Flora and Ulysses: the Illuminated Adventures

Exciting, Creative, Quirky, Original, Funny

Flora and Ulysses: the Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo  

Published by Candlewick Press, Copyright 2013

Ten-year-old Flora Buckman lives a pretty average life, spending all of her free time reading comic books. It isn't until she witnesses a squirrel getting sucked up into a vacuum cleaner that her life gets a little more exciting. She names the squirrel Ulysses, who becomes her superhero sidekick, and together they spend their days fighting off evil. Ulysses ends up changing Flora's life in more ways than she had originally thought. 

Grade level: 4

Lexile Measure: 520L

Description: Fiction, Graphic novel 

Suggested delivery: Independent read  

Electronic Resources:

Book Website

This website is a good resource for students to look at before reading the book. They can watch a book trailer, read an excerpt from the book, and read a Q&A with the author. This site also includes resources for teachers such as discussion guides. 

Interview with the Author

Students can watch this video interview with the author to further their understanding of the book. She talks about how she came up with ideas for the book and explains some of the symbols in the story. 

Teaching Strategies

Key vocabulary:

·         Cynic – a person who has negative feelings about other people

·         Illuminated – lit by bright lights or to make something easier to understand

·         Defiance – a refusal to obey something or someone

·         Cognition – conscious mental activities such as thinking

·         Indomitable – impossible to defeat

·         Malfeasance – illegal or dishonest activity

·         Foreboding – a feeling that something bad is going to happen 

Before reading: Share the title and the cover of the book with students. Discuss the meaning of the word “illuminated” and have students make predictions of what the book will be about. Write their responses in the reading notebooks.

During reading: Have students keep track of the characters by filling out a character chart for each as they are introduced throughout the story. 

After reading: After students finish reading, have them come up with their own name for the book and explain why this would be a good alternate title.

Writing activity: Have students write a character analysis about Flora. In what ways has Flora changed throughout the duration of the story? Why do you think these changes occurred? Use specific examples/quotes from the book. 

 DiCamillo, K., & Campbell, K. G. (2013). Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.