The Kansas great reads for this year feature two Kansas Notable Book winners: One Boy Watching, written and illustrated by Grant Snider and Hell’s Half-Acre: The Untold Story of the Benders, A Serial Killer Family on the American Frontier, by Susan Jonusas.

One Boy Watching celebrates the extraordinary found within the ordinary. This book puts into words what it feels like to be a passenger, inviting young readers to climb aboard bus number four as it opens a new world of discovery.

Hell’s Half-Acre: The Untold Story of the Benders, A Serial Killer Family on the American Frontier tells the story of how the people of Labette County, Kansas, in 1873, made a grisly discovery. Buried by a trailside cabin beneath an orchard of young apple trees were the remains of countless bodies. Below the cabin itself was a cellar stained with blood. The Benders, the family of four who once resided on the property, were nowhere to be found. The discovery sent the local community and national newspapers into a frenzy that continued for decades, sparking an epic manhunt for the Benders.

The Kansas selections officially join the 2024 Great Reads from Great Places at the National Book Festival in Washington D.C. on August 24, 2024. To view previous years’ selections visit Library of Congress Great Reads from Great Places. You can start in Kansas, then discover literary highlights from the other 49 states and 6 territories that have Center for the Book affiliates.