Book Barn's Past Events

Wasatch Summer —by Anola Pickett
Sat Nov 5th 11am-1pm—Book chat and signing
Book inspired by true story in Frontier Utah. Father has died, brother has gone to work in the mines and hasn't been heard from. Mother has a new born baby to care for. That leaves pre-teen girl to take the family sheep herd and two dogs up to graze in the mountain meadows for the summer. She has to deal with wolves and a bear and make friends with a tribe of Indians. Can she do it?

Leavenworth Portraits of the Past Book 1 —by Ted W. Stillwell
Fri Nov 11th 7-8pm and Sat Nov 12th 11am-1pm—Book chat and signing and Main Street Holiday Open House at the Book Barn.
Leavenworth Times historian columnist regales us with short vignettes from our past. This is sure to be a real crowd pleaser.

Wichita Haunts —by Beth Cooper
Fri Nov 18th 7-8pm—Book chat and signing
Beth Cooper, professional paranormal investigator, presents her new book about the ghosts of Wichita and her other books about ghosts throughout Kansas.

G is for Gold Medal; P is for Prairie Dog —Illustrated by Doug Bowles
Sat Dec 3rd 11am-1pm—Book chat and signing
Book illustrator par excellence presents his latest children's picture books about the Olympics and the prairie, as well as his several others, especially S is for Sunflower.

Bob Spear sings Burl Ives Christmas songs and many others for the Book Barn's Christmas Open House Celebration.
Sat Dec 3rd 1:30 to 2:30pm
Open House from 10am to 5pm

Begin Again: 150 Kansas Poems —by Top Kansas Poets
Sat Dec 10th 1-3pm—Poetry Reading and Signing
Sponsored by the Kansas State Library in Topeka, this is a project created to help celebrate Kansas' 150th Birthday. Come join us and Kansas Poet Laureate Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg as well as some of the featured poets, including Leavenworth's own Rick Nichols.

2010 EVENTS

Mar 13th, Saturday, 11am-1pm

Brad Sneed Re-Visit to Leavenworth to speak, draw, and sign his books.

Mar 13th, Saturday, 1-3pm

Ken LaMaster Fort Leavenworth

Kenneth M. LaMaster served at Fort Leavenworth from August 1979 until April 1982. Assigned to the United States Disciplinary Barracks, LaMaster found the rich tradition and history linking the fort to its past & laid the foundations for its future.

Mar 18th, Saturday, 11am-1pm

James L. Speicher, Sumter Flying Artillery

James L. Speicher served in the U.S. Army for thirty years. He is a life member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and Missouri's Civil War Heritage Foundation, among other organizations.

Mar 27th, Saturday, 11am-1pm

Andrea Warren

In 1996, Houghton Mifflin published Orphan Train Rider: One Boy's True Story, which won a Boston Globe-Horn Award. Others include Pioneer Girl: Growing Up on the Prairie ; Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps; We Rode the Orphan Trains; Escape From Saigon: How a Vietnam War Orphan Became an American Boy; and Under Siege! Three Children at the Civil War Battle for Vicksburg.

Apr 3rd, Saturday, 11am-1pm

Peter J. Grande, US Disciplinary Barracks

Chief of Staff Peter J. Grande of the USDB has worked in the military correctional field since the mid-1970s. A certified corrections executive with the American Correctional Association, Grande is a former enlisted correctional specialist and retired United States Army Military Police Corps lieutenant colonel. He is also the USDB historian and a member of the Fort Leavenworth Historical Society, drawing extensively from the USDB photograph collection.

Apr 10th, Saturday, 11am-1pm

Laura Manivong, Escaping the Tiger

Meet Laura Manivong, author of an exciting middle grade book on a family’s escape from communist Laos based on her husband's truelife experiences.

Laura Manivong is an Emmy-winning producer at FOX 4 TV in Kansas City. She lives in Lenexa with her husband, their two lovely, loud children, their even louder dog, and ever-shifting piles of clutter. ESCAPING THE TIGER is her first novel, which story is based on her husband’s family’s real

experiences (pictured here in a Thai refugee camp).

Back to the Events Page

Apr 24th, Saturday, 11am-1pm

Ann Ingalls, The Little Piano Girl by Ann Ingalls & Maryann Macdonald, Illustrated by Giselle Potter

Description:

What if you loved music more than anything? Suppose you had just learned to play the piano. Imagine that your family has to move to a new city and you have to leave your piano behind. People don't like you in the new city because of what you look like. How will you make yourself feel better? Mary Lou Williams, like Mozart, began playing the piano when she was four; at eight she became a professional musician. She wrote and arranged music for Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, and was one of the most powerful women in jazz. This is the story of Mary Lou's childhood in Pittsburgh, where she played the piano for anyone who would listen.

Bios:

Ann Ingalls & Maryann Macdonald are sisters and lifelong music lovers. They often harmonized together in the family station wagon on long drives through the Midwest. Ann discovered the story of Mary Lou William's life in Kansas City, where she now lives and where Mary Lou once lived too. Ann and Maryann both fell in love with the story of the "little piano girl." They read everything they could find on Mary Lou, studied her photos, listened to her recordings, and talked to people who knew her and had seen her perform. Then they wrote this book together. It is Ann's first book, and Maryann's twenty-second.

Apr 24th, Saturday, 1pm-3pm

Beth Cooper Meyer, The Ghosts of Kansas

Book Description

Meet the ghosts of Kansas! Visit with a librarian who moves books at the State Capitol and ghosts that have been known to go home with patrons at River House. Learn about the Holton House spirit seen on a thermal imaging camera. Drink a cold brew with a ghost at Fat Matt's, the Twilighter, and PJ’s Bar. Relive college days at the haunted fraternity in Manhattan, where a ghost rattles doorknobs during tours. Buy a hammer from Ghostly Grandpa at his hardware store in Shawnee. Kansas ghosts are here to thrill and entertain you!

Beth Cooper Meyer

A native Kansan, Beth Meyer was raised in North Topeka, home of the spectacular ghost dubbed the Albino Lady.

Beth is owner of Paranormal Adventures USA, a tour business that features history and haunts in Missouri and the Kansas City metro area. Other tours include haunted battlefields, haunted wineries and Earth Sky Journeys. She has an interest in geology and the role that crystals and minerals plays within the paranormal. She is the author of "Ghosts of Kansas", and the soon to be published Ghosts of the Prairie and Haunted Wichita. Beth lives in Topeka with her husband Jim and has two daughters, Devin and Piper.

Apr 30th, Friday, 6pm-8pm

Follow the Yellow Brick Road to The Book Barn & Meet 3 Local Authors.

Beth Cooper — Ghosts of Kansas

Come get spooked out by a real Ghost Investigator

Bob Spear — Quad Delta — Firebug — Leavenworth: First City of Kansas

Mystery fiction & historic nonfiction set here in Leavenworth

Ken LaMaster — US Federal Penitentiary — Fort Leavenworth

Excellent pictoral histories of our communityʼs landmarks

Sep 11th, Saturday -- 1pm to 3pm

Rick Nichols: 50 Sermons, 50 States

Come on a whirlwind spiritual tour of the country with Rick Nichols as he presents 50 short sermons, each linked to Burma Shave-like signs, one sermon representing each state. These are thoughtful and thought-provoking essays

Sep 17th, Friday -- 6pm to 8pm

Sandra Brannan: In the Belly of Jonah

In the Belly of Jonah is a fast-paced mystery with a likable protagonist and an intricately woven narrative brimming with bizarre yet believable twists. The first in a series, the book expertly lays the groundwork for Liv Bergen, amateur sleuth, and her love interest, FBI Agent Streeter Pierce.

Bio: Much like her character Liv Bergen, Sandra Brannan has spent her career in the mining business. Her mystery thriller series has been inspired by her real-life experiences that include the 25 years she has spent building her career from day-laborer in the mining company her grandfather founded to a top executive in the family business.

Sep 18th, Saturday -- 11am to 1pm

Local Author Pamela Stewart--Poetry Reading

Pamela offers an audio book on CD of her poetry. Join us to hear her poems and learn what is behind them.

Sep 24th, Friday -- 7pm to 8pm

American Girl Event--Molly's Route 66 Adventure.

Dedicated especially to families with spouses returning from deployments for children ages 7-11. Molly's Army doctor father has come home from WWII and their family takes their first vacation across country on the famous Route 66. Learn what they discover.

Sep 25th, Saturday -- 11am to 1pm

Bob Spear's Five Mysteries set in Leavenworth

Meet LTC (Ret) Enos Hobson, who applies his

Military Intelligence skills to solve mind-bending problems and mysteries, assisted by a gang of zany characters & several talented dogs. Series contains many easily recognized local scenes and typical character types in our community. Learn why he wrote this series and what's coming next.

Oct 9th, Saturday -- 11am to 1pm

Marcia Schwartz: Ghosts of the Missouri River

Come along on a journey down the Missouri to learn about spirits connected to towns and farms along the Big Muddy. This Nebraska author has really done her research and presents many fascinating tales.

Oct 16th, Saturday -- 10am to 12pm

Todd Reesing, Famous KU Quarterback: Rising to New Heights

Come to learn about his career and his life and meet this famous athlete. First come, first served. Expecting a huge crowd of fans.

Oct 22nd, Friday -- 6pm to 8pm

Beth Cooper Ghosts of Kansas

Prepare to be spooked! Leavenworth is chockfull of ghosts, as is the Book Barn.

Oct 23rd, Saturday -- 11am to 1pm

Brad Sneed--Nationally known illustrator and author of children's books. See his latest: Mr. President Goes to School

Nov 6th, Saturday, 11am to 1pm -- Award Winning Kansas Author Tom Mach

Tom, a retired professional marketer from Lawrence, discusses his latest book, Stories to Enjoy, his poems, and his award-winning series of Civil War historicall novels. He will be signing these books, which make wonderful Christmas gifts! He will personalize them for you.

Nov 13th, Saturday, 11am to 1pm -- Joe Fox Survivalist Family

Meet Joe Fox, Retired Special Operations officer who shares concepts for how families can survive trying times. Survivalist Family explains survival concepts, provides educational approaches for training your children, and many suggestions about the resources you should acquire to increase your famiily’s safety and welfare.

Nov 19th, Friday -- Holiday Open House--5pm to 9pm

Food, music, Holiday specials. Bob Spear as Burl Ives singing Christmas songs 7pm to 8pm.

Nov 20th, Saturday, 11am to 1pm -- KU vs KState Battle of the Fans Book Event

Ideal Christmas gifts--come meet the authors of these two books about the lengths fans will go to express their support for their favorite schools and sports teams. We will announce which school's fan books sold the most. Win the Battle of the Fan Books! Come support your teams!

Dec 4th, Saturday -- Bookchat & Signing--11am to 1pm

SPECIAL APPEARANCE of Nationally Famous Author of A Dog Named Christmas--Greg Kincaid with his new book Christmas With Tucker. This is a prequel to A Dog Named Christmas.

Dec 4th, Saturday -- Bookchat & Signing--1pm to 3pm

Dr. Kipp Van Camp is the author of this humorous biography of his Bichon Frese comfort dog bred to comfort the kings and queens of France. Allie is like a miniature Marley--very strong willed and always getting into mischief.

Dec 11th, Saturday--Book Chat & Signing--11am to 1pm. (Last event for the calendar year)

THREE LIVES by Olathe author, Joe Washington

At the core of Joe Washington’s debut novel, Three Lives, is Nicholas Gambit, a young African American hero in training that hails from the center of the nation, Kansas City. Like a lot of mid westerners, Gambit can’t help but to be genuine, evident even when he’s in the process of dismantling a team of well trained “people killers”. This quality draws readers ever closer to him, leaving them invested in his survival and desperate to see him flourish. Without pandering, Washington’s main character is extremely likeable, transporting readers into his adventures rather than merely witnessing them.

Though the story takes the reader all over the world and has shown remarkable promise with people from all backgrounds, this book will hold special interest for people of color. Except for Mosley and the Alex Cross novels by Patterson, we seldom see black characters in today’s literary marketplace, both male and female, portrayed with such strength, diversity and legitimacy.

For readers of any ethnic background however, Three Lives delivers a host of attributes that will surprise and move: action that literally causes one to grip the pages of the book a little tighter; Joe’s clear understanding and familiarity with issues related to combat and international espionage; and most importantly, characters that ring true because of their humanity — flaws and all. Three Lives could become the new standard for African American fiction, especially in a genre that has been virtually untouched by black authors.