On this week’s edition of our traveling book club, we head out to Wilton, Iowa, for stories of bakery wizards, the Day of the Dead and magical murder-solving cats.

WILTON, Iowa — The temps outside may still feel like summer, but fall is in the air! Here are three book recommendations to help get you in the mood for the season. 

Every other Wednesday, we check in on a new library, in a new town, on our 4 p.m. show, The Current. This week, for our 30th stop, we’re heading over to Iowa and the Wilton Public Library. 

You can also check out any of our other libraries, including our most recent visits to Rock Island, Fulton, Bettendorf, Sterling, and Lost Nation. 

This week, our librarians have chosen one story each for children, teenagers and adult readers. But all are ready to get you into the fall mood! 

“Dia de Muertos” by Dori Elys and illustrated by Alicia Mas is this week’s children’s book pick. This bright board book has colorful felt flaps that children can lift up and interact with as they go through the story. It’s a book filled with joy that teaches young ones all about the Day of the Dead and how we can honor our loved ones who have passed on. In 2025, Day of the Dead is celebrated from Nov. 1 overnight into Nov. 2. “A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking” by T. Kingfisher is the 2021 Hugo and Locus Awards winner. Perfect for anyone, but geared toward teenagers, this story follows 14-year-old Mona. She isn’t like the wizards that defend the city. Mona can’t control lighting or speak to water. In fact, her familiar is a sourdough starter, and her magic only works on bread. But Mona is comfortable with her life in her aunt’s bakery and has fun making gingerbread men dance. That is… until she finds a dead body on the bakery floor. When an assassin is stalking the streets of Mona’s city, preying on magic folk, it seems as though she’s his next target. And in an embattled city suddenly bereft of wizards, the assassin may be the least of her worries.”Curiosity Thrilled the Cat” by Sofie Kelly is book one in this 16-part series. In this tale, we meet small-town librarian Kathleen Paulson, who’s just moved to Mayville Heights, Minnesota. Soon after, two stray cats nuzzled their way into her life. You’ve got Owen, a tabby with a catnip addiction, and Hercules, a stocky tuxedo who shares Kathleen’s fondness for Barry Manilow. But there’s something… more to these kitties. When murder interrupts Mayville’s Wild Rose Summer Music Festival, Kathleen finds herself the prime suspect. On top of that, Owen and Hercules might even be magical. Now, she must use her cat’s help to solve this purr-fect murder. 


Beyond the Books

The library has several recurring clubs and gatherings you can look forward to this fall. You can find a full list of events on the library’s event calendar. 

On certain Thursdays, you can hang out with the Yarn Club at 5 p.m. Walk-ins are accepted.

On Thursday, Oct. 16, your fourth through eighth graders can enjoy a science club at 3:30 p.m.  

And for our history lovers, a talk on King Tut’s secrets, and how new clues will be uncovered through new technology, will take place at noon on Monday, Sept. 22. 

Tune into The Current from 4 to 5 p.m. on weekdays to catch live interviews impacting you, your family and your hometown as well as all of the biggest headlines of the day.