One Book | One Minnesota virtual events

Last week, the statewide virtual book club One Book | One Minnesota held two events for readers to celebrate the program's inaugural book, Because of Winn-Dixie, written by Minnesota author and Newbery Award winner Kate DiCamillo. The first of these events was a Virtual Lunch Party, hosted by the Viking Library System. Partygoers were encouraged to share photos of their pets, eat snacks inspired by the book, and listen to music provided by Susan and Tom from Perham Area Public Library. This event was geared toward younger readers, who were invited sing along as Susan and Tom played classic folk songs on the guitar, mandolin, and accordion. You can watch the video of this party on the Viking Library System's Facebook page, and check out the comments section for pet photos and greetings from attendees across Minnesota!

Readers of all ages were invited to watch an interview with author Kate DiCamillo, hosted by Saint Paul Public Library branch manager Eric Byrd. Attendees submitted questions ahead of the interview and asked them in the chat as the interview was livestreamed last week, and question topics ranged from the intricacies of the editing process to the books DiCamillo was currently reading. This event was attended by hundreds of viewers across Minnesota, but the audience wasn't limited to our state—the stream was viewed both nationally and international in places such as New York, California, and India! During the interview, DiCamillo shared that she missed being able to visit classrooms and discuss her work with students in person, but she was excited to reach an even broader audience thanks to this livestream. You can watch a recording of the interview on the Friends of Saint Paul Public Library YouTube channel.