This week, we thought we would do audiobooks of famous Kentuckians! All of these people were born or lived in Kentucky at one time. Enjoy listening to these biographies!
These audiobooks are available at Librivox and all of the titles are in the public domain. These titles can also be downloaded to an app on your phone so you do not have to use data.
Daniel Boone - By Katharine Elliott Wilkie
""Get out of Kentucky and stay out!" the Indians told Daniel Boone. But Daniel Boone did not scare easily.
There was the time his daughter was kidnapped by the Indians. Boone tracked the kidnappers through the forest and rescued her.
There was the time Boone was captured by the Shawnees. He escaped in time to warn the people of Boonesborough: "The Indians are coming! Get ready to fight!"
Boone's life was full of adventure. And this book tells his story. (Summary from book description)" (From Librivox)
The Life of Kit Carson - By Edward S. Ellis
"Christopher Carson, or as he was familiarly called, Kit Carson, was a man whose real worth was understood only by those with whom he was associated or who closely studied his character. He was more than hunter, trapper, guide, Indian agent and Colonel in the United States Army." (Librivox)
The Story of Abraham Lincoln - By Mary Agnes Hamilton
"In this biography for young adults, Mary A. Hamilton gives a British person’s perspective on the 16th President of the United States. A glowing tribute to “Honest Abe”, the author traces Lincoln’s ancestral roots and recounts his birth in Kentucky, his youth in Indiana, his adult life in Illinois and his years in the White House. She also provides a good background on the causes and course of the American Civil War." (From Librivox)
John James Audubon - By John Burroughs
"Audubon's life naturally divides itself into three periods: his youth, which was on the whole a gay and happy one, and which lasted till the time of his marriage at the age of twenty-eight; his business career which followed, lasting ten or more years, and consisting mainly in getting rid of the fortune his father had left him; and his career as an ornithologist which, though attended with great hardships and privations, brought him much happiness and, long before the end, substantial pecuniary rewards." (From Librivox)
Do you prefer to read a print book? Look for the following titles in your local libraries - Carter County Public Library (https://evolveopac.infovisionsoftware.com/cartercounty/) and Kentucky Christian University (https://kentuckychristianuniversity.on.worldcat.org/). Just click on the tabs to see books written by Kentucky authors! Note that there are a lot of Jesse Stuart books. He was born, grew up, and taught school in Greenup County Kentucky. His books reflect many "backyard" adventures. Enjoy!
AT KENTUCKY CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY'S YOUNG LIBRARY
Eckert has taken all of the known facts of Blue Jacket’s life and has woven them into a narrative of compelling interest, with a very different perspective on the way America was settled. The reader will learn what life was really like on the dangerous frontier wilderness that was West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio before the Revolutionary War." (From Jesse Stuart Foundation)
AT CARTER COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
E-Books are a great way to read materials and never have to leave home! There are many free books available for you to read on your computer, on your cell phone, on your tablet, or on your reading device. Any of these tools will allow you to download and then read these titles. You do not have to have internet to read the books once you have downloaded them. All of the books below are available from Project Gutenberg. Its books are free and you can even read them online.
You can also look through Project Gutenberg yourself and find other books on Appalachia that may also be interesting to you! Also try searching for individual states in the Appalachian region to find more titles. If you find one you like better than any that are down below, be sure and email us about it at library@kcu.edu!
A Kentucky Cardinal - By James Lane Allen
"A Kentucky Cardinal, set in 1850, features a romance between a naturalist and a society girl." (From Barnes & Noble)
The Adventures of Daniel Boone: The Kentucky Rifleman - By Francis L Hawks
"Col. Daniel Boone/Boon (1734-1820) was an American pioneer and hunter whose frontier exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the U. S. state of Kentucky, which was then beyond the western borders of the Thirteen Colonies. Despite resistance from American Indians, for whom Kentucky was a traditional hunting ground, in 1778 Boone blazed the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap and into Kentucky. There he founded Boonesborough, one of the first English-speaking settlements beyond the Appalachian Mountains. Boone was a Militia officer during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). He was elected to the first of his three terms in the Virginia General Assembly during the war, and fought in the Battle of Blue Licks in 1782. Boone worked as a surveyor and merchant after the war, but he went deep into debt as a Kentucky land speculator. Frustrated with legal problems resulting from his land claims, in 1799 Boone resettled in Missouri, where he spent his final years" (From Goodreads)
The Young Trailers : A Story of Early Kentucky - By Joseph Altsheler
"Young Henry Ware helps to establish a pioneer settlement in early Kentucky, joins in defending it against the attack of hostile Shawnee Indians, and spends some time among the Shawnee as a somewhat willing prisoner. This story of early Kentucky lent its name to Altsheler's The Young Trailers series." (From Goodreads)
Aunt Jane of Kentucky- By Eliza Calver Hall
"This collection of short stories about the fictional quiltmaker Aunt Jane Parish was originally published in 1907 by Caroline Obenchain (who published under the name of Eliza Calvert Hall). Known for her gentle folk wisdom, Aunt Jane vividly describes a picturesque way of life in the rural South of the nineteenth century." (From Goodreads)
A Maid of the Kentucky Hills - By Edwin Carlisle Litsey
"Edwin Carlile Litsey's 'A Maid of the Kentucky Hills' is a gripping novel set in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, focusing on the story of a young woman's struggles and triumphs within the rugged landscape. The book's vivid descriptions and engaging narrative style transport the reader to a bygone era, exploring themes of love, loyalty, and resilience." (From Amazon)