In October 2023, our community lost an avid supporter and library fan. Louise "Lucy" Koehler loved her community and spent countless hours in its service. As a member of the Illinois Prairie District Public Library's Board of Trustees, she worked tirelessly to promote reading and education to the residents of Benson and beyond.
At her family's request, a memorial fund was established to continue the work that Lucy championed in her life. Illinois Prairie District Public Library is pleased to announce the establishment of The Koehler Memorial Children's Collection at IPDPL - Benson. The Collection features timeless classics like C. S. Lewis's Narnia series, Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books alongside modern favorites like Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and the Ragweed & Poppy series.
To see the complete Koehler Memorial Children's Collection, visit IPDPL - Benson at 420 Front Street in Benson, IL. Titles are available for checkout through interlibrary loan. For more information on ways to support the library, visit our Support page. To donate to the Koehler Memorial Children's Collection fund for future book purchases, please email Dawn Smith.
The Koehler Memorial Children’s Collection
Titles are listed alphabetically by the author.
Little Men, by Louisa May Alcott
Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
Poppy, by Avi
Ragweed, by Avi
Ragweed & Poppy, by Avi
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, by Judi Barrett
Peter and Wendy, by J. M. Barrie
Peter Pan, by J. M. Barrie
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum
A Dark Dark Tale, by Ruth Brown
A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Incredible Journey, by Sheila Burnford
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll
Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll
Dear Mr. Henshaw, by Beverly Cleary
The Mouse and the Motorcycle, by Beverly Cleary
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl
Matilda, by Roald Dahl
Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens
Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens
The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas
The Black Stallion, by Walter Farley
Old Yeller, by Fred Gipson
The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame
A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving
Captains Courageous, by Rudyard Kipling
The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling
The Blue Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang
The Horse and His Boy, by C. S. Lewis
The Last Battle, by C. S. Lewis
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C. S. Lewis
The Magician’s Nephew, by C. S. Lewis
Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia, by C. S. Lewis
The Silver Chair, by C. S. Lewis
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C. S. Lewis
The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking, by Astrid Lindgren
The Story of Doctor Dolittle, by Hugh Lofting
The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh, by A. A. Milne
Shiloh, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
The Borrowers, by Mary Norton
Pollyanna, by Eleanor Porter
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, by Howard Pyle
Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls
The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Heidi, by Johanna Spyri
Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson
Disney's Bambi, edited by Studio Fun International
Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, by J. R. R Tolkien
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
The Prince and the Pauper, by Mark Twain
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne
Around the World in 80 Days, by Jules Verne
Charlotte’s Web, by E. B. White
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, by Kate Douglas Wiggin
Farmer Boy, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann David Wyss