'Life in a Jar' book honored as notable book of Kansas

State Librarian Joanne Budler and Roy Bird, director of the Kansas Center for the Book at the State Library of Kansas, have announced the 2011 Kansas Notable Book List, which includes a work with local ties.

This year, Vermont resident Jack Mayer's book "Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project" was noted among the 15 fiction, nonfiction, adult and children's books published in 2010 by Kansas authors or about Kansas.

"Nearly 100 books by Kansans or about Kansas were considered for the 2011 Kansas Notable Books List," Budler said in a news release. "We celebrate these titles that reflect our state's diverse historical, literary and cultural experiences."

Mayer's book tells the story of the Polish social worker Irena Sendler and her rescue of 2,500 Jewish children during Holocaust. It also highlights a group of students who created the Life in a Jar Project in 2003 as a National History Day Project. Since then, the venture has grown to include worldwide performances and continued efforts at the Lowell Milken Center to tell the stories of unsung heroes.

Megan Felt, founding member of the Life in a Jar Project and program director at the Lowell Milken Center, said all the founding project members had a chance to read and edit the book before it was published. In addition, it was read and edited by several individuals who joined the project as it was developing after the National History Day competition.

Norm Conard, director of the Lowell Milken Center, was the teacher who helped bring the Life in a Jar Project to fruition. He also had a chance to read and edit the book prior to its publication.

Felt said Mayer will be flying in from his home in Vermont to attend the Kansas Notable Books celebration at the Governor's Mansion on Sept. 23 and at the Kansas State Historical Society the following day. The celebration will also be attended by Conard and several members of the Life in a Jar project.

For the Kansas Notable Book List, a Kansas Notable Books Committee of the KCFB identifies titles and forwards a list to the State Librarian for final decision. This year's Kansas Notable Books selection committee included representatives from an academia, a public library, booksellers, a media representative and a previous honoree/author. This is the sixth Kansas Notable Book List compiled by KCFB.

The Kansas Center for the Book is a state affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. As a program of the State Library of Kansas since 2005, the center's role is to promote Kansas books, authors, libraries, booksellers, publishers and the book community, and to foster awareness of literacy and the state's literary heritage.

For more information, visit http://www.kcfb.info.

The 2011 Kansas Notable Books are (in alphabetical order by title):

"Amy Barickman's Vintage Notions," by Amy Barickman.

"And Hell Followed With It: Life and Death in a Kansas Tornado," by Bonar Menninger.

"Appetite for America: How Visionary Business-man Fred Harvey Built a Railroad Hospitality Empire that Civilized the Wild West," by Stephen Fried.

"Baking With Friends: Recipes, Tips, and Fun Facts for Teaching Kids to Bake," by Sharon Davis and Charlene Patton.

"Bound," by Antonya Nelson.

"Crossing the Tracks," by Barbara Stuber.

"A Distant Home," by George Paris.

"Flyover People: Life on the Ground in a Rectangular State," by Cheryl Unruh.

"Ghost Stories of the New West: From Einstein's Brain to Geronimo's Boots," by Denise Low.

"Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project," by Jack Mayer.

"Moon Over Manifest," by Clare Vanderpool.

"A Prairie Peter Pan: The Story of Mary White," by Beverley O. Buller.

"Prairie Rhythms: The Life and Poetry of May Williams Ward," by Lana Wirt Myers.

"The Scent of Rain and Lightning," by Nancy Pickard.

"Star Crossed," by Elizabeth C. Bunce.