Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures

written by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by K.G. Campbell

©2013. Somerville, Massachusetts. Candlewick Press. Fiction.
Lexile Measure: 520L
Early Chapter Book. Middle School. Diverse Protagonist.

Flora is a "natural-born cynic". Ulysses is no ordinary squirrel after a mishap with a vacuum. This story takes you on an adventure with this duo as they face villains, navigate friendships, and find their place in the world.

"Holy bagumba!" This was a great read!  I would give this book a 28/32 (see Children's Book Evaluation Rubric). This book is packed with brilliant language such as malfeasance, nefarious, sepulchral, and humorous phrases such as "Holy unanticipated occurrences". I would recommend this book for 4th grade through 8th grade. 

One thing that I really liked about this book is that it addresses the topic of divorce and the different feelings that children may have about their parents or the situation. This book also has a strong female lead character who is smart, kind, and adventurous. She loves comic books, and has some quirks, which makes her a different, fun character who I really enjoyed and who I think some children and can definitely relate to. Oh, and the book has great illustrations in a comic book manner throughout, which I also enjoyed.

Here are some literary elements that can be addressed in this book...

Text to fit the words: In the book, Flora sees words floating above people's heads at times, as if they were in a comic book. When this happens, the font in the book matches how it would look if the words were actually floating above someones head in a comic book. There is also a specific font for the title of the comic book that Flora reads, The Illuminated Adventures of Incandesto!, and for the bonus comic that appears on the back of the comic called TERRIBLE THINGS CAN HAPPEN TO YOU! 
For a mini-lesson on texts to fit the words, or the words to fit the meaning, have students find other examples of books with text to fit the words such as BIG words, small words.
Or words            
               that show
                                 movement.
There are tons of fun ways to look at how text can be used to make a story more interesting, and after students find an example that they like and can see themselves using, have them try it out in their own writing!


Word choice in writing: I mentioned earlier that this book contains wonderful vocabulary using words such as such as malfeasance, nefarious, and sepulchral. This could lead to a lesson about taking risks with words in writing, why authors make those decisions, and how students can see themselves doing this in their own writing. This is also a great opportunity to look at a thesaurus with students.

Using italics to show thoughts: Throughout the book, the author puts Ulysses the squirrel's thoughts in italics. Though the squirrel cannot talk in this book, his thoughts sometimes occur in italics to give the reader a glimpse into what he is thinking and what he is going to do next. A question you might ask students is why did the author choose to do this instead of just giving him the ability to talk, and how can you incorporate this into your own writing?

The Quiltmaker's Gift

written by Jeff Brumbeau and 
illustrated by Gail de Marcken

©2000. Duluth, MN. Pfeifer-Hamilton Inc. Fiction.

Lexile Measure: AD630L
Picture Book. 

The Quiltmaker's Gift is the story of a greedy king and a kind-hearted quiltmaker who agrees to make a quilt for the king, but only if he can change his selfish ways. 

This is a heartwarming story that any child or adult will love for both the story and the illustrations. I give this book a 32/32--a perfect score. This story teaches a great moral lesson about important values, such as kindness, happiness, and the power of giving. This book would be appropriate for Pre-K and up with tons of possibilities for lessons and discussions.

Some literary elements that you may consider discussing in this book are:

• Setting- In this book, based on the illustrations, have students consider the when and where this story takes place.
•  Theme- In this story, the quiltmaker teaches the king a valuable lesson. After reading the text, children can write about the message of the story and what it means to them.
• Plot- In this story, there is a very clear plot that would be great for creating a plot diagram. Click here for mini-lesson on plot for The Quiltmaker's Gift.

Social Justice Theme: Poverty

Evaluating Rubric

This is the rubric that I will be using to evaluate children's and adolescent's literature on this blog. I absolutely love children's literature, and while there are tons of fantastic books to read to children, there are definitely some books out there that may not be worth reading. Good children's literature is so crucial if we want to create a love of reading and learning in the children that we teach, whether it's as parents, teachers, or anything in between. My hope is that this blog will help to guide you to be critical of the books that you are sharing with the young ones in your life, and to consider how deeply impactful children's and adolescent's books can be. Check back soon for some book reviews!

	4	3	2	1
Illustrations	The illustrations in the book portray people as being complex human beings, avoiding stereotypes, tokenism, or images that are derogatory to a group of people.	There is about one illustration in the book that has stereotypical or derogatory images that does not properly represent the complexity of human beings.	There are about two illustrations in the book that have stereotypical or derogatory images that do not properly represent the complexity of human beings.	There are about three or more illustrations in the book that have stereotypical or derogatory images that do not properly represent the complexity of human beings.
Diversity of Characters	The book transcends stereotypes and portrays people of color, girls, children from low income families, or people with disabilities as positive, with leadership abilities and action roles in the book.	The book represents diverse people having positive, leadership roles, however still has some stereotypes.	The book has little diversity in the portrayal of characters and is stereotypical of some characters in the story (such as a white-male as the primary, positive role in the book)	The book is portrays inaccurate or unfair stereotypes of people, lacking culture and diversity.
Storyline	The storyline of the book is interesting with a well-constructed plot that involves achievements of diverse peoples.	The storyline of the book has interesting parts and a well-constructed plot that involves the achievement of diverse peoples.	The storyline has interesting parts and a well-constructed plot but does not involve achievements of diverse peoples.	The storyline lacks an interesting plot, and does not involve the achievements of diverse people.
Character Development	The characters are well-developed and grow throughout the story, building character interactions with other characters and showing positive development.	The characters show some growth through-out the story, but there was room for more growth and development to support the storyline.	The characters show little growth through-out the story.	The characters are one-sided and do not grow or adapt throughout the story.
Social Messages	The book sends messages to children or adolescents that are self-affirming and help to build a positive self-image.	The book has mostly self-affirming messages for children’s or adolescents that will help to build self-image.	The book’s message is not very self-affirming for children and does not help to build a positive self-image, and contains some bias.	The book contains messages of bias and stereotypes that are not self-affirming or positive for a child’s self-image.
Grammar/ Language	The book uses grammar and language that is appropriate for the age avoiding derogatory terms, offensive language, or loaded words.	The book has very few words that may not be appropriate for the age of the students, or may be offensive.	The book has some grammar that is not appropriate or is derogatory.	The book contains loaded words with negative undertones.
Cultural Relevance	The story has characters and a plot that are relatable to children from multiple backgrounds or cultures.	Some of the storyline is not relatable for the children, but most of the characters are relatable.	The story has some characters that are relatable; however, the story is not relatable or outdated for children today.	The story’s characters and plot has little cultural relevance and characters that are not relatable to for children or adolescents today.
Author/Illustrator Background and Perspective	Based on the author’s background information, they seem knowledgeable about the topic that they wrote about and have experiences to help their credibility for the book.	The author seems to lack background knowledge or experiences pertaining to the topic of the book, but most of the information in the book is still accurate.	The author seems to lack background knowledge or experiences pertaining to the topic of the book and it is apparent in the book as not all of the information is accurate.	The author does not seem credible to be writing about the book topic because the information in the book is not accurate.