POULSBO — Betsy Schairer, a mixed-media artist who works at Northwest College of Art in Poulsbo, is the illustrator of “Paolo the Kitten’s Adventure / A True Story of Healing Hearts,” by Carolyn Banguero.

Banguero’s book tells of Paolo’s rescue from the wild last year with his three siblings. They were healthy, but Paolo’s chest hadn’t fully developed and his heart and lungs were under stress. The kitten grew short of breath easily and his prospects seemed grim.

Banguero had given up teaching elementary school because of her own health and was on a heart transplant list one year ago.

“One of the reasons I wrote a book about Paolo’s heart problems and corrective surgery was simply to have something to do while I was being treated,” she said. “I knew his story because I volunteer at the shelter that rescued him and oversaw his medical treatment.”

“Paolo’s Adven-tures,” geared toward elementary school-aged children, reveals what happened next and where Paolo is today.

Paolo’s health improved — and do did the author’s.

“I never did get a transplant and have made a near complete recovery that doctors cannot explain,” she said.