Two archaeology faculty members from the University of West Florida have teamed up to write a new fictional children’s book, the first in a series inspired by real life archaeological history.
“Luna the Cat” is based on Tristán de Luna’s 1559 settlement on Pensacola Bay and the hurricane that sank most of his ships.
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The book was written by Michael Thomin, assistant director of education and interpretation for the Florida Public Archaeology Network (FPAN), and Nicole Grinnan, assistant director of the UWF Archaeology Institute. They previously worked together at FPAN.
“Our new book, Luna the Cat, is a children’s chapter book that Nicole and I wrote that we just published in July of this year, so it just came out,” said Thomin, adding that it’s geared towards kids 8-12 years old, from 3rd – 6th grade.
“It follows the adventure of a cat, named Luna, who is from a small town in Mexico called Veracruz in 1559 and the cat finds itself aboard a Spanish galleon on a new adventure across the Gulf into the first settlement in what is now Pensacola, Florida.”
RELATED: September 19, 1559: A Hurricane That Changed History
The book is based on actual archaeology and history gained through many years of excavations and investigations conducted by UWF students and faculty, namely, Dr. John Worth and Dr. John Bratten.
“For example, the main protagonist, the cat in the story, is based on the fact that archaeologists from the University of West Florida actually recovered the remains of a cat on one of these Spanish galleons from the 1559 Luna Settlement shipwrecks,” stated Thomin. "And that's really what kind of germinated this idea of looking at archaeological sites where archaeologists have identified different animal remains and then creating a story around that particular animal."
This book includes historical details about cats being brought aboard sailing vessels during that era to control the rat populations.
“Also, archaeologists have recovered a number of rat remains onboard some of these Spanish vessels that came into Pensacola Bay in 1559," he said. "And, actually, they’re the oldest evidence of black rats in North America, actually come from this 1559 shipwreck site.”
Grinnan said they were inspired to write a children’s book by their work doing outreach, education, public programming, and local history and archaeology for over a decade in the Pensacola area.
“And one of the most important audiences, we’ve always felt, has been kids,” she added. “We want to teach them how important local history is, but sometimes it’s hard to teach that if you don’t have the right tools to engage them. There are plenty of books out there about history and archaeology, but very few of those are written by people who do that kind of work in their daily lives."
They saw a particular gap for kids in the 8-12 age range and wanted to produce material that would specifically appeal to them. According to Grinnan, "something that would have been locally significant to them, something that they hear about in school that we could connect them with here at the university.”
Further, they also discovered through their participation in public events designed for kids that focusing the historical narrative around the adventures of an animal would enhance interest.
“Not that history is dry....but, it’s hard to compete when you have someone in the booth next door who has a live owl, right? So, we decided when we wrote this book that it would be a good idea to center the story of an animal, because that’s something that kids really seem attracted to,” Grinnan explained.
“Luna the Cat” is part of a series of books that Grinnan and Thomin will be putting out over the next few years called “Tales from the Trowel,” which can be followed online and on social media.
The next book, co-written by Thomin and UWF graduate student Katherine Sims, and to be released in early 2026, will chronicle the fictional adventures of a donkey, who helped to build the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine.
RELATED: Unearthing Florida
According to Thomin, “Luna the Cat,” has drawn some positive feedback, including some good early reviews on Amazon. And at the request of a local teacher, lesson plans — to include discussion questions, quizzes, and activity sheets — have been created for the book.
“It will be really useful for educators that touch on everything from expository writing to reading comprehension to even math and science that we’ve incorporated into those lesson plans,” he said. “And that’s all made possible because the focus has really been on the science of archaeology that we’ve incorporated into the book, but also just the history itself and the storytelling.
For now, it’s all about the release of “Luna the Cat.” And while Thomin and Grinnan have written the book and have participated in the investigations of the Luna Settlement and shipwreck sites, they’re careful to acknowledge the research contributions of many others over the years.
“The first Luna shipwreck was discovered by the Florida Division of Historical Resources in 1992. And then a series of researchers from the state of Florida and from UWF have been involved in those investigations over time,” said Grinnan. “So it’s not just us. We’re two small cogs in the machine that really is Luna archaeology here at the University of West Florida and in the state of Florida. So, I just want to give credit where credit is due.”
"Luna the Cat" is dedicated to Dr. Roger Smith, the long-time state underwater archaeologist, who led the team that discovered the first Luna shipwreck at Emanuel Point.
The book is currently available on Amazon and individuals will be able to find it at local museums, including the Pensacola Museum of History, Tivoli High House and Pensacola Lighthouse Museum.
Some of the proceeds will be donated to the Pensacola Humane Society.
