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Recommended Books

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These books are recommended by KNPS and are categorized by topic. If there is a book you recommend we list, then Contact Us.

Books added within the last year are denoted by New Listing.

Children

  • ABCs Naturally: A Child's Guide to the Alphabet Through Nature • Lynne Smith Diebel & Jann Faust Kalscheur (author) • 2003 •
  • America's Prairies & Grasslands: Guide to Plants and Animals • Marianne D. Wallace (author) • 2001 •
  • Bug Hunt • Neecy Twinem (author) • 1999 •
  • Bugs, Bugs, Bugs • Bob Barner (author) • 1999 •
  • By Nature's Design • Pat Murphy (author) • 1993 •
  • Childhood and Nature • David Sobel (author) • 2008 •
  • Common Birds and Their Songs • Lang Elliot & Marie Read (author) • 1998 •
  • Feathers for Lunch • Lois Ehlert (author) • 1996 •
  • Fireflies in the Night • Judy Hawes (author) • Ellen Alexander (illustrator) • 1991 •
  • Geography of Childhood • Gary Paul Nabhan & Stephen Trimble (author) • 1995 •
  • If You're Not From The Prairie • David Bouchard (author) • Henry Ripplinger (illustrator) • 1998 •
  • insectlopedia • Douglas Florian (author) • 2001 •
  • It's Fall • Linda Glaser (author) • Susan Swan (illustrator) • 2001 •
  • Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder • Richard Louv (author) • 2005 •
  • Leaf Jumpers • Carole Gerber (author) • Leslie Evans (illustrator) • 2004 •
  • Leaf Man • Lois Ehlert (author) • 2005 •
  • Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf • Lois Ehlert (author) • 1991 •
  • Sunflower House • Eve Bunting (author) • Kathryn Hewitt (illustrator) • 1996 •
  • Tallgrass Prairie Alphabet • Claudia McGehee (author) • 2004 •
  • Too Many Rabbits: and Other Fingerplays About Animals, Nature, Weather, and the Universe • Kay Cooper (author) • Judith Moffatt (illustrator) • 1995 •
  • Waiting for Wings • Lois Ehlert (author) • 2001 •

Dyeing

  • Art and Craft of Natural Dying: Traditional Recipes for Modern Use • J.N. Liles (author) • 1990 •
  • Dyes from American Native Plants: A Practical Guide • Lynn Richards & Ronald J. Tyrl (author) • 2005 •
  • Natural Dyes and Home Dying • Rita J. Adrosko (author) • 1971 •
  • Nature's Colors: Dyes from Plants • Ida Grae (author) • 1979 •
  • North American Dye Plants • Anne & Robert Bliss (author) • 1994 •

Ecology

  • Nature of Nebraska: Ecology and Biodiversity • Johnsgard (author) • 2001 •

Edibles & Medicinals

  • Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie: An Ethnobotanical Guide • Kelly Kindscher (author) • 1987 •
  • Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants • Samuel Thayer (author) • 2006 •
  • Medicinal Wild Plants of the Prairie: An Ethnobotanical Guide • Kelly Kindscher (author) • William S. Whitney (illustrator) • 1992 •
  • Uses of Plants by the Indians of the Missouri River Region • Melvin R. Gilmore (author) • 1991 •

Geology

  • Kansas Geology: An Introduction to Landscapes, Rocks, Minerals, and Fossils • Rex Buchanan (author) • 2010 •
  • Kansas Physiographic Regions: Bird's-eye Views • James S. Aber and Susan W. Aber (author) • 2009 •
  • Roadside Kansas: A Traveler’s Guide to Its Geology and Landmarks • Rex C. Buchanan & James R. McCauley (author) • 2010 •

Guide, Invasive Plants

  • Invasive Plants of the Upper Midwest: An Illustrated Guide to Their Identification and Control • Czarapata (author) • 2005 •
  • Invasive Plants: a Guide to Identification, Impacts, and Control of Common North American species • Sylvan Ramsey Kaufman and Wallace Kaufman (author) • 2007 •

Guides, General

  • Botany for Gardeners • Brian Capon (author) • 2010 •
  • Botany in a Day • Elpel (author) • 2004 •
  • Field Guide to the Grasses, Sedges and Rushes of the United States • Knobel (author) • 1981 •
  • Guide to Enjoyning Wildflowers • Stokes (author) • 1986 •
  • How to Identify Grasses & Grasslike Plants • Harrington (author) • 1977 •
  • Mushrooming without Fear: The Beginner's Guide to Collecting Safe and Delicious Mushrooms • Alexander Schwab (author) • 2007 •
  • Mushrooms Demystified • David Arora (author) • 1986 •
  • Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary • James G. Harris, Melinda Woolf Harris (author) • 2001 •

Guides, Kansas

  • Field Guide to the Common Grasses of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska • Iralee Barnard (author) • 2014 •
  • Field Guide to the Common Weeds of Kansas • Barkley (author) • 1983 •
  • Guide to Kansas Mushrooms • Bruce Horn; Richard Kay; Dean Abel (author) • 1993 •
  • Kansas Grasses • Clenton Owensby (author) • 2004 •
  • Kansas Prairie Wildflowers • Clenton Owensby (author) • 2004 •
  • Kansas Wildflowers and Weeds • Michael John Haddock; Craig C Freeman; Janet E. Bare (author) • 2015 •
  • Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines in Kansas • Stephens (author) • 1969 •
  • Wildflowers and Grasses of Kansas: A Field Guide • Michael Haddock (author) • 2005 •
  • Wildflowers of Southeast Kansas and Bordering Counties of Surrounding States • Stephen L. Timme (author) • 2009 •

Guides, Midwest

  • Elemental Prairie: Sixty Tallgrass Plants • Madson (author) • 2005 •
  • Field Guide to Oklahoma Plants • Tyrl; Bidwell; Masters (author) • 2002 •
  • Field Guide to the North American Prairie • Jones & Cushman (author) • 2004 •
  • Flora of the Great Plains • The Great Plains Flora Association (author) • 1986 •
  • Illustrated Guide to Iowa Prairie Plants • Christianson; Miller; Muller (author) • 1999 •
  • Key to Missouri Trees in Winter • Cliburn (author) • 1997 •
  • Missouri Wildflowers: a Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Missouri • Edgar Denison (author) • 2008 •
  • North American Wildland Plants: A Field Guide • Stubbendieck; Hatch; Landholt (author) • 2003 •
  • Ozark Wildflowers: A Field Guide • Kurz (author) • 1999 •
  • Roadside Wildflowers of the Southern Great Plains • Craig C. Freeman & Eileen K. Schofield (author) • 1991 •
  • Shrubs and Woody Vines of Missouri • Kurz (author) • 1997 •
  • Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers 2 : A Field Guide to Common Wildflowers and Plants of the Prairie Midwest • Ladd & Oberle (author) • 2005 •
  • Trees of Missouri • Kurz (author) • 2003 •
  • Weeds of the Great Plains • James Stubbendieck, Mitchell J. Coffin, L.M. Landholt (author) • 2003 •
  • Wildflowers and Other Plants of Iowa Wetlands • Runkel & Roosa (author) • 1999 •
  • Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: the Upper Midwest • Sylvan T. Runkel & Dean M. Roosa (author) • 2009 •
  • Wildflowers of the Western Plains: A Field Guide • Zoe Merriman Kirkpatrick (author) • 2008 •

Guides, Poisonous Plants

  • Poisonous Plants of the Central United States • Stephens (author) • 1982 •
  • Toxic Plants of North America • George E. Burrows and Ronald J. Tyrl (author) • 2013 •

Guides, Seeds & Seedlings

  • Central Region Seedling ID Guide for Native Prairie Plants • USDA-NRCS; Missouri Department of Conservation (author) • 2007 •
  • Prairie Seedling and Seeding Evaluation Guide • Paul Bockenstedt (author) • 2006 •
  • Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide to Seed and Seedling Identification in the Upper Midwest • Dave Williams (author) • Brent Butler (illustrator) • 2010 •
  • Weed Seeds of the Great Plains • Davis (author) • 1993 •

Insects

  • Attracting Native Pollinators: The Xerces Society Guide to Conserving North American Bees and Butterflies and Their Habitat • The Xerces Society (author) • 2011 •
  • Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America • Eric R. Eaton, Kenn Kaufman (author) • 2007 •
  • Photographic Field Guide to the Butterflies in the Kansas City Region • Betsy Betros (author) • 2008 •
  • Pollinators of Native Plants: Attract, Observe and Identify Pollinators and Beneficial Insects with Native Plants • Heather N. Holm (author) • 2014 •

Landscaping

  • 100 Easy-to-Grow Native Plants: For American Gardens in Temperate Zones • Johnson (author) • 1999 •
  • Birdscaping for Garden Spaces: A Guide to Garden Birds and the Native Plants that Attract Them • George Adams (author) • 2010 •
  • Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens • Douglas W. Tallamy (author) • 2009 •
  • Design Your Natural Midwest Garden • Patricia Hill (author) • 2007 •
  • Gardening in the Heartland • Snyder (author) • 1991 •
  • Gardening with Prairie Plants • Wasowski (author) • 2002 •
  • Go Native!: Gardening with Native Plants and Wildflowers in the Lower Midwest • Harstad (author) • 1999 •
  • Growing and Propagating Wild Flowers • Phillips (author) • 1985 •
  • Growing Native Wildflowers • Platt & Harder (author) • 1997 •
  • Native Ferns, Moss & Grasses • William Cullina (author) • 2008 •
  • Native Landscaping for Wildlife and People • Tylka (author) • 2002 •
  • Native Trees for North American Landscapes: From the Atlantic to the Rockies • Sternberg & Wilson (author) • 2004 •
  • Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines: A Guide to Using, Growing, and Propagating North American Woody Plants • Cullina (author) • 2002 •
  • Natural Landscaping: Designing with Native Plant Communities • Diekelmann & Schuster (author) • 2003 •
  • Water Plants for Missouri Ponds • Whitley (author) • 1990 •

Maps

  • Kansas Atlas & Gazetteer • DeLorme Publishing (author) • 2006 •

Natural History

  • Kansas Outdoor Treasures: a Guide to Over 60 Natural Destinations • Julie M. Cirlincuina (author) • 2008 •
  • Kansas Wetlands • Collins (author) • 1994 •
  • Kansas Year • Mike Blair (author) • 2009 •
  • Lewis and Clark on the Great Plains: A Natural History • Johnsgard (author) • 2003 •
  • Life in the Soil: a Guide for Naturalists and Gardeners • James B. Nardi (author) • 2007 •
  • Living Landscapes of Kansas • Reichman (author) • 1995 •
  • Nature of Kansas Lands • Beverley Worster (author) • 2008 •

Nature Journal

  • Last Prairie: A Sandhills Journal • Jones (author) • 2006 •
  • Seldom Seen: a Journey into the Great Plains • Patrick Dobson (author) • 2009 •
  • Wild Douglas County • Ken Lassman (author) • 2007 •

Prairie

  • Ecology and Management of Prairies in the Central United States • Chris Helzer (author) • 2009 •
  • Fragile Giants: A Natural History of the Loess Hills • Mutel (author) • 1989 •
  • Grassland Dynamics: Long-Term Ecological Research in Tallgrass Prairie • Knapp (author) • 1998 •
  • Great Plains: America's Lingering Wild • Michael Forsberg (author) • 2009 •
  • Hunger for the Wild: America's Obsession with the Untamed West • Michael L. Johnson (author) • 2007 •
  • Konza Prairie: A Tallgrass Natural History • O. J. Reichman (author) • 1990 •
  • Prairie Directory of North America • Adelman (author) • 2001 •
  • Prairie Dog Empire: A Saga of the Shortgrass Prairie • Johnsgard (author) • 2005 •
  • Prairie: A Natural History • Savage (author) • 2004 •
  • Revolution on the Range: the Rise of a New Ranch in the American West • Courtney White (author) • 2008 •
  • This Fragile Land: A Natural History of the Nebraska Sandhills • Johnsgard (author) • 1995 •
  • Valley of Grass: Tallgrass Prairie and Parkland of the Red River Valley • Chapman; Fischer; Ziegenhagen (author) • 1998 •
  • Where the Sky Began: Land of the Tallgrass Prairie • Madson (author) • 2004 •

Recreation

  • Hiking Guide to Kansas • Hauber (author) • 1999 •
  • Hiking Kansas City: the Complete Guide to More than 125 Hiking and Walking Trails in the Kansas City Area • William B. Eddy & Richard O. Ballentine (author) • 2007 •
  • Kansas Trail Guide: The Best Hiking, Biking, and Riding in the Sunflower State • Jonathan M. Conard & Kristin M. Conard (author) • 2015 •
  • Paddling Kansas • Dave Murphy (author) • 2009 •

Restoration

  • Practical Guide to Prairie Reconstruction • Kurtz (author) • 2001 •
  • Prairie Builders: Reconstructing America's Lost Grasslands • Collard (author) • 2005 •
  • Prairie Garden • Smith & Smith (author) • 1980 •
  • Restoring Prairie Wetlands: An Ecological Approach • Galatowitsch & Van Der Valk (author) • 1998 •
  • Restoring the Tallgrass Prairie: An Illustrated Manual for Iowa and the Upper Midwes • Shirley (author) • 1994 •
  • Tallgrass Restoration Handbook: For Prairies, Savannas, and Woodlands • Stephen Packard (Editor), Cornelia F. Mutel (Editor) (author) • 1997 •

Wildlife

  • Birds of Kansas • Max C. Thompson, Charles A. Ely, Bob Gress, Chuck Otte, Sebastian T. Patti, David Seibel, and Eugene (author) • 2011 •
  • Birds of Konza: The Avian Ecology of the Tallgrass Prairie • John L. Zimmerman (author) • 1993 •
  • Buffalo Nation: American Indian Efforts to Restore the Bison • Ken Zontek (author) • 2007 •
  • Cougar: Ecology and Conservation • Maurice Hornocker & Sharon Negri (editor) • 2009 •
  • Faces of the Great Plains: Prairie Wildlife • Paul A. Johnsgard & Bob Gress (author) • 2003 •
  • Guide to Kansas Birds and Birding Hot Spots • Bob Gress & Pete Janzen (author) • 2008 •
  • Kansas Fishes • Kansas Fishes Committee (author) • 2014 •
  • Prairie Birds: Fragile Splendor in the Great Plains • Paul A. Johnsgard (author) • 2001 •
  • Prairie Wanderings: The Land and Creatures of the Grasslands • Paul G. Jantzen (author) • Kristin Ediger-Goering (illustrator) • 1993 •
  • Watching Kansas Wildlife: A Guide to 101 Sites • Bob Gress & George Potts (author) • 1993 •