Use of documents from the National Archives (above right) can expand on the story told in The Fighting Infantryman. Image from National Archives

Elementary school librarian Tom Bober has been thinking about America’s 250th birthday for a few years. He wondered what the semiquincentennial will mean to his students beyond fireworks and flags. And how can he and his library at Captain Elementary in St. Louis, MO, make it more than the summer celebrations? How can he share the story of the United States?

The answer: Picture books and primary sources.

“My kids connect with stories, and we have great authors [whose] writing can help shape their understanding of what these 250 years have been beyond the patriotic music and the flags,” says Bober, a 2018 Library Journal Mover & Shaker.

As we begin 2026, Bober’s district hasn’t had any discussions about official, curricular ways to mark the historic occasion. And while Bober spoke with classroom teachers, who were supportive of his idea, he knows they don’t have the bandwidth to take on more.

Bober will read Her Right Foot to students, then share ­drawings of the Statue of Liberty’s construction (above bottom) courtesy from the Library of Congress collection.

“The classroom teachers that I work with are so overwhelmed with curriculum already, thinking about layering one more thing on top of it is not necessarily in everybody’s wheelhouse,” he says. “So I think this is really a great place for the library to step in and play a role that is going to be hopefully appreciated by not just those teachers, but, of course, by the students and the parents as well.”

Bober broke the 250 years into 50-year sections and searched his c­ollection for nonfiction picture books that would help tell a well-rounded story of America.

“I want to show success, but I also want to show struggle,” he says. “I want to bring out those marginalized voices, and those voices of people who are speaking out. I want to show growth and change and opportunity that might be taken, whether it was offered or not.”

He is calling the program “25 Stories for 250 Years.”

Bober selected one book for the entire K–5 school. Then each grade will read one book for every 50 years. It’s not just an elaborate and themed ­read-aloud library program, though. Bober found historical primary sources to go with each title that can “allow us to get a little bit closer to that history or get to it in a little bit of a different way that the book may not allow us to do.”

When students return from winter break, the entire school will be read Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers with illustrations by Shawn Harris. The book by the 2024 Newbery Medalist focuses on the Statue of Liberty’s right foot. It will be paired with drawings of the construction of the Statue of Liberty from the Library of Congress website.

After that, every grade has five books—with a few titles overlapping—and related primary sources to expand the learning.

“When you bring in a primary source, [you get] this back-and-forth play between the author’s words and the illustrator’s images and then the actual source documentation that may have even inspired the story that the students are getting to experience.”

For example, second graders will be read Shirley Chisholm Dared: The Story of the First Black Woman in Congress by Alicia D. Williams and April Harrison, then listen to part of a speech she gave that is available online, to hear from her directly.”

“We’ve got a great story [about] her, but then we get to actually connect with her in a different way by listening to her speak and hearing her and ­experiencing her voice and her words,” says Bober.

Fifth grade classes will hear ­Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge by Ray Anthony Shepard and Keith Mallett, then access National Park Service documents that show George Washington trying to make Judge return.

“I don’t want to claim that it’s perfect,” Bober says of his list of books. “What I want to claim is that I think it’s a very good representation of the country and the stories behind it that our library collection offers.”

He shared the programming with parents in December, inviting them to check out the rest of the books on the list to expand their child’s experience beyond what they are being read aloud for their grade, if they are so inclined. Those who do will receive a link to the primary source, as well as a couple of questions to spark conversation with their child about the story and the source.

The 250th celebrations will take place over summer break, but when Captain Elementary students return in the fall, Bober will run the program again with an entirely new set of books.

“I think it’s going to be a fun way to start the year and a way to continue what we’ve been [doing],” he said. “I like those things that bridge over a school year like that.”

Bober has spent years curating a large collection of nonfiction titles, as well as curating primary sources. Because of that, he was able to use a lot of work he had already done. The titles cover various topics from lighter subjects to the serious, all with an important lesson about the history of the country to share with students.

For example, for kindergartners, Bober has selected The Painter and the President: Gilbert Stuart’s Brush with George Washington by Sarah Albee and Stacy Innerst, Earmuffs for Everyone!: How Chester Greenwood Became Known as the Inventor of Earmuffs by Melissa McCarthy, Fearless Flyer: Ruth Law and Her Flying Machine by Heather Lang and Raul Colón, How Do You Spell Unfair?: MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee by ­Carole Boston Weatherford and Frank ­Morrison, and All the Way to the Top: How One Girl’s Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything by ­Annette Bay Pimentel and Nabi H. Ali.

This is a scalable project for librarians who don’t have as much time or as expansive a collection, Bober says.

“Even if they picked one story from each half century and had five stories, that would be a unique way to look at the history of this country and to honor and celebrate the stories that make up this larger thing that we look at as our country’s history.”
 

BOOKLIST
All Grades • Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers and Shawn Harris   Kindergarten • The Painter and the President: Gilbert Stuart’s Brush with George Washington by Sarah Albee and Stacy Innerst • Earmuffs for Everyone!: How Chester Greenwood Became Known as the Inventor of Earmuffs by Melissa McCarthy • Fearless Flyer: Ruth Law and Her Flying Machine by Heather Lang and Raul Colón • How Do You Spell Unfair?: MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee by Carole Boston Weatherford and Frank Morrison • All the Way to the Top: How One Girl’s Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything by Annette Bay Pimentel and Nabi H. Ali   First • The Painter and the President: Gilbert Stuart’s Brush with George Washington by Sarah Albee and Stacy Innerst • One Girl’s Voice: How Lucy Stone Helped Change the Law of the Land by Vivian Kirkfield and Rebecca Gibbon • Fearless Flyer: Ruth Law and Her Flying Machine by Heather Lang and Raul Colón • How Do You Spell Unfair?: MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee by Carole Boston Weatherford and Frank Morrison • All the Way to the Top: How One Girl’s Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything by Annette Bay Pimentel and Nabi H. Ali	Second • Revolutionary Prudence Wright: Leading the Minute Women in the Fight for Independence by Beth Anderson and Susan Reagan • Guts for Glory: The Story of Civil War Soldier Rosetta Wakeman by Joanna Lapati • Skybound!: Starring Mary Myers as Carlotta, Daredevil Aeronaut and Scientist by Sue Ganz-Schmitt and Iacopo Bruno • Shirley Chisholm Dared: The Story of the First Black Woman in Congress by Alicia D. Williams and April Harrison • Go Forth and Tell: The Life of Augusta Baker, Librarian and Master Storyteller by Breanna J. McDaniel and April Harrison   Third • Cloaked in Courage: Uncovering Deborah Sampson, Patriot Soldier by Beth Anderson and Anne Lambelet • William Still and His Freedom Stories: The Father of the Underground Railroad by Don Tate • Curve & Flow: The Elegant Vision of L.A. Architect Paul R. Williams by Andrea J. Loney and Keith Mallett   • An Equal Shot: How the Law Title IX Changed America by Helaine Becker and Dow Phumiruk • Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag by Rob Sanders and Steven Salerno	Fourth • Her Name Was Mary Katharine: The Only Woman Whose Name Is on the Declaration of Independence by Ella Schwartz and Dow Phumiruk • Freedom on the Sea: The True Story of the Civil War Hero Robert Smalls and His Daring Escape to Freedom by Michael Boulware Moore and Bryan Collier • The Fabulous Fannie Farmer: Kitchen Scientist and America’s Cook by Emma Bland Smith and Susan Reagan • Two Grooms on a Cake: The Story of America’s First Gay Wedding by Rob Sanders and Robbie Cathro • Beam of Light: The Story of the First White House Menorah by Elisa Boxer and Sofia Moore   Fifth • Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge by Ray Anthony Shepard and Keith Mallett • The Fighting Infantryman: The Story of Albert D. J. Cashier, Transgender Civil War Soldier by Rob Sanders and Nabi Ali • Soldier for Equality: José de la Luz Sáenz and the Great War by Duncan Tonatiuh • A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Speech That Inspired a Nation by Barry Wittenstein and Jerry Pinkney • Dr. Fauci: How a Boy from Brooklyn Became America’s Doctor by Kate Messner and Alexandra Bye