Central Kansas Library System

Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy (1925) is nothing less than what the title holds it to be; it is the story of a weak-willed young man who is both villain and victim (the victim of a valueless, materialistic society) and someone who ultimately destroys himself. Dreiser modeled the story of Clyde Griffiths on a real-life murder that took place in 1906; a young social climber of considerable charm murdered his pregnant girlfriend to get her out...

The battlefield was soaked in blood. Screams of injured soldiers rang through the air. Eleven-year-old Nathaniel Knox knelt behind a rock, his gun clutched in his shaking hands. Nate had been heading to New York City to find his father. But now he was trapped in a terrible gunfight between American and British troops. -- But King George was like a snake with America gripped in his fangs - and he didn't want to let go. So now it was war - brutal, bloody...

The only thing Lucas loves more than football is his Uncle Benny, his dad's best friend at the fire department where they both work. Benny taught Lucas everything about football. So when Lucas's parents decide the sport is too dangerous and he needs to quit, Lucas has to talk to his biggest fan. So the next morning, Lucas takes the train to the city instead of the bus to school. It's a bright, beautiful day in New York. But just as Lucas arrives at...

All across America, women are vanishing, one by one, from their daily lives and ordinary routines. By all accounts, their disappearances seem unrelated. But then after barely surviving a horrifying encounter, one young woman realizes she may have narrowly escaped their fate. And she begins to wonder-could all these women have the same abductor? Determined to learn the truth, she undertakes an investigation that pits her against a dangerous and...

As she grows through the first years of her life in the Catskill Mountains of New York, a peregrine falcon called Frightful interacts with various humans, including the boy who raised her, a falconer who rescues her, and several unscrupulous poachers, as well as with many animals that are part of the area's ecological balance.

Award-winning artist Sweet tells the story of the puppeteer Tony Sarg, capturing his genius, his dedication, his zest for play, and his long-lasting gift to America--the inspired helium balloons that would become the trademark of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

When Sam, who is a talented woodworker but can barely read, discovers an old newspaper clipping just before his eleventh birthday, it brings forth memories from his past. With the help of a new friend at school and the castle they are building for a school project, his questions are eventually answered.

Feeling like an outsider when she visits her relatives in Puerto Rico for the first time, eleven-year-old Felita tries to come to terms with the heritage she always took for granted. Nothing about growing up in a strict Hispanic household seems fair. Then Felita learns that one of her dreams will come true--she'll be spending the summer in Puerto Rico with her uncle Jorge. Even though she'll miss her family and her friends--especially Vinny--Felita...

Bobby's carefree teenage life changes forever when he becomes a father and must care for his adored baby daughter.

While longing to return to life in New York City, thirteen-year-old Penny helps her mother and grandmother run a cupcake bakery in Hog's Hollow, tries to avoid the beastly popular girls, to be a good friend to quirky Tally, and to catch the eye of enigmatic Marcus.