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February Read - The Year of Billy Miller
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It's Never too Early to Start...
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By Kristen · 214 posts · 780 views
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What Members Thought
Utterly delightfully quirky. There are not enough stars for this book. How can you not love a story with a rogue, poetry writing, super-hero squirrel? Newbery, newbery, newbery? We'll see.
I liked it even better on the second reading. Loved the comic book theme. They were all superheroes.
Third reading for our mother/daughter book group. Still delightful.
And, 4th reading for another book group. Wonderful as ever. A classic akin to Charlotte's Web and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Wow. I’ve rea ...more
I liked it even better on the second reading. Loved the comic book theme. They were all superheroes.
Third reading for our mother/daughter book group. Still delightful.
And, 4th reading for another book group. Wonderful as ever. A classic akin to Charlotte's Web and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Wow. I’ve rea ...more
This book is entertaining, as all Kate DiCamillo books are, and imaginative, but I had a hard time loving the characters. The only character I really cared for was Ulysses, the hapless, bedraggled squirrel who had been vacuumed up by a Ulysses vacuum, hence his name. Whether it is this event in his life, or others, he now has abilities unusual to any squirrel, so Flora, a young girl who calls herself a skeptic and spends her days reading comic books is convinced Ulysses is a superhero. Her mothe
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Flora is a self-proclaimed cynic and a fan of the comic The Amazing Incadesto. She lives with her mom who writes romance novels. One day her neighbor gets a new vacuum; Flora sees her neighbor vacuum up a squirrel outside. Thus begins an amazing adventure. It seems that the squirrel has super powers; Flora names him Ulysses after the vacuum that sucked him up. Flora’s mom does not want the squirrel, but Flora does and is able to talk to him. Flora’s mom tries to get rid of the squirrel, but Flor
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Flora's parents are divorced and her mother doesn't seem to have time for her anymore. All she does is write romances. Flora is looking at a long summer, arguing with her mother over reading her beloved comics, when something unexpected happens. She sees her neighbor vacuuming the back yard and, "Holy bagumba!" she sucks up a squirrel! Flora rescues and resuscitates the hapless fellow, names him Ulysses and discovers that he has superpowers. Like all good superheros, Ulysses has adventures, resc
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This book has just as much meaning and emotion and sweetness as Kate DiCamillo's other books (The Tale of Despereaux and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, for example), but it also adds a pretty healthy dose of quirky, intelligent humor too. Maybe not everyone will love it, but I did.
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I wanted to like this book. I tried to start it a year ago and just couldn't get into it. I returned to it again when I started my unit on Newbery this week. I guess the "germaphobe" in me just couldn't get past the idea of a girl carrying around a rodent! (I really hope she washed her hands before she ate that jelly sandwich!) I know that to enjoy this book I need to suspend belief; I just didn't like the rodent that much. There was nothing particularly lovable about Ulysses. And there was noth
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Quirky, fun and very thoughtful.
Kids who are deep thinkers and who understand sarcasm will love this.
Kids who are deep thinkers and who understand sarcasm will love this.
Oh, dear- this won the Newbery. I feel like I'm missing something...
It's not terrible. The writing is sound, the premise is fun - I love the idea of a super hero squirrel.
But, the Newbery?
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It's not terrible. The writing is sound, the premise is fun - I love the idea of a super hero squirrel.
But, the Newbery?
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Characteristically sweet ala DiCamillo. She finds a theme, focuses on some key phrases that support it, and then she writes a story, this time about a superhero squirrel. Kids'll love it!
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This book is intentionally charming. One can tell that from the wacky characters waving at you from the back cover, and the witty, snappy tone of the book paired with comic book-inspired illustrations. I tried to resist the charm, but was drawn into a story of a girl who has chosen to protect her heart through cynicism, whose world view is challenged by a possibly super hero poet squirrel. Ultimately, I found myself cheering for a book that, in a clever, charming fashion, promotes its young read
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LOVE This book! Kate DiCamillo can write any genre!
Has a similar feel iy mercy Watson. Loved it.
Jan 28, 2014
Lisa Shambaugh
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Rebecca
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