Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures

For me this was pretty meh but I can see kids loving this book. Planning on watching the movie adaptation with my kids soon but wanted to preview the book.

This falls between a 3.5 and 4 on the star scale.

Superpowers via near-death experience with a vacuum cleaner? Sure, why not! If superpowers were only to be had by likely methods then nobody would wear their safety glasses during chem lab. And one of the superpowers is writing poetry? HELL YES! Because I truly think that writing a beautiful or moving piece of poetry is akin to a superpower.

I didn't like the character of William Spiver at all, but the delightful Mrs. Tickham and Dr. Meescham more than made up for him.

This was a very enjoyable and funny book. I liked the subtleness of the messages in the story and recommend this as a fun book to read.

This is a very creative story and excellent for young children. Who would have though a superhero squirrel would be so fun.

AH this was adorable and surprising and sweet. It reminded me a little bit of Lemony Snicket, with its celebration of language and its straightforward approach to nonsense, but without all the noir. And with a superpowered squirrel. I loved it. I loved Flora's way of thinking in comic book terms, and the fraught relationships between Flora and her parents, and William and his parents all felt so genuine. Just a lovely look at how children and adults can misunderstand each other and act in ways that are hurtful even out of love, and how if you're lucky you can work things out with some late night poetry.

Such an engrossing read; I read it all in one day.

Great 3rd grade read aloud

I'm a “sortof” fan of DiCamillo. I loved Desperaux, wasn't crazy about Winn Dixie. So what drew me to this title? It was not the millions of great recommendations or even the writer's reputation. I wanted to read this because Flora sounded a lot like someone I know very, very well. So, with pretty high expectations, I began Flora and Ulysses.

Right from the first page, and an introduction to a mixed race couple, I was hooked. I really enjoyed this crazy story of a girl and her squirrel. Unique characters, cozy settings, and magical realism abound. This is a book for kids that would also make an excellent Wes Anderson movie. Just saying.

Now, something I have always appreciated about DiCamillo is that she NEVER talks (writes?) down to children. Oh, no. There are some words here that the average kid is going to have to grab a dictionary to figure out. There are also some high ideas that may need explaining. As an adult, I think I had an easier time and could just sit back and enjoy the story.

And I did. And it was almost perfect. Almost.