The Story of Diva and Flea

A sweet and humorous friendship story of a cat named Flea and a Dog named Diva who live in Paris. Flea is a flaneur and he helps Diva have the courage to leave her garden courtyard and be a flaneur, too. This would make a great read-aloud for young children. Plus kids will have learned a great

French vocabulary word and with DiTerlizzi's atmospheric illustrations, who wouldn't want to visit France and be a flaneur, too?!

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LibraryThing member imtanner2

Super cute short chapter book about a dog and cat who live in Paris and end up teaching each other about bravery.

LibraryThing member foggidawn

This brief tale concerns a very large cat and a very small dog, who meet in Paris and help each other branch out and discover new ways to experience the world. It's a charming, if slight, book, less laugh-out-loud funny than one generally expects of Mo Willems, but containing some gentle humor. A

good choice for young readers just making the foray into chapter books.

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LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26

A pampered pooch named Diva and a roving street-cat named Flea become friends in this debut early chapter-book from author Mo Willems, celebrated creator of the Pigeon picture-books and the Elephant and Piggie early readers. Rather timid by nature, Diva had never wandered far from the courtyard of

the building in which she lived, preferring to observe the outside world from the safety of home. Flea, by contrast, was an itinerant wanderer, a flâneur who roved the streets of Paris, always looking for new sights, new adventures. When Flea flâneurs past Diva's building one day, the little dog is terrified, instinctively running away. Eventually however, as the street-cat returns each day, always amused by her fright, the little dog works up the courage to confront this feline interloper, thereby initiating a beautiful friendship that leads her into many adventures, and Flea to a home of his own...

The Story of Diva and Flea is a charming book, one both entertaining and poignant. At just sixty-five pages, it's a very brief read for an adult, but it manages to engage for all that, and would be ideally suited to children just getting into chapter-books for the first time. Willems captures Diva's transformation from an overly-timid creature afraid of FEET!, to an eager participant in adventuring on the streets of Paris, as well as Flea's jovial and kind-hearted role in that transformation. Flea's 'reward' at the end - he is adopted by Eva, the human who looks after Diva, and has finally found a home - whilst not unexpected, was quite satisfying all the same. The artwork, done by Tony DiTerlizzi, is every bit as charming as the text, capturing the canine and feline appeal of its two protagonists, and the beauty of their Paris environs. I had to chuckle at the illustration of the Metroplitain stop, as DiTerlizzi has cleverly worked in a reference to Willems' Pigeon books, and found the two-page spread in which dog and cat gaze at the magnificent Eiffel Tower very appealing. All in all, a lovely little book, one I would recommend to younger children looking for beginning chapter-cooks featuring animal characters, or a Paris setting.

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LibraryThing member debnance

It's Mo Willems. It's (surprise!) a chapter book. It's (surprise!) not illustrated by Mo himself, but by the wonderful Tony DiTerlizzi. It's a sweet (surprise!) story. It's (hurray!) set in Paris.

So I wanted to love it. Truth is you will find it a three star, if you are not an ardent Mo fan. Don't

get me wrong. I did love it. But mostly because it's Mo, it's a chapter book, and it's set in Paris. It's a gentle story of a friendship that develops between an on-the-run cat and a highly pampered dog, but if you'd handed it to me and asked me to identify the author, I'd never have guessed Mo, devoid as the story is of his classically silly humor and neurotic characters.

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LibraryThing member Kaethe

Golly and Bink meets the Aristocats

Library copy

LibraryThing member gmorgan14

Genre: Early Chapter Books, Fantasy
Media: Pencil and Wood Carving, with Pastels?
Use: Great book to get kids excited about talking about friendships or as a fun read aloud for the day!
Critique: This is a great book to show how friendships can be developed even among characters that come from very

different worlds.

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LibraryThing member Lizjensen

In this book, two unlikely animals become best friends. The small dog Diva is privileged and has never left home, while the Cat named Flea has traveled all over Paris.
The theme of this book is to not be afraid to try new experiences. This is an important theme for children to read about because

sometimes trying new things can be scary. There is a whole world outside and it is important to live it. The illustrations in this book are really cute and engaging.

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LibraryThing member Brainannex

Cute story about exploring your world.

LibraryThing member childrenslitpdx

Diva and Flea is a fun book that focuses on friendship and using your own courage to help others face their fears head on. I found this book to be super charming, from the simple, yet, beautiful illustrations, to the endearing pride that each had while sharing their lifestyle with the other. In the

end, they both were able to live happily together, sharing adventures and "breck-fast".

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LibraryThing member klamproe

this is the story of how flea, a cat, and Diva, a dog met and became a family. Flea is a cat who adventures all over the streets of Paris, France and Diva is the guardian of a small courtyard. When they meet the two animals learn new things, like how to be brave and Flea finds a home.

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