Katherine Applegate, author of “Wishtree,” will have an online live presentation on her book, which will be free to attend for all interested.

“Wishtree” was one of two books selected by the Port Townsend Public Library for its Community Read program throughout March, and readers will have the chance to hear from Applegate, who will discuss the book and read from parts of it.

The online event will start at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 17.

The Zoom link to the presentation and other details are at ptpubliclibrary.org/library/page/meet-author-katherine-applegate-online.

The New York Times bestselling story involves kindness, friendship, and hope. Trees can’t tell jokes, but they can certainly tell stories. Red, an oak tree who is many rings old, is the neighborhood “wishtree” — people write their wishes on pieces of cloth and tie them to Red’s branches. Along with a crow named Bongo and other animals who seek refuge in Red’s hollows, this wishtree watches over the neighborhood. One might say Red has seen it all, until a new family moves in. Not everyone is welcoming, and Red’s experience as a wishtree becomes more important than ever.

Applegate is the author of several best-selling young adult series, including “Animorphs” and “Roscoe Riley Rules.”

“Home of the Brave,” her first standalone novel, received the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators 2008 Golden Kite Award for Best Fiction and the Bank Street 2008 Josette Frank Award. Applegate won the John Newbery Medal in 2013. She lives with her family in Irvine, California.

To learn more about “Wishtree” and Applegate, go to wishtreebook.com.