Bibliography
DiCamillo, Kate. (2013). Flora and Ulysses. Somerville,
Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 978-0-7636-6040-6
Summary
Flora is a cynic who prefers to observe instead of hope
until she meets Ulysses and he changes her perception and her family forever.
Analysis
This book is the perfect
combination of graphic novel and, well, novel! The storyline is very well told
using mostly text but in occasionally complimented by a comic. The comics serve
to tell parts of the story using little to no words, forcing the reader to
infer exactly what is going on based on what they’ve read so far but also using
the given cartoon drawings to provide tons of mental images for the reader.
The protagonists are Flora and her
squirrel friend Ulysses, who was unfortunately sucked up by a very powerful vacuum
cleaner. As a result, he has become a super hero. In her standard style, Kate
DiCamillo has taken a creature many people take for granted and given it just
the right qualities to make the reader fall in love. The fantasy here is on
that many children have: of communicating with your pet who is clearly cooler
than everyone else’s pet. That alone will attract many readers to the book. The
presence of illustrations will attract the other half of the reading world.
It is not all fun and games for
Flora and Ulysses, however. The pair have to deal with some very serious topics
such as divorce, loss of trust between parent and child and a few matters of
the young-heart. I think it would be a great read for any person, whether they
are reading to help deal with a personal situation or just for enjoyment.
Awards
Newbery Award 2013
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