KC Public Library Blog
Program Notes: A Great Day In Harlem (1994)
The Oscar-nominated A Great Day In Harlem is a warm, wonderful documentary about the most famous photo in all of jazz. It exudes a love of jazz and an admiration for these artists.
Booketology Championship
And then there were two: The Booketology Championship has come down to a battle between two iconic literary figures: Huckleberry Finn and Harry Potter!
Vote now in the Booketology Championship! Voting will only be open for one day, April 8!
Booketology: The Final Four
It was an amazing Elite 8 round for Booketology! Jane Marple fell to Huck Finn. In an upset, Princess Buttercup defeated Batman! Jane Austen’s heroine Elizabeth Bennet easily defeated the Hunger Games tribute Katniss Everdeen. And Harry Potter took the round against Marie Curie, with a 70 vote margin!
Bottoms Up
April 7, 1878: Union Depot, Kansas City's first large train station, opens in the West Bottoms after $410,028 in construction costs.
Booketology: Sweet 16 Winners & Elite 8 Announcement
It's all down to the Elite 8! Our victors have won in their genres, now they face off against each other! It's Romance vs. Sci-Fi when Elizabeth Bennet battles Katniss Everdeen! Classics winner Huck Finn challenges top sleuth Jane Marple! Princess Buttercup has to defend her title against Batman! And Biography champ Marie Curie takes on Harry Potter!
Beneath the Surface Summer Reading Program
Check out the Central Teens' entry in the Beneath the Surface Summer Reading Program Video Challenge. The Summer Reading Program is just around the corner!
Program Notes: Leadbelly (1976)
Leadbelly reminisces about the hard life of the blues legend - from wide-eyed innocent country boy to swaggering, hot-tempered young man to a still-robust white hair carrying the weight of years of sin and experience.
Remember the Ladies: Females Who Forged the Way for Future Generations: Part Two
Inspiring women run the gamut. There are artists, politicians, and athletes-- among others. We conclude March-- Women's History Month-- with a tribute to more books about some of our fantastic female forebearers. >
The books listed below are for elementary-school-aged readers. They all include authors’ notes in the back for those who are curious to learn more.
Booketology – Round 3 Bracket and Round 2 Results!
Round 2 results have been tallied, and we have entered our Sweet 16 round! The characters are now fighting for top of their genre, and for the honor of having their book become part of our Booketology Grand Prize! Did your picks survive?
City of Fortune by Roger Crowley
During the Middle Ages, a city on the sea enjoyed many advantages such as easy access to a trade route. Water meant transportation and trade that could lead to wealth. One city on the sea gained and lost an empire during the medieval period.
Wrong Way Corrigan
March 31, 1882: In an editorial, The Kansas City Star supports a new streetcar company and argues against a monopoly held on Kansas City transportation by Thomas Corrigan.
Booketology: Round 1 Winners & Round 2 Announced!
Thank you everyone for an amazing Round 1 of Booketology! Are you ready for Round 2? Check the updated bracket to see if your choices made it to the second round, and vote now! Round 2 will be open from Monday, March 25 through Wednesday, March 27!
This round brings some epic match-ups: Scarlett O’Hara vs. Elizabeth Bennet! Alice in Wonderland vs. Willy Wonka! Princess Buttercup vs. Smaug! Decide who wins in Round 2!
Program Notes: The Commitments (1991)
“Hey, kids! Let’s put on a show!” Heaven knows how many movies have taken that cry as their starting point but few have been as infectiously enjoyable as Alan Parker’s The Commitments.
Women Pioneers: Females Who Forged the Way for Future Generations: Part One
Girls, we have a legacy. A century ago, women in the United States of America marched at the White House in Washington D.C. to demand the right to vote.1 This month, we recognize their actions and those of other women who have made our lives better. March is Women’s History Month. However, these books about female trailblazers are available all year long at the Kansas City Public Library.
The books listed below are for elementary-school-aged readers. They all include authors’ notes in the back for those who are curious to learn more.
The Round House by Louise Erdrich
Standing as a primitive log structure atop a small rise, the round house was built as a sacred place for special Ojibwe ceremonies and Native American gatherings. But in 1988, when Geraldine Coutts emerged from the abandoned building beaten, raped, and doused with gasoline, it became known as the scene of a crime that would forever alter Geraldine, her husband, Bazil, and their thirteen-year-old son, Joe.