Central Kansas Library System

First published in 1865, Mary Mapes Dodge's "Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates" is an endearing children's story about a hard-working, honorable Dutch boy and the challenges he faces as a result of his family's poverty. Hans dreams of entering a big ice-skating race with his sister Gretel so that he may win the beautiful silver skates he desires. Yet, he is also very concerned for his father, who has been injured from a fall off of a dike and in...

The largest uncut diamond in the world, the Minstrel's Rough, is little more than legend. Brought into the Pepperkamp family in 1548, it has been handed down to one keeper in each generation. Juliana Fall has inherited its splendor from her uncle-;and, unwittingly, its legacy of danger. Juliana's mother wants nothing more than to bury her memories of the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. But with the diamond in her daughter's keeping, Juliana's...

An extraordinary portrayal of humanity set during one of history's most inhumane periods. Features Millie Perkins as the insightful 13-year-old biographer of her family's two-year hiding in an Amsterdam attic. At first, the strong-willed teenager embraces her fugitive lifestyle as an adventure. But in time, the ever-increasing fear of discovery and close quarters prove nearly unbearable for the eight personalities in hiding. Special features: "Diary...

Retells the tale of the little boy whose resourcefulness and courage saved his country from being destroyed by the ocean.