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Kansas (America the Beautiful, Second)

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Nancy Robinson Masters begins this volume in the America the Beautiful, Second Series by devoting Chapter One, "Kansas Sunshine," to the story of Jessie Spencer. She was an American Red Cross canteen worker from Fredonia, Kansas who was serving in France during World War I. As she gave doughnuts and coffee to soldiers she would tell them, "As long as there is Kansas, there will be sunshine." Known as the Kansas sunshine girl, Jessie Spencer became known nationally because of her efforts to pick up morale. In this informative book, Masters explains why Spencer would feel that way about her state.

The next three chapters of the book are devoted to the history of Kansas, with Chatter Two, "From Seawaters to Statehood," beginning with fifty different times millions of years ago that the area now named Kansas was covered by oceans and ending with the border wars and "Bleeding Kansas" over the issue of slavery. In between there are the Spanish conquistadors searching for Quivira, the opening of the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails, and the Pottawatomie Massacre. The dark days of Bleeding Kansas carry over to the start of Chapter Two, "Pioneers and Populism," which begins with the Civil War, tells of the years Kansas was the frontier, and ends with the Populism that was popular there at the end of the 19th century. Chapter Four, "Mileposts to the Future," looks at the 20th century and the part Kansas played in two work wars, and in the 1950s Dwight Eisenhower, who was raised in Abilene, Kansas, became president and the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the famous case of Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka.

The geography of the state is covered in Chapter Five, "The Nature of Kansas," which looks the four main regions defined by the dominant plains (we also learn the difference between the geographic and geodetic centers of the continental United States, both of which are in Kansas). Chapter Six, "The Land of Ahs," is a play on "The Wizard of Oz," since Dorothy Gale is probably the most famous "citizen" of Kansas in the world, and looks at the places you can visit along the state's "yellow brick walls." The biggest surprise is that the recipe for this book is for pancakes. The town of Liberal holds the International Pancake Derby each February and it does not have to do with cooking pancakes but running a 1/4-mile race while carrying them in heavy skillets (they get flipped at the start and end of the race). I keep telling you these books are informative.

The politics of the state are the province of Chapter Seven, "Governing Kansas," where 47 out of 105 counties are named for Civil War Veterans and another 17 have Indian names (the only county named for a woman is Barton, honoring Clara Barton). When we find out about state symbols we learn that "Home on the Range" is the state song, but there is also a state march ("The Kansas March") and the state flower (Wild sunflower) is actually a weed. Chapter Eight, "Working in Kansas," looks at the fast-growing economy of the state, while Chapter Nine, "Modern People of the Plains," looks at the people who have come to inhabit the land.

Chapter Ten, "Culture and Competition," looks at the famous sons and daughters of Kansas. This includes writers from L. Frank Baum and Laura Ingalls Wilder to Damon Runyan and Sara Paretsky, as well as big names in sports such as Gayle Sayers, Rick Mears, and Walter Johnson. Masters includes those who became famous playing for the University of Kansas, such as Wilt Chamberlain and Danny Manning, and those who played for the closest professional teams in Kansas City, Missouri, such as George Brett. Throughout the book there are dozens of sidebars that introduce us to other Kansas notables like Amelia Earhart and John Brown. These are also were we learn where the name Jawhawkers came from and that the first Pizza Hut was opened by the Carney brothers in 1958 in Wichita.

In the back of the book you will find a detailed Timeline contrasting U.S. and Kansas state history, several pages of Fast Facts providing easy access to key statistics, and list of books, organizations, and Internet sites where young students can go To Find Out More. There all dozens of photographs, both full-color and black & white, and original maps on things like the exploration of Kansas, topography, and the state's maps and forests. These America the Beautiful, Second Series volumes are ideal for young students who have to research one of the U.S. states (or territories) for class, but also if there family happens to be going through the Jawhawk state on a trip.