“Smokey from the Block” Coloring Book Combines Cats, Creativity & Compassion

Creative cat lovers won’t be able to wait to grab their favorite crayons, colored pencils, or markers and sit down with Smokey from the Block, a unique new coloring book based upon a true and happy animal rescue story. Relax and express your creativity by adding color and your own pizazz to the illustrated saga of Smokey, New York City’s coolest cat-about-town!

Roamin’ Smokey, a New York City tomcat with grey good looks and curb appeal, is always on the lookout for love, trouble, and a nosh. He finds all three and more when he encounters his fine-lined lady friend, Mamacita, his fiercest rival, Daddy-o Buck, and a feral cat caretaker named Chiara.

Written by Laura King, Smokey’s saga unfolds over 27 sequential pages, eloquently illustrated by Thomas Draplin to draw colorist-readers into the everyday lives, relationships, and perils of urban cats living in a managed Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) colony. The adult cats are trapped, spayed/neutered, and returned to their colony by Chi to put a cap on kittens and unneighborly behaviors. Mamacita, Smokey, and Daddy-o all settle down without mating on their minds, but still defend their home against marauders. Smokey’s epic adventure begins when the injured cat escapes from a carrier into greater danger in Midtown Manhattan. He eludes rescuers for days, encounters loose dogs, and is ultimately rescued by a heroic stranger. The story ends happily with Smokey’s adaptation to life as an indoor cat, just a block away from his former managed TNR colony.

Each illustration within Smokey from the Block features the infamous tomcat surrounded by the architecture, fashion, humanity, and humor that combine to make New York the world’s most vibrant and exciting metropolis. While coloring its streets, you’ll discover its charm, plus learn more about what you already know and love — cats! Community cats, whether feral or stray, are fascinating creatures that can enrich their neighborhoods and thrive with the help of caring people and humane, progressive management programs. We hope that the coloring journey you take with Smokey will not just fulfill you artistically, but also touch your heart!

The drawings are supplemented by a Welcome page, a Narrative, and an Epilogue that encourages interested readers to become caretakers for community cats, and directs them to animal welfare websites to learn more.

A portion of the net profits from sales of this coloring book will benefit the NYC Feral Cat Initiative of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, and a medical fund for NYC’s stray and feral kitties.