Felice

by Marcia Brown

In Venice, city of cats and canals, a little striped cat is befriended by a canal boatman's son and gets a name and a home.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

An American children's book author and illustrator, and a high school teacher, Marcia Brown was born in Rochester, New York in 1918, and was educated at The New York State College for Teachers (now University at Albany). She taught at Cornwall High School in New York City, and published her first book, The Little Carousel, in 1946. She wrote and illustrated more than thirty books for children over the course of her career, winning three Caldecott Medals and six Caldecott Honors, as well as the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal and the Regina Medal. She died in 2015.

Reviews

[Luisa Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you’re looking for a unique story, here’s one to try. It’s from the author who won a Caldecott Medal for her version of Cinderella.

Set in dreamy Venice (with just as dreamy illustrations, I might add), you’ll enjoy this tale to its end! The cast includes one striped little lonely cat and one little boy who works a gondola with his father. The rest you’ll have to discover on your own; and I hope you do!

Ages: 4 - 10

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utterly lovely, with such gorgeous illustrations, and a wonderful use of colour.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous picture book by Caldecott Medal winner Marcia Brown. The illustrations are painted like twilight and sunsets. This is a story about kindness and finding a home. A little striped cat lives in Venice, no one pays much attention to the little homeless cat except for a young boy named Gino who will one day be a gondolier.

[Edward Sojuwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

O Sole Meow! Legendary kids author icon Marcia Brown goes Italian with this classic from 1962, about an orphan street cat living in the mean streets of Venice near where the gondola boats tour the canals, and is forced to scratch-fight other feline badasses for a simple fish dinner. He's the cat with No Name, No past, no future....until a small boy named Gino saves the kitty from drowning after getting his kitty butt kicked...again!!! Thus the kitty is given the name Felice (fe-LEE-chay, just in case you dunno Italiano) and thus a life is had! Felice is an amazing book I haven't read in four decades, and finally I find it online, and now the memories are back, and it's all molto bene!!! And so is Marcia's amazing book!
Four stars
Purrr-rego! It's in there! CATS ITALIAN!!!!

[Cindy Pardew]

A little cat with out a home finds one with a little boy. The story takes place in Venice, Italy.

[Christina Baehr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous picture book about a little gondolier boy and a stray cat, with loose and vivid paintings of Venice, reminiscent of Ludwig von Bemelmans's art for Madeline.