Let's Talk about Books Tuesday: Flora and Ulysses

I'm linking up with Mrs. Jump's linky party- Let's Talk about Books Tuesday.

My daughter is going into sixth grade, and she told me I MUST read Flora and Ulysses!  I'm almost done :)

Flora is simply brilliant!  She is obsessed with comics, and frequently imagines what the "talk bubbles" would say in situations.  The saying she lives by is, “Do not hope; instead, observe.”  She often refers to her favorite bonus comic book Terrible Things Can Happen to You which has prepared for what might happen in case of an emergency.  For example, what to do if someone accidently eats plastic fruit! 

Ulysses is a squirrel that quickly becomes a main character.  I never thought I'd enjoy reading a book about a squirrel.  It is amazing how authors can make the uncommon quite interesting and creative.  Last year I loved Ivan, and this year I love Ulysses!

It was the Newberry Medal winner for 2014 and two words that I would use to describe it are: quirky and endearing.  In terms of teaching, this book has so much potential :)  It would be a fun read aloud.  It would also be a great book for students to read in a literature circle.  The vocabulary is so rich...words like cynic, malfeasance, and indomitable are in the first few pages!  There are frequent examples of figurative language, great potential for character analysis, and perfect for students to respond to events in the story.