Flora And Ulysses

Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures

• Genre: Fiction; middle-grade adventure/fantasy
• Originally Published: 2013
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 520L; grades 3-6
• Structure/Length: 68 chapters and epilogue; approx. 240 pages; approx. 4 hours, 30 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: When 10-year-old Flora Belle Buckman rescues a squirrel from her neighbor’s vacuum cleaner, the animal’s unusual abilities convince Flora that he is a superhero just like the ones she reads about in her beloved comic books. The format of the story includes comic-style illustrations and text types.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Divorce

Kate DiCamillo, Author

• Bio: Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1964; grew up in Clermont, Florida after moving there due to chronic pneumonia; studied English at the University of Florida at Gainesville; became interested in writing for children while working at a book warehouse; writer of award-winning middle grade novels, chapter books, and picture books; a Library of Congress National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature Emerita (2014)
• Other Works: Because of Winn-Dixie (2000); Tiger Rising (2001); The Tale of Despereaux (2003); The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (2006); Raymie Nightingale (2016); The Beatryce Prophecy (2021)
• Awards: National Book Award Longlist for Young People's Literature (2013); School Library Journal Best Books of the Year Selection (2013); Junior Library Guild Elementary Selection (2013); winner of the Newbery Award (2014); ALSC Notable Children’s Books Commended Selection (2014)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Power of Words
• Becoming Illuminated
• The Possibility of the Impossible

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Examine unconventional superheroes and family issues by relating to the theme Becoming Illuminated through the use of paired texts, short written responses, and an in-class activity.
• Utilize paired texts to analyze the novel’s use of comic strips, illustrations, and text fonts, and how this relates to the theme, The Power of Words.
• Create a visual or poetic piece that communicates The Power of Words and analyze how the characters’ arcs relate to the theme of The Possibility of the Impossible.