Buon giorno Gatto!

I came across this cat in a restaurant in Ravello, Italy on a family vacation in 2006.  His bright blue eyes mirrored the Mediterranean sea in such a mesmerizing way that the idea of this beautiful Italian cat stayed with me long after the trip.  He is the inspiration for my picture book (I am hoping to one day publish :) entitled Gatto's Song.  Here is the opening teaser...

  Faraway across the sea, up the winding green hills and past the lemon trees, perched high atop the Amalfi coast, is the town of Ravello. And in the town of Ravello, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea is the windowsill where Gatto sings each night.
  Gatto is one of the only singing cats in Italy. He sings for the morsels of fresh fish, the flowers, and the warm applause that adoring guests shower him with after each performance. Most of all, though, he sings for his mother.

  Gatto does not remember much of his mother because they were separated when he was just a young kitten. Italian streets and back alleyways can be cruel at times to stray cats. But, he has never forgotten the lullabies and beautiful opera songs she used to sing to him before bedtime. She would tell him enchanting stories about her time performing with a traveling circus. She could make anything seem glamorous, especially when she sang.

  He sings each night with the hope that somewhere, somehow his mother is listening and one day she will find him.