FLEA STORY

The whole story is a balloon-enclosed dialogue between two unseen fleas, one of whom is eager to explore the world while the other prefers to stay put. In the beginning the adventuresome flea talks the other into moving from a dog's hind end up to his ear; from there he leads his hesitant, grumbling companion onto a chicken, a porcupine, a mole, a turtle, and a duck. Flea number one then moves onto a bird, exclaiming over the joys of flying, but the second, drawing the line, returns "home" to wait on the dog for his friend's report on the wider world. A cute idea, with the balloon "voices" the only indication of where the two speakers are situated, but both the abrupt, ping-pong dialogue and the static pictures (simply one host animal after another in Lionni's familiar marbelized collages) give it a stiff, jerky quality. All in all, a bit of fun but not one of Lionni's more enticing creations.