Every week from now until the end of August we are going to be looking at one of the books on the Guardian children's fiction prize longlist. This week it's Kate DiCamillo's Flora and Ulysses.
What's the book about?
Holy unanticipated occurrences! A cynic meets an unlikely superhero in this genre-breaking novel. It begins, as the best superhero stories do, with a tragic accident that has unexpected consequences. The squirrel never saw the vacuum cleaner coming, but self-described cynic Flora Belle Buckman, who has read every issue of the comic book Terrible Things Can Happen to You!, is just the right person to step in and save him. What neither can predict is that Ulysses (the squirrel) has been born anew, with powers of strength, flight, and misspelled poetry – and that Flora will be changed too, as she discovers the possibility of hope and the promise of a capacious heart. This is a laugh-out-loud story filled with eccentric, endearing characters and featuring an exciting new format – a novel interspersed with comic-style graphic sequences and full-page illustrations, all rendered in black-and-white by artist K G Campbell.
Now watch this!
Kate DiCamillo made this special video just for us on Flora and Ulysses and just why you should read it and review it for the Guardian young critics award.
Find out about Kate DiCamillo
Kate dares to take our quickfire interview where you can find out what advice she would give her 10-year-old self and where she would go in her time machine.
Read Kate DiCamillo's top 10 literary rodents (you may have noticed she's pretty keen on all things mouselike!)
And now… write your review!
The Guardian young critics competition is for all young readers to share their views on any of the longlisted books. Anyone aged 17 or under can enter by writing a review of no more than 200 words of one of the books longlisted for the prize. Individuals or school/library classes/bookgroups can enter and there are great prizes to be won including all the longlisted books. You can find out more and enter the competition here.
Find out more about the Guardian children's fiction prize book club and all the other authors we're going to be talking about over the summer. Next week… Francesca Simon and The Lost Gods.
