I'm taking a break today from my Karla Kuskin series to talk about the poetry in FLORA & ULYSSES: The Illuminated Adventures.
I'm a huge Kate DiCamillo fan, so I was very excited when I first heard about FLORA & ULYSSES. Yet I wasn't able to get to it for months. And then it won the Newbery! So of course I HAD to make time for it. :)
It's a zany adventure, in part, about a superhero squirrel and a self-proclaimed cynic. The best part? Ulysses (the squirrel) writes poetry!
"I love your round head,
the brilliant green,
the watching blue,
these letters,
this world, you.
I am very, very hungry."
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"In any case, he wasn't thinking about dying. He was thinking about poetry. That is what Tootie said he had written: Poetry. He liked the word - -its smallness, its density, the way it rose up at the end as if it had wings.
Poetry."
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And in one of the comic strip segments wonderful created by K.G. Campbell, one of the cells says this:
AND THE SUPERHERO WAS
ENORMOUSLY, INORDINATELY
PLEASED WITH HIMSELF.
HE FELT IMMENSELY POWERFUL!
HE FELT LIKE WRITING A POEM!
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Finally, in the Epilogue:
Words for Flora
Nothing
would be
easier without
you,
because you
are
everything,
all of it --
sprinkles, quarks, giant
donuts, eggs sunny-side up-
you
are the ever-expanding
universe
to me.
It's such a beautiful story with all its quirks, isn't it? But underlying, the parts about family and love and relationships are powerful. Love you're reminding us of the poetry too, Irene.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous quote: "He liked the word --its smallness, its density, the way it rose up at the end as if it had wings."
ReplyDeleteAwwww. Looks like a heart-warming read. Hard to resist a poet squirrel.
ReplyDeleteLove these excerpts. I'm a big fan of Kate's work too :).
ReplyDelete"He felt like writing a poem!" -Ulysses, the squirrel poet
ReplyDeleteA call to words for all the child readers (& adult reader-fans.) I think all over, young readers are inspired by this to try their hand at poetry. A longtime follower of the fabulous author.
I didn't know anything about this book, it sounds wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThe little detail of "eggs sunny side up" makes it for me. I really must read the book!
ReplyDeleteOh, how I love Kate DiCamillo....
ReplyDeleteI have to find this book now! Thanks for sharing, Irene.
ReplyDelete