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It begins, as the best superhero stories do, with a tragic accident that has unexpected consequences. The squirrel never saw the vacuum cleaner coming, but self-described cynic Flora Belle Buckman, who has read every issue of the comic book Terrible Things Can Happen to You!, is the just the right person to step in and save him. What neither can predict is that Ulysses (the squirrel) has been born anew, with powers of strength, flight, and misspelled poetry - and that Flora will be changed too, as she discovers the possibility of hope and the promise of a capacious heart. From #1 New York Times best-selling author Kate DiCamillo comes a laugh-out-loud story filled with eccentric, endearing characters and featuring an exciting new format - a novel interspersed with comic-style graphic sequences and full-page illustrations, all rendered in black-and-white by up-and-coming artist K. G. Campbell.
John Newbery Medal, 2014
"Starred Review. Newbery-winner DiCamillo is a master storyteller 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." - Booklist
"Starred Review. Original, touching and oh-so-funny tale starring an endearingly implausible superhero and a not-so-cynical girl." - Kirkus
"Starred Review. There are plenty of action sequences, but the novel primarily dwells in the realm of sensitive, hopeful, and quietly philosophical literature. Ages 10 & up." - School Library Journal
This information about Flora and Ulysses was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
It's a pipe dream of many an aspiring author: publish your debut novel, claim
a spot on the New York Times bestseller list, and rack up an astonishing array
of awards, including a Newbery Honor. For Kate DiCamillo, author of Because
of Winn-Dixie, it was a dream come true--and nobody could have been more
surprised than she was. "After the Newbery committee called me, I spent
the whole days walking into walls. Literally," she says. "I was
stunned. And very, very happy."
She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but moved with her
family to Florida when she was five years old. "People talked more slowly
and said words I had never heard before, like 'ain't' and 'y'all' and
'ma'am," she says, recalling her first impressions. "...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Kate DiCamillo's Website
Name Pronunciation
Kate DiCamillo: dee-camellow (last part rhymes with yellow)
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