| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
|
Thursday, September 15, 2016
A Note from Meadowlark: September 2016
Finally! Here's a little update on Meadowlark.
Monday, August 22, 2016
Kansas Book Festival News
Meadowlark author, Michael D. Graves, will be presenting at the Kansas Book Festival on Saturday, September 10, at 10:00am. The Kansas Notable Book Awards will be presented at 9:00am.
Saturday, June 25, 2016
A Meadowlark Book on the 2016 Kansas Notable List
The State Library of Kansas Announces the 2016 Kansas Notable Books
15 books celebrating Kansas cultural heritage
Topeka, KS — The State Library of Kansas is pleased to announce the 11th annual selection of Kansas Notable Books. The fifteen books feature quality titles with wide public appeal, either written by Kansans or about a Kansas-related topic. The Kansas Notable Book List highlights our lively contemporary writing community and encourages readers to enjoy some of the best writing of the authors among us.
“The Kansas Notable Books Committee considered the eligible books published in 2015. I was delighted to receive the recommended list and make the final decision,” said State Librarian Jo Budler. “Our list is intended to showcase Kansas’ unique talent and history while encouraging residents to visit their library and check out the celebrated titles.”
An awards ceremony will be held at the Kansas Book Festival, on September 10, 2016 at the State Capitol, to recognize the talented Notable Book authors.
Kansas Notable Books is a project of the Kansas Center for the Book, a program of the State Library. Throughout the award year, the State Library promotes and encourages promotion of all the titles on that year's list at literary events, and among librarians and booksellers.
For more information about Kansas Notable Books, call 785-296-3296, visit www.kslib.info/notablebooks or email infodesk@ks.gov.
2016 Kansas Notable Books
Alphabet School by Stephen T. Johnson (Lawrence)
Published by Simon & Schuster
Explore the ins and outs of letters A to Z in a school setting with this innovative picture book. The letter G is what’s left of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, the letter F is a Kansas flag pole, and two library bookends become the letter M. Children will enjoy finding letters on every page. Preschool – Grade 2.
A Bitter Magic by Roderick Townley (Leawood)
Published by Alfred A. Knopf
Cisley’s mother vanished – on stage, during a magic act in front of a packed theater. An astonishing illusion, but also perhaps the last as Maria Thummel never reappears. It’s up to Cisley to hunt for clues to her mother’s disappearance, puzzling over broken mirrors, ever-shifting labyrinths, a closet full of whispering dresses, and the scent of a pure black rose. Cisley must discover her own powers to learn what’s real and what is simply an illusion. Grades 4 – 8.
Bottled: A Mom's Guide to Early Recovery by Dana Bowman (Lindsborg)
Published by Central Recovery Press
An unflinching and hilarious memoir about recovery as a mother of young children, Bowman explains the perils moms face with drinking and chronicles the author’s path to recovery, from hitting bottom to the months of early sobriety – to her now (in)frequent moments of peace. Bottled offers practical suggestions on how to be a sober, present-in-the-moment mom, one day at a time, while providing much needed levity. Each chapter ends with a top ten, such as Top Ten Annoying Recovery Slogans That Actually Work.
The Boy Who Became Buffalo Bill: Growing Up Billy Cody in Bleeding Kansas by Andrea Warren (Prairie Village) Published by Two Lions
The greatest showman of his era, Buffalo Bill was the legendary star of the famous Wild West show. But long before stardom, Buffalo Bill – born Billy Cody – had to grow up fast as his family was caught up in the violence of Bleeding Kansas. At age eleven, Billy worked on wagon trains and rode for the Pony Express. By age seventeen, he became a soldier, a scout, and a spy. Learn how Billy’s youth made him into an American legend. Grades 4 – 8.
Diary of a Waitress: The Not-So-Glamorous Life of a Harvey Girl by Carolyn Meyer (Albuquerque NM) Published by Calkins Creek
When gutsy Kitty Evans answers an ad to work for Fred Harvey’s restaurants located along western railroad lines, she never expected to have the adventure of a lifetime. Kitty’s journal captures interactions with everyone from railroaders to hobos, along with the funny and often painful experiences she and her fellow waitresses endure. Primary source photographs illustrate the Harvey buildings and local people. Grades 5 - 9.
For the Sake of Art: The Story of a Kansas Renaissance by Cynthia Mines (Wichita)
McPherson County's art heritage tells the story of the friendship between Lindsborg artist Birger Sandzen and McPherson seed merchant-turned-art dealer Carl Smalley and the annual art exhibitions they helped organize. School children sold tickets to exhibits from 1911 to 1937 and purchased an impressive art collection. This revised edition includes 125 illustrations and recently discovered correspondence between Smalley and Sandzen.
Harvey Houses of Kansas: Historic Hospitality from Topeka to Syracuse by Rosa Walston Latimer (Post TX) Published by The History Press
Starting in Kansas, Fred Harvey’s iconic Harvey House was the first to set the standard for fine dining and hospitality across the rugged Southwest. In 1876, the first of Harvey’s depot restaurants opened in Topeka, followed just a few years later by the first combination hotel and restaurant in Florence. Fred Harvey and the Harvey Girls introduced good food and manners to the land of the Wild West.
Kansas Trail Guide: The Best Hiking, Biking, and Riding in the Sunflower State by Jonathan Conard (Sterling) and Kristin Conard (Santa Clara CA)
Published by University Press of Kansas
Whether you’re an avid hiker or desultory explorer, a bicyclist or horseback rider, this book makes a most congenial guide. An invaluable companion for exploring new trails or learning about accustomed routes, this comprehensive guide will tell you all you need to know about the trails that crisscross Kansas—history and geography, wildlife and scenery, park locations and cultural possibilities, and, even a bit of geology and botany.
Kansas Wildflowers and Weeds by Michael John Haddock (Manhattan), Craig C. Freeman (Lawrence), and Janet
E. Bare (Littleton CO)
Published by University Press of Kansas
A reference and a guidebook for a new generation of plant enthusiasts, this volume includes up-to-date nomenclature, keys, and descriptions, as well as habitat, distribution, and ecological information. Designed for the professional botanist and passionate amateur alike, it expands upon Bare's earlier book's 831 entries with descriptions of 1,163 species—representing about 56 percent of the native and naturalized species currently known in Kansas—as well as 742 color photographs.
The Madman and the Assassin: The Strange Life of Boston Corbett, the Man Who Killed John Wilkes Booth by Scott Martelle (Irvine CA)
Published by Chicago Review Press
Union cavalryman Boston Corbett became a national celebrity after killing John Wilkes Booth, but as details of his odd personality became known, he also became the object of derision. Over time, he was largely forgotten to history, a minor character in the final act of Booth’s tumultuous life. And yet Corbett led a fascinating life of his own, a tragic saga that weaved through the monumental events of nineteenth-century America. Ultimately Corbett ended up in Kansas where his shaky mental health led to his undoing.
Notorious Kansas Bank Heists: Gunslingers to Gangsters by Rod Beemer (Minneapolis)
Published by The History Press
Bank robbers wreaked havoc in the Sunflower State. Belle Starr's nephew claimed to have robbed twenty-one banks. The Dalton gang failed in their attempt to rob two banks simultaneously, but another gang did this in Waterville in 1911. Some 4,000 vigilantes were organized and armed by the Kansas Bankers’ Association. Woven throughout the narrative are excerpts taken from newspaper articles and witness accounts of the times.
Sun and Moon by Lindsey Yankey (Lawrence)
Published by Simply Read Books
Sun and Moon have always held their own places in the sky, but after a lifetime of darkness Moon wants to trade. Before agreeing to grant his wish, however, Sun asks Moon to take a careful look at his night. Follow Moon as he travels through the dark discovering children dreaming, foxes hunting, fireflies glowing, and scenes unique to the nighttime. Will Moon still wish to change places in the sky? Luminous, intricate illustrations light up this picture book. K – Grade 2.
To Leave a Shadow by Michael D. Graves (Emporia)
Published by Meadowlark Books
Pete Stone hadn’t always been a private eye. He’d lost his dairy business when the depression hit, his children grew up, and his wife left him for a chinchilla farmer. When Mrs. Lucille Hamilton walked through his door searching for her missing husband, Pete was the only one who believed her husband’s death hadn’t been a suicide. Told in the style of hard-boiled crime fiction and set in 1930’s Wichita, Graves’s depiction of the city during the jazz age makes this a compelling mystery.
Purchase on Amazon Purchase from Meadowlark
Twenty-Five Years among the Indians and Buffalo: A Frontier Memoir by William D. Street, edited by Warren R. Street (Ellensburg WA)
Published by University Press of Kansas
Nearing 60, William D. Street (1851–1911) sat down to write his memoir of early years on the plains of western Kansas. His tales of life as a teamster, cavalryman, town developer, trapper, buffalo hunter, military scout, and cowboy put us squarely in the middle of such storied events as Sheridan's 1868–1869 winter campaign and the Cheyenne Exodus of 1878. They take us trapping beaver and driving cattle on the Great Western Cattle Trail. Handed down through the family, these memoirs were edited by Street’s great-grandson.
While the Kettle’s On by Melissa Fite Johnson (Pittsburg)
Published by Little Balkans Press
These poems are an invitation into the poet’s home and family, sharing the good times, losses, and smallest moments of daily life. Whether writing about washing dishes with lavender suds or tracing the raised letters B-al-l on a Mason jar, each poem draws the reader into her world. She reminds us of the simple joys of an evening walk “sometimes padded and zipped up; others, short sleeved, my skirt hoping for a breeze …” and through a kitchen’s open window the “… soundtrack of indiscernible songs from car radios below.”
The State Library of Kansas—To learn more, visit www.kslib.info
Saturday, April 23, 2016
Guest Post: Put a Little Library in Your Life: Poet on Board
Emporia Public Library
Dear Reader,
Think of your personal board of directors, those influencers assembled from friends, teachers, Facebook, and Twitter feeds, family, and yes, beloved books. As readers, we mark when a story affected a decision we made, when a book helped determine who we would become, and because authors have authority, as well as access to our thoughts and feelings, they often retain a place of influence in our lives.
Reading can acquaint us with the personal boards of others. Respected venture capitalist Paul Graham referred to poet Donald Hall in one of his essays on work, while Donald Hall's essays on his life work drew heavily from his studies with sculptor Henry Moore. So much so, that Mr. Hall wrote a book about Henry Moore's work. Similarly, poet Marilyn Nelson honored the inventor and scientist George Washington Carver, with an award-winning collection of poems about his life.
This month, consider adding a poet to your personal board of directors. This will force the other voices to adjust, no doubt, and some discord may result; but sometimes you need to upend the status quo. This is something poets enjoy, to be honest. Not only because poets play well with words, meanings, and relationships, but also because a poet on the board is like a prophet in the court of a king: a truth-teller who speaks to the inner life, more than to the image others respect.
This April, shake up your personal board: read a book from our National Poetry Month display. Just look under the haiku sign on the second floor of the Emporia Public Library. Keep reading; keep experiencing poetry!
_______________________
Wendy Devilbiss writes "Put a Little Library in your Life" for the Flint Hills Shopper and Emporia Gazette in Emporia, Kansas. Wendy is a member of the Kansas Authors Club, and the Poetry Contest Chair for the 2016 KAC Literary Contests.
_______________________
Meadowlark addendum: We have poets on our bookshelves who would make an excellent addition to your personal board of directors, as well. Consider MoonStain, by Ronda Miller, and the forthcoming book of poems and short stories, Songs of My Father, by Kevin Rabas, coming soon!
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)