Saturday, March 26, 2011

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

I loved this story! A little girl, in a family of boys. She is growing up in Texas on a cotton plantation. She is pretty much bored but then she discovers her grandfather. He is so smart and into nature, science and new things. It is the turn of the century, 1900. Capernia, the little girl, is curious about everything outside. She starts keeping a nature journal. She tries to get a copy of Darwins book but the librarian scares her so she asks her grandfather and he actually has a copy in his personal library. So she starts reading it. Her grandfather even knows Darwin.

Anyway it is a cute book about a girl discovering who she is and the world around her expanding. She gets to look in a microscope for the first time as her grandfather shows her a drop from the pond she swims in. She is floored by all the creatures in there she didn't know about. She wants to see more.
She is expected to sew and cook but she decides she wants to go to college. This is unheard of in her days for a girl. Her grandfather inspires her to reach higher and dream big.

The book was written in a clever way. Kind of like a scientist discovering new things and jotting them down in little notes in his journal, but as a young scientist of the age of 11 would do. I liked the grandfather best. He was the only one that seemed to be real.

Loved the book.

Whole Book

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