuring the Albert H. Small Declaration of Independence Collection at the University of Virginia Library From the preface "The Declaration of Independence is a statement of conviction and intent. When Jefferson wrote that `all men are created equal,' he, a slave master, knew perfectly how much had still to be done by those who would follow to attain such a society in fact not theory. But that is part... (more)
plan to read
reading now
I’ve read it
favorite
want to own
own it
remove book
Lincoln Shot: A President's Life Remembered
by Barry Denenberg
Lincoln Shot So begins this intimate portrait of Abraham Lincoln. Conceived as a one year anniversary edition of a newspaper, dated April 14, 1866, strongly evocative of the time and the nation’s mood. The moment-by-moment recital of the events of the day that ended in assassination holds readers enthralled awaiting the tragic end. The account of the flight, capture, and hanging of some of the conspirators is... (more)
plan to read
reading now
I’ve read it
favorite
want to own
own it
remove book
Lincoln in His Own Words
by Milton Meltzer
Revered by many as our greatest president, Abraham Lincoln is also considered one of America's greatest writers and rhetoricians. His speeches and numerous writings are testament to his powers of communication, and they convey the highest ideals of freedom, democracy, and equality in simple yet eloquent language. Historian Milton Meltzer has compiled a moving collection of our sixteenth president's speeches,... (more)
plan to read
reading now
I’ve read it
favorite
want to own
own it
remove book
The Souls of Black Folk (Oxford World's Classics)
by W. E. B. Du Bois
Originally published in 1903, The Souls of Black Folk is a classic study of race, culture, and education at the turn of the twentieth century. With its singular combination of essays, memoir, and fiction, this book vaulted Du Bois to the forefront of American political commentary and civil rights activism. It is an impassioned, at times searing account of the situation of African Americans in the United States,... (more)
plan to read
reading now
I’ve read it
favorite
want to own
own it
remove book
American Creation
Triumphs and Tragedies in the Founding of the Republic
by Joseph J. Ellis
From the prizewinning author of the best-selling Founding Brothers and American Sphinx , a masterly and highly ironic examination of the founding years of our country. The last quarter of the eighteenth century remains the most politically creative era in American history, when a dedicated and determined group of men undertook a bold experiment in political ideals. It was a time of triumphs; yet, as Joseph J.... (more)
plan to read
reading now
I’ve read it
favorite
want to own
own it
remove book
The Civil War
An Illustrated History
by Geoffrey C. Ward
This huge, magnificent pictorial history portrays the Civil War as never before, from the political events leading to the firing of the first shot as Fort Sumter to the surrender at Appomattox Court House. A Companion volume to the forthcoming 9-part Public Television series. 500 photographs.
plan to read
reading now
I’ve read it
favorite
want to own
own it
remove book
The Killer Angels
A Novel of the Civil War
by Michael Shaara
"My favorite historical novel...A superb re-creation of the Battle of Gettysburg, but its real importance is its insight into what the war was about, and what it meant." JAMES M. McPHERSON Author of BATTLE CRY OF FREEDOM Winner of the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for fiction In the four most bloody and courageous days of our nation's history, two armies fought for two dreams. One dreamed of freedom, the other of a way of... (more)
plan to read
reading now
I’ve read it
favorite
want to own
own it
remove book
Warriors Don't Cry
A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High
by Melba Beals
An innocent teenager. An unexpected hero. In 1957, Melba Pattillo turned sixteen. That was also the year she became a warrior on the front lines of a civil rights firestorm. Following the landmark 1954 Supreme Court ruling, Brown v. Board of Education, Melba was one of nine teenagers chosen to integrate Little Rock's Central High School. Throughout her harrowing ordeal, Melba was taunted by her schoolmates... (more)
plan to read
reading now
I’ve read it
favorite
want to own
own it
remove book
Hitch
by Jeanette Ingold
Teenager Moss Trawnley is in desperate need of work, and so he decides to head out west as a member of Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps to help protect Montana’s wildlife from devastating erosion and wildfires. Despite the grueling work, Moss has time to play baseball, make lifelong friends, and rediscover what he almost lost in the Great Depression: himself. Bringing an important era of U.S.... (more)