Julie Jo Larson
July 24

Julie Jo Larson was in the store to present a program about her new book, 100 Things to do in the Minnesota Northwoods Before you Die, followed by signing books. The book is a great resource for day trips in the area! “You’ll want to grab a friend or two, a copy of 100 Things to Do in Minnesota Northwoods Before You Die, and your sense of wonder because adventures await you in the Minnesota Northwoods.”

Phyllis Root was in the store signing copies of her latest book, Begin with a Bee and some of her other books.

Begin with a Bee and its story of the life of one queen bee, a rusty-patched bumblebee, teaches us not only about bees but also about our own responsibilities in the natural world.

Schaitberger signed Stands Before His People: Enmegahbowh and the Ojibwe. Enmegahbowh was the first Ojibwe Episcopalian priest in the United States. During the turbulent frontier days of the 1800s in Minnesota, he worked for peace, opportunity, and cooperation among peoples. His work centered in the Gull Lake area and at White Earth. Schaitberger, who is retired, says he began the research which resulted in this book when he was in the ninth grade!

Christina Baker Kline
July 7

Kline’s latest book, The Exiles, was released in paperback on July 6. Her publisher offered a free virtual event with Christina for purchasers of the book. We helped customers register for the virtual event, and also gave out signed bookplates.

The Exiles is the stunning story of English women who were sentenced to Van Diemans Land, a penal colony in Australia in the 1840’s. Kline’s earlier books include A Piece of the World and Orphan Train.

July 4

There WAS a parade this again year—

David Ralph Johnson
June 26

David Ralph Johnson signed copies of Grand View.

Angeline Boulley
June 23

The Sister Wolf Book Group had a discussion of The Firekeeper’s Daughter. Author Angeline Boulley zoomed in for half an hour: all were invited to join the event.

The Firekeeper’s Daughter is both a coming of age story and a mystery; it also reveals much about Ojibwe culture, and it’s wrapped in a fast-paced story and a appealing main character.

Doug Mayfield
June 19

Doug Mayfield was in the store to sign copies of The Saint Patrick’s Day Hero.

Frank Weber In Person!
May 29

Forensic Psychologist and True Crime author Frank Weber signed books in the store and answered questions about forensics and writing True Crime. Frank’s latest book, Lying Close received top billing in the St. Paul Pioneer Press as new books to read in 2021.

Mary Casanova

In her third Rainy Lake historical drama, Mary Casanova takes us back to pristine and rugged northern Minnesota. It's 1922, women have won the right to vote, and Trinity Baird is of age. But at 21, after nearly two years at Oak Hills Asylum, she returns to her family's island summer home with her self-confidence in tatters and her mind seared by haunting memories. Her parents are oblivious to what they have put her through and instead watch their daughter for the least sign of defiance. Trinity struggles to be the "respectable" young woman her parents (especially her mother) demand, so that she can return to her independent life studying art and painting in Paris. She never wants to go back to Oak Hills, where they "treat" hysterical, i.e., unconventional, young women.

With enough talent and ambition to be accepted into the Sorbonne, Trinity had hoped she would be well on her way as an artist by now. On the island, she returns to what sustains her: painting. While her love for this beautiful place is deep and abiding, the few months ahead present a near-impossible task: recover the strong sense of self she's nearly lost during her time away, while holding off her powerful family's efforts to coerce her into submission. When her parents arrive on Baird Island, her father brings along a promising young architect to help with plans to build new guest cabins. Trinity suspects her parents are trying to introduce yet another marriage prospect. Or might she have found an ally?

Informed by historical figures, by the burgeoning growth of women's rights in the early twentieth century, and the complicated issue of mental illness and how "difficult" women were silenced, Waterfall offers a compelling story of an inspired, ambitious, and soulful young woman's fight to find her way.

One Day. Hundreds Of Bookstores. Fifty States.
Join the Celebration!

Independent Bookstore Day is a one-day national party that takes place at indie bookstores across the country on the last Saturday in April. Every store is unique and independent, and every party is different. But in addition to other fun stuff, there are exclusive books and literary items that you can only get on that day. Not before.
Nowhere else.

Sally and Jen on Independent Bookstore Day 2019. This year: new hair colors, new tshirts!

Glennon Doyle was named the 2021 IBD ambassador.

The bestselling author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Untamed, is now a champion of independent bookstores.

“I have been to one million independent bookstores. I have met the booksellers who founded them and own them. I have fallen in love with them,” said Doyle. “Zero jerks own independent bookstores. They just don’t. They are — always — people who believe in and deeply invest in communities and art and ideas. And during this pandemic, in which we have lost one local indie per week, we need to prioritize investing in these local businesses who invest so much in us.”

At Beagle and Wolf, you found exclusive IBD merchandise, some fun give a-ways, the great stock coming in for summer, a free book with every purchase, and a chance to sign up for the book bag drawing. We slipped an IBD bookmark in every book we sold.

Paper Bag Princess Day!
March 6

To celebrate, Jen read the storyon Facebook Live! (Because of copyright restrictions, the video had to be removed March 7.)

Hear Robert Munsch reflect on his book.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar
March 20

We welcomed spring by sharing sticker sheets related to the beloved book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Children were welcome, but we also gave stickers to parents or grandparents to take home.

Night-In

Night In was virtual this year, and it was fun to have people from all over the country join us! Folks from Florida, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arizona, North Dakota, Ohio, California, and all over Minnesota were part of the group. Half of Jen and Sally’s book talks are in February newsletter's Staff Picks; the rest will be in next month’s newsletter. Books are available in the store and at our online store. Special thanks to Jason Gobble, a Random House rep, for joining us, and to Tom Geraedts, our tech guy!

Small Business Saturday
November 28

Banned Books Week
September 27 to October 3, 2020

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. It spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. It brings together the entire book community—librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types—in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

During Banned Books Week we displayed a variety of banned books, some of them quite surprising!

Independent Bookstore Day

More than mere stores, independent bookstores are community centers and local anchors run by passionate readers. They are entire universes of ideas that contain the possibility of real serendipity. They are lively performance spaces and quiet places where aimless perusal is a day well spent.

In a world of tweets, algorithms, and digital downloads, bookstores areliving, breathing organisms that continue to grow and expand. And they are at your service.

Independent Bookstore Day is a one-day national party that takes place at indie bookstores across the country on the last Saturday in April. Oops, this year it was postponed to August 29! It was different from previous years, but still an important celebration of independent bookstores.