Mo Willems is known for his picture books, but I think his short chapter book THE STORY OF DIVA AND FLEA is the story I like best. Set in the city of love – Paris – it’s a story of a budding friendship. A cat and a dog, opposites in many ways, strike a friendship that broadens their horizons and helps them discover what they truly need. Mo Willems’s signature warmth and charm is matched perfectly by Tony DiTerlizzi’s illustrations (creator of THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES). I fell in love with this dog-and-cat pair and was hoping for more…. A series, or at least, a sequel. But so far, this beautifully designed, full-color chapter book is a standalone. Sigh.
PS For all you writers out there, it clocks in at 3,690 words – WITH color pictures! It’s nice to know the pub world was willing to publish something that did not fall into current publishing guidelines, which are pretty strict these days. Then again, we’re talking Mo Willems and Tony DiTerlizzi.