The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate is written by Jacqueline Kelly and is a Newbery Honor Book.

 

 

Calpurnia Tate, or Callie Vee as some call her, is an eleven year old girl growing up in a small central Texas town during the year of 1899.  She is surrounded by boys as she is the only girl of seven in the Tate family and happens to be smack dab in the middle of it all.  Callie has a wild spirit about her that keeps her from embracing the fineries of the young ladies of her time choosing instead to explore the world around her with her Grandfather, who is a naturalist and retired from the cotton plantation the family owns.  Her relationship with her grandfather has been nearly non-exitent until he sees her interest in the natural world, and gradually their relationship grows out of mutual respect for their love of nature.  This great book took me back to a time when I was able to spend some very treasured summers with my own Papaw as he worked in his electrician business.  Occasionally I would be allowed to go with him to a job that had to be supervised or for a bid as he owned the company.  Much like Callie Vee, I can remember being in awe of the knowledge that he possessed about his world that was so unfamiliar to me.  I was able to grow close with him over gardening and tinkering around in the garage.  A few times in the novel, Callie takes to her bed in sometimes real and sometimes feigned illness which prompts her to remember her family's cure-all of codliver oil.  That also made me laugh as I remembered my Papaw wanting to mop my tonsils with some red substance that we called "monkey blood" when I mentioned that I had anything resembling a sore throat.  One time was enough for me to know that I did not like it, and nothing would make me say I was sick enough for that.  As the title reads, Callie goes through an evolution or change as she struggles with the internal issues that many strong women of her time must have dealt with; should she become a proper young lady for her family to present to society or follow her heart into science where she knew she could find happiness.  It was a very enjoyable read!

Kelly, J. (2009). The evolution of Calpurnia Tate . New York: Henry Holt.