Flora and Ulysses the Illustrated Adventures / Kate DeCamillo / 233 pages

Flora Belle Buckman is a natural born cynic.  Her divorced mom writes romances.  Flora is an avid reader of comic books.  From "Terrible Things Can Happen to You!" she learned that tragedy "was just sitting there keeping you company, waiting, and you had absolutely no idea.  That kind of helpful information you could get from comics if you paid attention."  She also learned that "impossible things happen all the time."  For instance, heroes - superheroes - were born of ridiculous and unlikely circumstances."  ...and "Holy unanticipated occurrences!" after Flora resuscitates a squirrel who has been vacuumed and balded, he (Ulysses) is able to understand Flora when she talks to him.  "Holy Bagumba!"  Flora "has a murder to stop, a superhero to mentor, villains to vanquish, and darkness to eradicate."  This is a marvelously illustrated, humorous novel to bridge comics and chapter books, appealing to all ages and would be a most welcome addition to every elementary school library.