Minneapolis writer Kate DiCamillo won the John Newbery Medal on Monday for her book "Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures," the second time in 10 years that she has captured the most prestigious award in children's literature.
This time it made her cry.
The book, though often hilarious — it's about a squirrel with superpowers — was written shortly after the death of her mother and is laced with themes of loss.
"I can't believe it," DiCamillo said. The usually ebullient writer was fighting back tears. "I've been crying since 5:30 this morning" when the Newbery committee called to deliver the news.
"I didn't say anything coherent to them," DiCamillo said. "I really have no recollection of anything except crying. And then I came downstairs and it was 5:30, and I wrote. Because I couldn't think what else to do."
Winning the Newbery Medal is much more emotional this time than it was in 2004, when she won for "The Tale of Despereaux." "It is," she said. "I'm undone. I'm undone. In a wonderful way."
"Flora & Ulysses" is about a squirrel that gets sucked up into a vacuum cleaner and is freed by a cynical, sometimes cranky 10-year-old named Flora (her mantra: "Do not hope; instead, observe" Flora also says, frequently, "Holy bagumba!"). The squirrel emerges from the vacuum cleaner able to fly. It also begins writing poetry.
DiCamillo's mother, Betty, "has been very much on my mind anyway, how she nurtured me as a reader," DiCamillo said. "But also this book is very much her book. It's a turning toward joy, and where we intersected so much was in laughter."
