If you enjoy discovering new books and learning more about Kansas authors, people, and places, be sure to check out the 2026 Kansas Notable Books collection at the Ellinwood School/Community Library.

Each year, the Kansas Notable Books program recognizes 15 outstanding books that are either written by Kansans or feature a topic connected to Kansas. The program helps showcase the talented writers in our state while giving readers an opportunity to discover a variety of quality books.

The books are selected through a statewide process. A committee made up of librarians, library staff, scholars, and authors reviews books published during the previous year and makes recommendations. The final 15 selections are chosen by the Kansas State Librarian. The authors and their books are then recognized during a special reception held in conjunction with the Kansas Book Festival.

The State Library of Kansas provides support to libraries, so they can bring these books to their local communities. For the 2026 collection, libraries could receive reimbursement for purchases of Kansas Notable Books, with a maximum total reimbursement of $250 per library. The program includes a variety of genres, including fiction, history, poetry, and children’s books.

Thanks in part to this grant opportunity from the State Library of Kansas and the Kansas Center for the Book, the Ellinwood School/Community Library has been able to add all 15 of the 2026 Kansas Notable Books to our collection.

This year’s selections offer something for many different interests and ages:

• The Aviator and the Showman by Laurie Gwen Shapiro
• Black Moses by Caleb Gayle
• Brain Train: An Off-the-Rails Journey from A to Zzz by Charlie Mylie
• The Guide to Kansas Birds and Birding Hotspots by Pete Janzen and Bob Gress
• I Make Jokes When I’m Devastated by Luisa Muradyan
• Kansas Matters: Twenty-First Century Writers on the Sunflower State, edited by Thomas Fox Averill and Leslie VonHolten
• Lady or the Tiger by Heather M. Herrman
• The Light of Battle: Eisenhower, D-Day, and the Birth of the American Superpower by Michel Paradis
• Lightning Bug Jamboree by Stephanie Brinkley, illustrated by Victoria Mikki
• The Magic of Light by Jordan Abitz
• Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove
• Riverine Dreams: Away to the Glorious and Forgotten Grassland Rivers of America by George Frazier
• A Town with Half the Lights On by Page Getz
• The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam by Megan Bannen
• Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder by Rachel McCarthy James

We are excited to have the complete 2026 collection available for our community. Whether you’re interested in fiction, history, nature, children’s literature, poetry, or something a little outside your usual reading choices, there is a variety of titles to explore.

Stop by the Ellinwood School/Community Library and take a look at the 2026 Kansas Notable Books. You may just discover your next favorite read!

Heather Dombroski is the Programming Manager for the Ellinwood School and Community Libraries. She can be reached by email at hdombroski@usd355.org.