Caramba

Caramba is a plump, striped cat with a thick coat and one persistent disappointment: every other cat in the world can fly, and he cannot. He longs to float among the clouds and feel the wind rushing through his fur. Each attempt to take off ends with him face down on the ground, until he reluctantly accepts that he belongs on the earth.

His cousins refuse to let him give up. Insisting that all cats are meant to fly, they lift him into the sky for an improvised lesson, which ends in a splash and a discovery that changes how Caramba sees himself.

The book is written and illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay, an award-winning creator best known for her Stella and Sam books. It follows a shy, kind-hearted cat as he learns to accept being different and finds a talent of his own. The story is also aligned with early elementary reading standards for identifying characters, settings and major events.