The Van Horn Public Library is pleased to announce that two Minnesota authors are visiting Pine Island in June.  Kao Kalia Yang will be at the Pine Island United Methodist Church on June 12 at 6pm, and Michael Hall will be at the Pine Island 5-12 School Forum Room on June 13 at 2:30pm.

Join us for two captivating events in SELCO’s Minnesota Author Tour series! First, we welcome Kao Kalia Yang. Yang’s work crosses audiences and genres to center the Hmong experience in America. Her books have won multiple awards and include The Late Homecomer, The Song Poet, The Most Beautiful Thing, and her latest, Where Rivers Part: A Story of My Mother’s Life. The book is a memoir about her mother’s life as a child in war-torn Laos, a young wife and refugee in Thailand, and an immigrant parent in the U.S.

Our second visitor is author/illustrator Michael Hall. Mr. Hall is the author/illustrator of The New York Times bestseller, My Heart is Like a Zoo, as well as the critically acclaimed Perfect Square, It’s an Orange Aardvark, Red: A Crayon’s Story, and Frankencrayon. While simple in appearance, his books are thought exercises that draw on word play, metaphor, and visual experimentation to examine themes such as otherness, disability, war, and science. He will be talking about his journey to becoming a New York Times Best Selling author, and perhaps give a few hints to those looking to follow in his footsteps! 

We hope you can join us in welcoming these dynamic authors to Pine Island!

These events are a part of the 2024 Minnesota Author Tour. Organized by SELCO (Southeastern Library Cooperating) and funded through Minnesota’s Legacy Amendment Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, this tour brings Minnesota authors to Southeast Minnesota to inspire readers and writers of all ages. For more information on Legacy funding in SELCO libraries and a complete schedule of Legacy-funded events in the region, visit legacy.selco.info