Wilmette families can meet New York Times-bestselling author Dashka Slater on Tuesday, Sept. 8, when she visits Wilmette Public Library to celebrate the publication day of her first middle-grade nonfiction book, The Wild Season: The Remarkable True Story of a Rabbit Rescue.

The free after-school event runs from 4 to 5 p.m. at the library, 1242 Wilmette Ave. It's a partnership between the library and Winnetka independent bookstore The Book Stall, which will sell copies on-site for signing. No registration is required, and the event is open to all ages.

The Wild Season tells the true story of pet rabbits mysteriously abandoned in a San Francisco park and the unlikely coalition of kids hiding in forts, teenagers surveying the grounds, rabbit experts setting traps and scores of neighbors who raced to rescue them before predators closed in. Kirkus Reviews called it "a joyful, fact-packed invitation to notice the wild world just outside your door."

Slater, who lives in Oakland, California, is already familiar to many North Shore kids through her Wanda Gag Read-Aloud Award-winning Escargot picture book series and the Feylawn Chronicles fantasy novels. Older readers may know The 57 Bus, her teen nonfiction book that won the American Library Association's Stonewall Book Award and landed on Time Magazine's list of the 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time.

In the library's event announcement, Slater wrote about what drew her to the rabbit rescue story: "Writing this book turned out to be a balm for my weary soul. It's a story about community and cooperation, about the small triumphs that don't make headlines but reveal our species' vast capacity for good. Sometimes, it turns out, a rabbit can teach you a lot about being human."

The Sept. 8 program includes an interactive visual presentation on how Slater created the book, rabbit and flipbook craft activities, thematic snacks and a book signing. The book publishes that same day, so the signing will be one of the earliest chances for young readers to grab a personalized copy.

A free Educator's Guide is available from publisher Hachette Book Group for teachers who want to bring the book into classrooms.