About Lee The Flea

== Story Structure ==

Exposition – Describes the setting and the life of the fleas.

The chosen animal is a flea (partly due to the flea circus) and also to give a less admired creature the chance to produce extraordinary results.

In the story, the fleas will be loved, and they will be the heroes because of one particular trait, one thing they are good at—they are the best jumpers in nature.

They live under a glass ceiling that doesn’t really exist, but everyone knows and believes that it does.

== Main Character ==
Josh is a highly sensitive flea who loves sports and jumping. He is curious and full of internal and external conflicts.
Internal conflict – Fear, lack of self-belief, his thoughts.
External conflict – His parents hold him back (the external world reflects his internal state), and the environment that doesn’t believe it's possible and is stuck in its thinking.

Intensifying the conflict:
Trampoline the ant – They connect and want to embark on a journey together, but Trampoline begins to lose hope as Josh hesitates. However, the ant doesn’t give up on him and looks for a solution!

Eventually, they choose to play blind man’s bluff. The idea comes from Josh in the story, as it’s a game they typically play—understanding the rules and the speed at which they play it. Trampoline pushes Josh’s limits by moving further away, causing Josh to do what he thought was impossible.

The story ends with him breaking through his limits, not only for himself but for his entire environment, simply because he dared to dream and think big, while the rest of his world remained stuck and skeptical.

On the back cover, it says: “We are also born into a reality full of limits and barriers, but if we learn to close our eyes, dream, and jump with courage, we can discover boundless spaces within ourselves.”

== The Message ==
Ordinary people are capable of doing extraordinary things.
Even if the whole world tells you something is impossible, it’s always good to leave room for doubt, curiosity, imagination, and the belief that you might be the one person who can break through the glass ceiling.

Additionally, the world is such that the people closest to us are often the ones who hold us back out of care and concern. They tell us that something is impossible because they couldn’t achieve it themselves. These people are actually a reflection of our own fears and doubts. We often seek their advice to reinforce our own hesitation.

== The Characters ==
The Flea – Represents a less admired animal but one with original and independent thinking. In the story, we use its best trait to show that everyone has something good, even a flea!
The Ant – As written in Proverbs: “Go to the ant, you sluggard, consider her ways and be wise.” The ant represents diligence and is the first person who believes in Josh, helping him break through his barrier. The ant wants to show him that it’s possible. The ant is the source of Josh’s strength.

Their friendship – Represents the bond between people and the power of a supportive environment.

The Exposition and the Ant – Their purpose is to show us that there will always be people around us who don’t support what we do, but there is always one person who believes in us.

== A Few Notes and Ideas Behind the Story ==
While writing the book, my late father had a walker with tennis balls attached, and of course, the walker found its way into the story :)

During the days I was writing the book, I constantly played with my son, and we would say, "I'm a superhero," and raise our arms in the following way…

The Apple Computer in the flea version:

Josh's vision in front of the mirror: He stands alone but sees the best possible future version of himself.

And, of course, I love playing the guitar and harmonica, so Josh appears like that in the story, and my daughter was involved in dance and gymnastics.

And finally, the opening image aims to set the atmosphere in the story:

It includes personified fleas reading newspapers, sitting in restaurants, going fishing, sitting on benches, going to amusement parks, living in apartments, swimming in pools, working (for example, the watchmaker), going to the supermarket, and playing various games. For me, it was important to include a wide and interesting variety of fleas.