Cat lives with her large, noisy family in a smelly alleyway behind a fishmonger’s shop in Paris. Surrounded by fish bones and squabbling cousins, she finds herself dreaming of a bigger life. She wants to see more of this fabulous city and find out what it has to offer.
One night she slinks in to a crowded cafe where she sees Edith Piaf singing to a sophisticated crowd. Filled with confidence, Cat joins in but is quickly ejected for caterwauling. She finds herself outside in the rain so she climbs a fire escape and sneaks into a nice warm room to sleep.
When she awakens Cat realises she is in an atelier surrounded by busy seamstresses, taffeta, velvet and racks of beautiful dresses. She watches carefully and by the time the workers leave for the day she has formulated a plan. She gathers up scraps of fabric and using her new found knowledge she creates herself an outfit befitting of a high-society cat.
Her fancy clothes open new doors and soon the cosmopolitan feline is a regular at the famous Parisian night clubs, dancing on stage with none other than the fabulous Josephine Baker.
Cat loves her new life but soon she misses her family. Can she find a way to bridge the gap between her new world and her old one?
This quirky and slightly surreal picture book has so much to offer! Children will enjoy the sassy cat’s adventures in 1920’s Paris – especially if they have visited the city themselves as the illustrations feature lots of famous landmarks.
If your kids are slightly older then the story gives them the opportunity to find out more about some important women in history. Edith Piaf and Josephine Baker both performed for the Allied forces during World War 2 and used their fame to bring about positive change. Both were involved in the french resistance and Baker later became a prominent figure in the civil rights movement.
Buy it now: https://amzn.to/3gjWGuZ
Disclosure: The publisher provided us with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
One comment
What a wonderful discovery.