Flora & Ulysses

Photo credit katedicammilo.com

“You’re going to vacuum up that squirrel! Holy unanticipated occurrences!” Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by K.G. Campbell, is a laugh out loud, heartwarming, adventure that is sure to appeal to readers everywhere! A superhero squirrel, a comic book enthusiast and an unexpected villain, what more could you want? Well, get ready, because there is so much more to this tale!

The detailed illustrations by K.G. Campbell, are delicate and expressive, with moments that underline the humor and the action in the text. Many of the illustrations are in comic-style graphic sequences to highlight Flora’s love for comic books and the super hero Incandesto! The images capture facial expressions particularly well (both human and squirrel) and this provides the readers with a visual experience to bring the text to life. Sometimes the illustrations move the plot line forward as a small section of the story is told through the graphic novel panels, so the details within the illustrations really help tell the story.

The characters that DiCamillo has created are unique and zany, yet endearing. Flora is a self-proclaimed cynic, with her mantra “do not hope, instead observe.” Ulysses is a squirrel, who because of an accident with a vacuum cleaner, is a superhero and can fly and type poetry. William Spiver is, according to him, blind due to a traumatic experience and who lives inside his head and is very philosophical. These three very different characters come together in a hilarious adventure to save their superhero squirrel and discover some things about themselves as they develop and grow through the story. Flora becomes more loving and hopeful as she spends time with Ulysses and his love of the ever expanding universe. Ulysses discovers who he really is and William Spiver discovers that he misses his father and is going through a period of grieving. Together they become what each other needs at this time in their lives.

Throughout this adventure, Flora and Ulysses come across some people who embark on them the wisdom of the world, such as Dr. Meescham, who says, “You must also list among his powers the ability to understand. This is no small thing, to understand.” This is an unexpected insight within a fun adventure about a flying squirrel. Ulysses also speaks wisely within his poetry and sees so much beauty in the world. The most amazing things according to Dr. Meescham is “what I love about life, that things happen which I do not expect.” These unexpected insights bring so much meaning into this fictional tale for readers to discover according to their own experiences and connections to the world. “You open the door because you could not stop hoping that on the other side of it would be the face of someone you love.”

The insights about love and the beauty in the world really connected to my views of the world. Not everything has to be huge to be wonderful. The little unexpected things in life are sometimes the best. The beauty in the small things that Ulysses wrote about such as “Flora’s round head, sprinkles, giant donuts and the ever expanding universe” are some of the things that we may take for granted. Sometimes I can be a cynic like Flora and it takes a good friend to help me see the beauty in the world and not look at the negatives in life. We all face challenges, but there is so much beauty in the world to be thankful for and enjoy. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters in Flora and Ulysses! I found their adventures and personalities funny and entertaining and deserving of four out of five stars!

“Holy Bagumba!” as Flora would say, what a great story! DiCamillo has seamlessly blended comic-book elements, a zany cast of characters and unexpected insights to create a thoroughly original, heartwarming tale. This book is unlike any other that I have read before and is completely deserving of the Newbery Award that it received. This action packed, hilarious adventure is sure to keep readers reading and wanting more! I highly recommend this book to readers of all ages!

DiCamillo, K. (2013). Flora & Ulysses. Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.