Bibliography
DiCamillo,
Kate. Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures. Ill.
by K. G. Campbell. Virginia: Candlewick Press, 2013. ISBN 9780763660406
Plot Summary
Flora Belle is a young girl who lives with her mom after the
divorce of her parents. Flora loves comics books and indulges in many of them
as it provides answers to many questions that she has about her life. Flora Belle
was rather lonely , and has gone through every issue of Terrible Things Can Happen to You! comic book series at any opportunity
she gets. One day, Flora finds her neighbor, Mrs. Tickham, cleaning up her
yard. While cleaning her yard with a vacuum cleaner, she accidentally sucks up
a live squirrel. Flora witnesses the squirrel being sucked up, and runs to his
rescue. With the help of her comic books, Flora remembers and provides CPR to
the squirrel. To her surprise, the
squirrel was left with superpowers, and took the name of Ulysses. The story
takes you on an adventure of Flora and Ulysses. With some love and
determination, Flora and Ulysses, encounter different friendships and create
many adventures together.
Critical Analysis
This story creates a unique storyline that provides adventure
and relatable characters that will appeal to young readers. With the theme heavily
focusing on the squirrel, Ulysses, and his superpowers, we see a development of
characters while drawing readers in till the end of the story. Kate Dicamillo
utilizes real life situations such as the divorce of her parents as well as isolation,
loneliness, and larger issues that Flora may not understand in her small world.
We see Flora struggle with the divorce of her parents, and the perspective of
how a young child may deal with the situation. We see the underlying theme of
the struggle with one’s self as Flora creates new relationships and provides
meaning to the world around her. To create interest and provide an element of
fantasy we get to delve into the character Ulysses. He attains superpowers
which gives him the ability to fly who builds a relationship with Flora, which
many young readers will enjoy.
Kate Dicamillo also introduces young readers to larger words
that may require readers to find definitions for. Dicamillio provides a range
of words such as: sepulchral, capacious, euphemistic malfeasance,
vanquish, eradicate, obfuscation, nefarious, and euphemism. These words will
increase and spark interest in many younger readers as well as enhance their
vocabulary bank. Along with that, we see two different styles of writing as we encounter
the two characters and their point of view. For Flora, we see her point of view
written as prose with a sense of humor. On the contrary, Ulysses has detailed
illustrations that can introduce a young reader to a comic/graphic book.
The quirkiness of the story along with the characters create
a unique and original story and how we can conquer our fears, understand the
meaning of friendships, and creating meaning to one’s self. DiCamillo creates a
melodious book that brings a realistic story blended with fantasy for young
readers to enjoy!
Review Excerpts and Awards
2014 Newbery Medal Winner
From Booklist-"Newbery winner DiCamillo is a master storyteller, and not just
because she creates characters who dance off the pages and plots, whether epic or
small, that never fail to engage and delight readers. Her biggest strength is
exposing the truths that open and heal the human heart. She believes in
possibilities and forgiveness and teaches her audience that the salt of life
can be cut with the right measure of love."
From Kirkus Reviews-"Original,
touching and oh-so-funny tale starring an endearingly implausible superhero and
a not-so-cynical girl."
Connections
Other books by Kate DiCamillo
The Magician’s
Elephant
Because of Winn-Dixie
Leroy Ninker Saddles
Up: Tales from Deckawoo Drive, Volume One
The Tale of Despereaux:
Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread
Connections in the classroom:
After reading the novel, students can participate in a
writing activity about having a superpower. If you could have a superpower,
what would it be? Students can create a descriptive paragraph on their
superpower.
Integrate the novel with poetry. Students can create a
unique poem. Students can also analyze poems from the story.
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