Central Kansas Library System

Born a slave in Virginia in 1856, Booker T. Washington rose in prominence to become black America's foremost spokesman. This is the dramatic autobiographical account of Washington's struggle to succeed and prosper in a country that refused to acknowledge his existence. From his fight for an education to his founding of the world-renowned Tuskegee Institute, Up From Slavery is one of the most significant and defining works in American literature. A...

Margaret Wise Brown's books have sold millions of copies all over the world, but few people know that she was at the center of a children's book publishing revolution. Her whimsy and imagination fueled a steady stream of stories, songs, and poems, and she was renowned for her prolific writing and business savvy, as well as her beauty and endless thirst for adventure. Margaret started her writing career by helping to shape the curriculum for the Bank...

"An American war story told though the voices of a college community. At the beginning of World War II, Professor Lauren Post, San Diego State College, asked his students entering military service to write to him. Thousands of letters arrived from places like Pearl Harbor, North Africa, and Normandy, beginning with the salutation, "Dear Doc," and describing vivid accounts of training, combat, and camaraderie. Pilots wrote about seeing planes shot...