Book Release Party for Huck & Finn

From 5 to 7 p.m. on August 2, Wellsboro's First Friday, From My Shelf Books & Gifts is hosting an author event in the bookstore at 7 East Avenue in Wellsboro.

Featured author will be Kevin Coolidge, who, with his wife Kasey, own From My Shelf Books. Coolidge's newest book, "Huck & Finn, Bookstore Cats," will be available for purchase. Coolidge will autograph copies. Those who attend will also get to meet Huck and Finn and talk to Coolidge about the book.

In March of 2014, Coolidge and his wife adopted Huck and Finn as kittens from Animal Care Sanctuary in Wellsboro. They are from the same litter. Huck is a black and white tuxedo cat. His brother Finn is all black. They were named for the main character in Mark Twain's novel, "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

"Our first bookstore cat was an orange tabby named Hobo," said Coolidge. He wrote a picture book about Hobo that is still popular with children today. "Hobo was our bookstore cat from 2006 to 2014," said Coolidge. "After he passed away, we adopted Huck and Finn."

The two bookstore cats are also included in "Bookstore Cats" written by Brandon Schultz and published in September of 2017. Huck and Finn are also characters in the "Totally Ninja Raccoon" series written by Coolidge for second to fourth grade reluctant readers. The first book in the series was published on Dec. 11, 2015 and the eighth on July 6, 2018. The cats appear in six of the eight.

"When Huck and Finn decided they wanted their own picture book, I wrote one for them," said Coolidge. "Stephanie Webb did the illustrations for it. She did a terrific job illustrating 'Molly, the Dog with Diabetes,' a true story I wrote about our neighbors' dachshund mix and her journey with diabetes. The artwork Stephanie did for both books is beautiful," Coolidge said.

For more information, call From My Shelf Books at 570-724-5793.


Author Kevin Coolidge (standing) will be available to talk about his most recent book "Huck & Finn, Bookstore Cats" during a special event at From My Shelf Books in Wellsboro. Those who attend will meet the all black Finn (shown left) and his brother, black and white Huck.