We're so excited to welcome local author Edward Hemingway to launch his newest picture book for young readers Pigeon & Cat. Eddie will read and sign copies of this heartwarming story about being houseless in the city, and the unexpected friendships that arise from hardship.  

In an abandoned city lot, Cat lives alone in a cardboard box. He leaves only to find food. One day, Cat discovers an unbroken egg too beautiful to eat. Soon, out pecks Pigeon, and they become fast friends. Cat is happy to share his box with Pigeon. But when Pigeon flies far away from where they live, Cat must brave the city in order to rescue his friend. This journey will forever transform his understanding of home. This heartwarming story explores unlikely friendships, the creative spark within us, and how to give comfort and kindness in small, impactful gestures. It is also a celebration of urban community.
 

Edward Hemingway is the acclaimed creator of many popular books: Tough Cookie: A Christmas Story, Field Guide to the Grumpasaurus, and Bad Apple: A Tale of Friendship. His writing and artwork have been published in the New York Times, Nickelodeon Magazine, and GQ Magazine, among others. He lives in Bozeman, Montana. He invites you to visit him at edwardhemingway.com.

Event Guidelines

This event is free and open to the public. To join the signing line and have books signed by the author at this event, please consider purchasing your copy of Pigeon & Cat from Country Bookshelf, either in-store, over the phone, or online (scroll down). The author's previous titles will be available for purchase at the event as supplies last.

Can't make it to the event, but still want to purchase an autographed or personalized book? Place your order below, enter "signed copy" plus any personalization details in the comments section of your order, and we'll have the author sign your books and ship them to you after the event!

FIND WALDO IN BOZEMAN!

Iconic Children’s Book Character Continues to Create Summertime Fun to Support the Shop Local Movement

Where’s Waldo? In Bozeman, of course! The iconic children’s book character in the red-and-white-striped shirt and black-rimmed specs is visiting twenty-five local businesses throughout our community this July. Celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2022, Find Waldo Local is a great summer vacation activity and a wonderful way to support local businesses.

Anyone who wishes to participate can pick up a “Find Waldo Local in Bozeman!” stamp card on or after Friday July 1st, which contains the names of all the participating sites; with each Waldo they spot, they can get their card stamped or signed by the participating shop. To make things a little more challenging, there will be *one* slightly different Waldo hiding in Country Bookshelf. Collecting store stamps or signatures at twenty or more businesses will entitle diligent seekers entry into a grand-prize drawing for Waldo books and paraphernalia at a party on Sunday, July 31st at 4pm.   

Martin Handford’s collections of crowd scenes took the world by storm in the late 1980s, and since then the books have held a cherished place on bookstore shelves. More than 78 million Waldo books have been sold worldwide, and they’ve been translated into over thirty languages. An entire generation has grown up searching for Waldo.

Monday, June 27th at 5:30pm

Heather White invites you to unlock your eco-friendly superpower in One Green Thing with Asher Jay and Betsy Gaines Quammen. 

The climate crisis is the biggest challenge of our time, and we all have a unique role to play. Local Author and noted environmentalist, Heather White, encourages us to start here and now with One Green Thing her book on conserving what remains to us on this planet. Joining White in a discussion of this revolutionary call to action are fellow locals - writer Betsy Gaines Quammen, and artist Asher Jay.

Heather White offers an easy-to-follow guide for climate action while brilliantly weaving together warm and funny stories from her childhood in East Tennessee, anecdotes from 20+ years of environmental advocacy, and scenes from parenting two GenZ daughters in Bozeman, Montana.

In One Green Thing, White shows you how to contribute to the climate movement through self-discovery - your personality, interests, and strengths. Setting the intention each day to take a small step-- a "one green thing" to care for the planet--can help ease your eco-anxiety, push our culture toward climate solutions, and create a sense of joy.

We are over the moon to welcome award-winning and best-selling author Jason Reynolds for our first in-person event since 2020! Join Reynolds for a lively talk about his books, writing life, and his current "Grab The Mic" initiative with the Library of Congress as the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature that has him visiting underserved and rural communities (including schools here in Dutton, Wilsall and Ronan, Montana). Author of middle grade books, graphic novels, young adult fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, Reynolds's wealth of work has a title for every reader--even those who haven't found their knack for reading (yet!). Reynolds's voice is authentic and deliberate, letting the truth shine through in each of his books--whether that be of historical, personal, or character based truths. After a long pause on our in-person events, we are so excited and honored to host such a prolific writer during his first visit to Montana. We hope you will join us for this incredible event.

Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, a two-time National Book Award finalist, a Kirkus Award winner, a Carnegie Medal winner, a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award Winner, and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors. He's also the 2020-2022 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. His many books include All American Boys (cowritten with Brendan Kiely); When I Was the Greatest; The Boy in the Black Suit; Stamped; As Brave as You; For Every One; the Track series ( Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu); Look Both Ways; Stuntboy, in the Meantime; Ain't Burned All the Bright; My Name Is Jason. Mine Too. (with Jason Griffin); and Long Way Down, which received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a Coretta Scott King Honor. He lives in Washington, DC. You can find his ramblings at JasonWritesBooks.com.

This event is free, no ticket required!

Amanda Gorman Book Drive to benefit Thrive!

To celebrate National Poetry Month, Bookshop.org and Country Bookshelf are proud to partner with Penguin Young Readers to donate copies of Amanda Gorman’s books to Thrive! Thrive's mission to support our community's youth in growing and succeeding is very near and dear to our hearts. 

We are helping Thrive's Child Advancement Project recruit mentors. In just one hour a week, as a Child Advancement Project (CAP) mentor you can help a child believe in themselves. Join a community of over 500 students and professionals invested in local youth. We think that books, and in particular the words of our National Youth Poet Laureate are a great way to welcome CAP mentors and mentees to the program, and to inspire them to chase their dreams.

When you purchase a copy through this page, you will be supporting our chosen donation partner Thrive with the donated books, as well as supporting our bookstore with your purchase!

Book donations accepted from March 14, 2022 through May 13, 2022, but you can become a CAP mentor at anytime.

Country Bookshelf is delighted to welcome several local authors for a round of speed dating to find your next great read. We'll hear from each author in turn, with a few minutes for questions after each one. We are excited to be joined by skiing legend Dan Egan to share Thirty Years in a White Haze, Susan B Fisher and  Martin Fisher for Body of 9, and John Phillips with his memoir Four Miles West of Nowhere. Register on Eventbrite!

We have more great virtual events coming up this month with Books in Common NW - check out our calendar for more!

Meet Mel!

Mel is one of our new booksellers. "I love getting to talk to our customers about books all day." Mel was a member of our YA Book club before she became a bookseller, and we're so excited to put those "book talking" skills to good use. Mel is a fount of knowledge about Yellowstone and has great recommendations for anyone looking to explore Montana through fiction or non-fiction. 

Outside of the bookstore Mel is working towards her Masters of Library and Information Science. She also enjoys crafts, running, hiking and adventuring with her partner and cat (and yes the cat goes on adventures too!) If you spot Mel hiking around South Cottonwood Canyon, don't be afraid to ask her what audiobook she's listening to. Like many of the booksellers you've already met, Mel is a big fan of Wild Crumb and Red Sugar Dim Sum, and of course Montana Ale Works.  

Meet Matt!

Country Bookshelf regulars will recognize our tallest bookseller, Matt! Besides chatting with folks about books, much of Matt's day is devoted to inventory management, particularly with receiving all our amazing new titles, and returning those that have had their day in the sun and are ready to retire to greener pastures (like our bargain section!)

One of Matt's other hidden talents is juggling! He is a prolific book profiler for our Blind Date shelf, you'll definitely want to swipe right on a few of them. He's got a penchant for sci-fi, fantasy, and graphic novels - scroll below for some of his favorite recommendations. 

Meet Christina!

"I'm a bookseller and I love discovering new books and meeting people."

Another of our Library Science students, Christina can most often be spotted in our Kid's section. She also enjoys music and theater and has some great recommendations from our music, drama, and pop culture sections as well.  If you ever felt like challenging one of our staff members to karaoke, set your sights on Christina. One of her favorite cards says "Can you perform under pressure?" "No, but I'll give Bohemian Rhapsody a go".

Outside of the bookstore she spends time with family and friends, listens to music, reads (of course!), watches movies, makes jewelry (you can spot some of her designs on her etsy store), explores the outdoors, and spends a lot of time studying for school. She loves hiking in Bear Canyon, and pizza from Colombo's. 

Meet Sage!

"Albert Camus came to me in a dream once. He was very polite and told me to do my dishes. Also we were in space and my cat was there but you couldn't see them."

                                                                                                                        -Sage

Sage is one of our newest booksellers, and our new philosophy aficionado. "I find it very meditative to shelve and organize books but my favorite part about working at Country Bookshelf is getting to interact with customers. Whether it be giving a recommendation, hearing about a book they loved, or simply ringing them up, I love all the moments in life I get to witness." They can often be found handselling The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle to anyone and everyone nearby.

Sage is a student at Montana State University with a major in Philosophy and a minor in Women, Gender and Sexuality studies. They love philosophy but when they're not reading or writing for class they can be found drinking tea, hanging out with their cats, playing games on their Switch, or hiking. Sage has hiked coast to coast in England, walking 150 miles in 11 days! Enjoying the wild flowers in Triple Tree is one of their favorite local hikes. They love breakfast food so you might catch them at Wild Crumb or The Cat Eye Cafe before work in the mornings. Stop in and say hello to Sage!