i follow the new york public library (@nypl) on instagram and they posted the winner of the newbery medal award for 2014:
so of course, i immediately went and requested the flora & ulysses! i was also shocked to discover that delano actually had it and i didn't have to wait for it to come.
i was very excited about the book on cover and page flipping. first, it is about a girl and a squirrel! adorable! second, it is written by kate dicamillo who also wrote newbery medal winner the tale of despereaux, which i haven't read but have a copy to read. and third, it is part graphic novel! i thought this was clever because kids the graphic novel part would attract kids but majority of the book is real text.
my excitement was soon met with disappointment. though an interesting premise, i didn't completely enjoy the story myself so it did not seem newbery medal worthy, but i can see why it would appeal to kids.
flora & ulysses is the story of a girl flora and ulysses, a squirrel has super powers after he is sucked up by a vacuum, ulysses 2000x (yes, he is named after the vacuum.) his superpowers are super strength, ability to understand humans and communicate with humans via typing, flying, and writing poetry. i really loved the idea of him writing poetry. he is revived after his accident by flora, a self described cynic. she is an avid reader of a comic book and that is how she discovered ulysses is a superhero. the books is their adventure as they discover what ulysses can do. oh and i should add that ulysses, arch-nemesis is flora's mother. she wanted ulysses dead for fear that he had rabies.
the characters in the story are great. i loved that flora was a cynic and gained so much knowledge from a column in the back of the comic book called terrible things can happen to you. it would make a great companion book to this novel. she was a very clever child. ulysses is a poetry-writing squirrel, need i say more? just read his poem:
words for flora
nothing
would be easier without
you,
because you
are
everything,
all of it--
sprinkles, quarks, giant donuts, eggs sunny-side up--
you
are the ever-expanding
universe
to me.
(seriously the sweetest poem! i would actually take a book of his poetry as a companion to this novel as well.)
my favorite character had to be dr. meerscham, flora's father's neighbor, she was eccentric but filled with truth. i loved the mystic way she shared stories, for example,
all things are possible. when i was a girl in blundermeecen, the miraculous happened every day. or every other day. or every third day. actually, sometimes it did not happen at all, even on the third day. but still, we expected it. you see what i'm saying? even when it didn't happen, we were expecting it. we knew the miraculous would come.
i loved that she had a painting of a giant squid attacking a boat to remind her that "loneliness makes us do terrible things". but the best that came from her and what i will steal from her to used is what she used instead of good-bye growing up in blundermeecen, "i promise to always turn back towards you." so sweet.
i know that my praise of characters seems to contradiction my lack of praise for the book, but even with these wonderful characters the book lacked an interesting storyline and plot. i became bored with the book, the incident at the restaurant was ho-hum and i think that was meant to be the first amazing adventure. even the climax when flora's mother squirrel-napping ulysses wasn't all that nail bitting or exciting. dicamillo had a great cast but just did not know how to direct them. the episodes of each chapter were good but didn't make for a great book.
i have to add this book was great in terms of vocabulary. there were words that i had to look up! if a kid takes the time to look up words they come across in this book, it could build their vocabulary.
it was a good read but not a great one, but still check it out. it did win the newbery medal, so maybe i am the one that is off versus vice versa.
i
