Central Kansas Library System

Your round-trip ticket to the wildest, wackiest, most outrageous people, places, and things
the Sunflower State has to offer! Whether you're a born-and-raised Kansan, a recent transplant, or just passing through, Kansas Curiosities will have you laughing out loud as Pam Grout takes you on a rollicking tour of the strangest sides of the Sunflower State.
Visit the Museum of the World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the...

Shortly after the Civil War, a black family travels to Kansas to take advantage of the free land offered through the Homestead Act.

In the summer of 1935 thirteen-year-old Brady and his little sister are sent to live with their grandfather in Kansas. By the end of the summer Brady will know the true meaning of family.

After the death of their father, Collette and Jean-Michel Langelier are no longer tied to post-war France. While his sister dreams of adventure, Jean-Michel is hoping to finally escape reminders of the horrors he faced in the war. When Jean-Michel receives an unexpected invitation for them to visit Alaska and the Curry Hotel, it seems an opportunity for a change he needs. Katherine Demarchis is a young widow who does not grieve the dangerous husband...

In his acclaimed debut novel, Durham adds a new dimension to the frontier narrative. Gabriel, the teenaged son of an emancipated slave, travels west with his mother, who is lured by the promise of unclaimed land. Despising life as a farmer, Gabriel runs away with a dangerous band of cowboys. But hindered by youth and inexperience, he must escape the racism and brutality that surround him.

This book highlights the importance of Kansas' opera houses to the cultural and social development of Kansas during the last half of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century. The types of civic and cultural entertainments that occurred in these structures and the actors who graced their stages are discussed. A detailed listing of 900 opera houses located in more than 400 Kansas communities and the activities that were held there, from...

Includes music (unacc.) for the folksongs and ballads, and some of the dances. Originally published: Lincoln, Neb. : University of Nebraska Press, c1961. 'Reprinted and distributed by Ted Varney's University Book Store'

This illustrated guide to Kansas ghost towns will delight travelers and armchair tourists alike. Organized by region, it tells the story of 100 towns that have either disappeared without a trace or are only "a shadowy remnant of what they once were." Fitzgerald chronicles each town's settlement, politics, colorful figures and legends, and eventual abandonment or decline. Ten maps and detailed intructions for finding each site are included.

"Aidyn Kelley is talented, ambitious, and ready for a more serious assignment than the fluff pieces she's been getting as a cub reporter for the Kansas City Star. In her eagerness, she pushes too hard, earning herself the menial task of writing an obituary for an unremarkable woman who's just entered hospice care. But there's more to Clara Kip than meets the eye. The spirited septuagenarian may be dying, but she's not quite ready to cash it in yet....