Paperback of Village of Scoundrels comes out Oct. 21

Based on the true story of the French villagers in WWII who saved thousands of Jews, this novel tells how a group of young teenagers of Les Lauzes stood up for what was right. Among them is a young Jewish boy who learns to forge documents to save his mother and later goes on to save hundreds of lives with his forgery skills. There is also a girl who overcomes her fear to carry messages for the Resistance. And a boy who smuggles people into Switzerland.

But there is always the threat that they will be caught: A policeman is sent to keep an eye on them, German soldiers reside in a local hotel, and eventually the Gestapo arrives, armed with guns and a list of names. As the knot tightens, the young people must race against time to bring their friends to safety.

Wonderful reviews for "Snowshoe Kate and the Hospital Built for Pennies"

Margi fell in love with the story of Snowshoe Kate and is excited that others are, too!

early reviews

"Preus and Zollars excel at anchoring both human and numerical stories, conveying via first-person prose and crisp, digitally colored graphite images the expansive impact of both one doctor and all those pennies."  
— Publisher’s Weekly

"Memorable pictures of what a worthy life, and a million pennies, might look like."
— Kirkus   

ABOUT THE BOOK

Dr. Kate Pelham Newcomb (or "Dr. Kate," as she was known to her patients) was a doctor in rural northern Wisconsin during the early 1900s, a time when very few women practiced medicine. Because the nearest hospital was over two hours away and the snowy roads were often impassable, Dr. Kate sometimes used snowshoes to reach her patients, which lead to her nickname, the "Angel on Snowshoes." She also traveled by snowmobile and even the snowplow!

In her years as a doctor, she delivered an astonishing 4,000 babies, and those same children later played a key role in the "Million Penny Parade," a massive grassroots fundraiser inspired by Dr. Kate's lifelong efforts to build a hospital in her community. Dr. Kate's dreams of being able to better serve her community finally came to fruition in 1954 when Lakeland Memorial Hospital opened — with Dr. Kate serving as chief of staff.

Jaime Zollars is the illustrator of the middle-grade novel Wicked Nix and the artist behind the iconic covers of the Greenglass House series. She is also the author-illustrator of the picture book The Truth About Dragons. Her art has been recognized by American Illustration, Communication Arts, the Society of Illustrators, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, among others. She lives in Southern California.

Release date: October 28, 2025

Lily (and cast) welcome the Tall Ships to Duluth!

Caption: Ore boat goes under the bridge.

Thank you for joining us and helping us welcome the big ships with “Lily Leads the Way!”

How fun to celebrate Duluth's own "Lily Leads the Way" with the Tall Ships right in Lake Superior! This super fun storytime was a unique opportunity to bring Lily’s story to life. Thank you to all of our enthusiastic young actors who played all the boats and the bridge!

This event was sponsored by The Bookstore at Fitgers, Duluth’s beloved independent bookstore that specializes in Northeastern Minnesota regional books, and book readings and events for Duluth’s youngest readers.

Caption: Magri reads about how Lily leads the tall ships into the harbor with real tall ships in the background!

Caption: Coast guard cutter under the bridge!

Caption: Barque under the bridge!

Caption: Curtain call for our creative cast.

Caption: Blowing a horn to signal the bridge.

Caption: Margi signing books.

Actors wanted: Help Lily welcome the Tall Ships to Duluth!

The Tall Ships are Coming and Lily will Lead the Way!

WANTED: actors of all ages (young ones especially!) to portray sailboats, salties, sloops, schooners, and more for a little performance of LILY LEADS THE WAY. (No experience necessary—also no rehearsal needed). We hope to usher the tall ships into the Duluth harbor just like Lily does in the story!

WHEN? July 10 at 11:00 a.m.

WHERE? Lakeside Courtyard at Fitgers, Duluth, MN (indoors if weather is inclement)

WHAT? Storytime, Performance, Activities, Treats

SPONSORED BY: The Bookstore at Fitgers.

BONUS: Watch the Parade of Sail as the tall ships enter the Duluth harbor!!

West of the Moon: A Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far)

It is truly an honor to be included on this list!

Margi is over the moon that "West of the Moon" was named one of the Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far) by Kirkus Reviews. (And available once again (finally!) in paperback!)

This richly woven coming-of-age story, inspired by Norwegian folklore and the author's family history, centers on thirteen-year-old Astri, a goat girl sold by her own aunt and uncle for "two silver coins and a haunch of goat" to a nasty, old, hunchbacked goat-man named Svaalberd. Armed with a troll treasure, a book of spells and curses, and a possibly magic hairbrush, Astri makes a clever escape, retrieves her little sister, and sets off on a dangerous journey to America, over the Norwegian mountains, through field and forest, and in and out of folktales and dreams as they steadily make their way east of the sun and west of the moon.

As Margi explains in her author's note, the novel was inspired by her Norwegian great-great-grandmother, who immigrated to America in 1851, and includes reproductions of some of her great-great-grandmother's papers.