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The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

by Jacqueline Kelly

3.99 · rating details · 7,283 ratings · 2,256 reviews

Calpurnia Virginia Tate is eleven years old in 1899 when she wonders why the yellow grasshoppers in her Texas backyard are so much bigger than the green ones.With a little help from her notoriously cantankerous grandfather, an avid naturalist, she figures out that the green grasshoppers are easier to see against the yellow grass, so they are eaten before they can get any

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Hardcover, 338 pages

Published May 12th 2009 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

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Best Book Cover 2009

16th out of 552 books — 2,840 voters

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

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Newbery 2010

3rd out of 99 books — 413 voters

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Apr 12, 2009

Elizabeth rated it

Recommended to Elizabeth by: Tim Jones

The spunky girl heroine. She’s an enduring character in our middle grade fiction. From 1928’s The Winged Girl of Knossos by Erick Berry to Caddie Woodlawn and Roller Skates, historical fiction and so-called tomboys go together like cereal and milk. It would be tempting then to view The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate as just one more in a long line of spunkified womenfolk. True and not true. Certainly Calpurnia chaffs against the restrictions of her time, but debut novelist Jacqueline Kelly has give...more

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Sep 03, 2010

Rachel rated it

First, let me try to be fair and share things I liked. I liked Calpurnia--her spunk,loyalty and ambition to do "great things". I liked her curiosity about the world and her courage to forge a relationship with her grandfather. In and of itself, I loved that relationship; to be "in" with a grandparent the way she "became" would be a boon and blessing to any child. However, though I thought her grandfather was likable and validated Calpurnia in important ways, his character seems to have devolved...more First, let me try to be fair and share things I liked. I liked Calpurnia--her spunk,loyalty and ambition to do "great things". I liked her curiosity about the world and her courage to forge a relationship with her grandfather. In and of itself, I loved that relationship; to be "in" with a grandparent the way she "became" would be a boon and blessing to any child. However, though I thought her grandfather was likable and validated Calpurnia in important ways, his character seems to have devolved into a selfish, self absorbed presence that concerns himself only with matters that directly affect him. I say devolved because we catch glimpses of a full and rich earlier life, but by the time we meet him, he seems to have distanced everyone around him, taking --never giving, and the only reason he builds such an endearing relationship with Calpurnia is because she ventures into his world and on his terms; he shuts out everyone else who is unwilling to make that journey. In the end I wanted him to help her transition, to help her see that all of the bright lights of learning and discovery and important things can be had in every avenue of life if we choose to see it. Through his encouragement and because of their relationship, she could have had that vision, but he was never willing to venture outside of his world long enough to teach her anything that broad. I got the sense that her relationship with her grandfather would be fleeting and as her experiences diverged from his, Calpurnia would be shut out again as well.

My second irritation was minor and a bit unfair, because the title of the book states clearly it's subject matter and I chose to pick it up, but I found the chapter headings to be a little irritating and manipulated, like the author was trying to push her Darwinian views a little too forcefully down one's throat.

Lastly, and this would stop me from recommending the book to any of the young girls of my acquaintance, for who it is supposedly intended. The role of wife, mother and homemaker is disturbingly undermined and devalued. The following quotes summarize the tone of the book.

“My mother’s life was a never-ending round of maintenance. Not one single thing did she ever achieve but that it had to be done all over again, one day or one week or one season later. Oh, the monotony."

“...I was exactly like other girls. I was expected to hand over my life to a house, a husband, children. ...My life was forfeit. Why hadn’t I seen it? I was trapped. A coyote with her paw in the trap.”

”..I leaned against the wall and stood there, empty, for a long time. Empty of everything. I was only a practical vessel of helpful service, waiting to be filled up with recipes and knitting patterns.”

I finished the book, waiting for the moment when someone would help Calpurnia dispel the nightmarish destiny she was conjuring in her mind and help her to know that though every homemaker will feel the "never-ending round of maintenance", and on a bad day feel like "only a practical vessel of helpful service" that there are so many other beautiful days in between. That being a wife and mother brings the great joys of life. That discovery and learning and ambition are still there for the taking. But, those ideas never emerged and she... and we,
were left looking ahead to a life filled with headaches and tonic, and frippery.

A well written story, just not my kind of themes.(less)

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Jul 25, 2011

joє mo rated it

Shelves: historic, flowers-plants-gardens, 2011, fiction, moments-of-hilarity, own, school-life, science, 2011-faves, on-a-quest, tomboy, reviews, stories-or-books-in-books, authors-to-watch, 3-stars, re-reads

3.25/5

it's the summer of 1899. the sun is burning hot like a ball spouting fire, even the insects are desperately trying to get to a droplet of water by marching through the smallest cracks in the tate house. amidst all the chaos is 11-year old callie vee tate. the only girl out of seven children. the title says it all. this is her story.

callie is as witty, entertaining, caring, understandably self-conscious, vulnerable as she can be determined and blunt to the point of being insolent.
when bein...more 3.25/5

it's the summer of 1899. the sun is burning hot like a ball spouting fire, even the insects are desperately trying to get to a droplet of water by marching through the smallest cracks in the tate house. amidst all the chaos is 11-year old callie vee tate. the only girl out of seven children. the title says it all. this is her story.

callie is as witty, entertaining, caring, understandably self-conscious, vulnerable as she can be determined and blunt to the point of being insolent.
when being explained something, she doesn't just leave it at that and accepts the answer as the absolute truth. callie belongs to the group of people who regards the answer like an object to be viewed from all angles and corners and prods it with a stick, like the scientist she is.

i asked mother if i could cut my hair, which hung in a dense swelter all the way down my back. she said no, she wouldn't have me running about like shorn savage. i found this manifestly unfair (..).
so i devised a plan: every week i would cut off an inch of hair - just one stealthy inch - so that mother wouldn't notice. she wouldn't notice because i would camouflage myself with good manners. when i took on the disguise of a polite young lady, i could often escape her scrutiny.
- (p4, paperback, january 2011)

see? have a smile on your lips? i am not the least surprised.

callie tries to juggle her interests with the jobs that have to get done, like how her mother forces her to master the art of housewifery.

how were you supposed to make the stitches the same size? (..) who cared about this stuff?
well, i could answer the last one. my mother cared, and the rest of the world apparently did too, for no good reason that i could figure out. and i, who did not care, was going to be forced into caring. it was ridiculous.
- (p217)

"boys, i have an announcement to make. your sister made the apple pies tonight. i'm sure we will all enjoy them very much."
"can i learn how, ma'am?", said jim bowie.
"no, j.b. boys don't bake pies," mother said.
"why not?" he said.
"they have wives who make pies for them."
"but i don't have a wife." (..)

was there any way i could have a wife, too? i wondered ..
-(p228)

the evolution of calpurnia tate reads like part memoir, part scientific logbook recorded by the protagonist (who happens to be a devoted naturalist), as much as it is based on historical facts (obviously darwin is being mentioned, but also coca-cola, the invention of the telephone and the automobile, famous authors like charles dickens and robert louis stevenson).

as the story nears its end, it turns more and more serious, because callie struggles with the answer about who she wants to be and who she is supposed to be.
(less)

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Apr 19, 2012

*Mafi* rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: pt, 2012, blogring

Ainda não sei bem se gostei ou não...

A capa e a edição estão muito giras, pena que o conteúdo não seja tão giro. Acabei por ler o livro na diagonal, pois a leitura começou a ficar aborrecida e custava pegá-lo.

O livro não é mau pelo contrário, ganhou imensos prémios e gostei muito da Calpurnia, da sua ambição e curiosidade em querer saber sempre mais e gostei do relacionamento que tinha com o avô. O meu problema com o livro foi mesmo a escrita. Várias páginas de só descrição não são para mim a le...more

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May 07, 2011

JG (The Introverted Reader) rated it

· review of another edition

Recommended to JG (The Introverted Reader) by: LCE

Shelves: award_winners, fiction, covers_i_like, historical_fiction, just_plain_fun, middle_grade, read_in_2011, reviewed, setting_us, strong_females, 5_stars, characters_i_love

"My name is Calpurnia Virginia Tate, but back then everybody called me Callie Vee. That summer, I was eleven years old and the only girl out of seven children. Can you imagine a worse situation?" "That summer" is the summer of 1899 and it is a scorcher. Amid the heat and the drought though, Callie is finding out who she is. She is a born scientist. She is a little lost in the shuffle of all those brothers, but one day, desperate for an answer to a scientific question, she bravely goes out to con...more "My name is Calpurnia Virginia Tate, but back then everybody called me Callie Vee. That summer, I was eleven years old and the only girl out of seven children. Can you imagine a worse situation?" "That summer" is the summer of 1899 and it is a scorcher. Amid the heat and the drought though, Callie is finding out who she is. She is a born scientist. She is a little lost in the shuffle of all those brothers, but one day, desperate for an answer to a scientific question, she bravely goes out to confront her eccentric grandfather in his "laboratory." The rest is history. The two recognize a "kindred spirit" in each other and set out on scientific pursuits together. Granddaddy encourages Callie in all her experiments and dreams, seeing past her gender to her brilliant mind, but slowly Callie realizes that she is destined for a life of embroidery and children and cooking. She is not happy.

I love Calpurnia Tate. She is a childhood heroine for the ages, joining the likes of Anne Shirley in my heart. I do not say that lightly. I have loved Anne for about 20 years, but now she has good company with Callie.

Calpurnia is a thinker and a quiet fighter. When her mother tells her she can't cut her hair, she does it an inch at a time. I have utmost faith that her fighting spirit will help her get what she wants and prepare the way for women who follow. She is funny and honest and she tries so hard to make her family happy with her. She is far from perfect and gets into some hilarious scrapes. She has a gigantic heart and tries to help those she loves any way she can. I wish I could know her in real life.

I love Granddaddy too. There's a line that I can't find now that says something about how Calpurnia and Granddaddy almost missed each other even though they live under the same roof. Callie wouldn't be the girl she is without Granddaddy encouraging her. One person who believes in you can make all the difference in the world, and Granddaddy was that person for Callie. He is pretty funny too. He doesn't have much patience for Callie's long-suffering mom and will occasionally put her in her place with a perfect one-liner.

This book is pretty much perfect. I was lost in Callie's world as I read along, flipping pages quickly to find out what she would get up to next, but not wanting to finish either. I wasn't ready to be done with Callie's story.

The ending was absolutely perfect. It's a quiet moment, but it foretells big things in Calpurnia's future. I was beaming as I finished.

I can't recommend this highly enough. Everyone should read it, but little girls with big dreams will find a kindred spirit in Miss Calpurnia Virginia Tate.(less)

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Feb 23, 2009

Tasha rated it

Shelves: childrens-books

In1899, girls are expected to grow up to be either wives or teachers. So what is a girl like Calpurnia to do? She is much more interested in different species of grasshoppers than in tatting or cooking. She would rather spend hours with her grandfather in his shed doing experiments than learning to knit all of her six brothers socks. As the only daughter in the family, Calpurnia is expected to be ladylike, play the piano, and eventually be launched into society. Calpurnia is much more likely to...more

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Aug 25, 2011

rachel rated it

Shelves: from-library, kid-lit, of-the-south-or-its-environs, read-for-one-of-four-book-clubs, 2011, loved, nice-surprise, this-is-america

Think Caddie Woodlawn, with more Darwin and less boredom. Or don't, because I read Caddie Woodlawn for a class at a time when I hated everything that wasn't by Christopher Pike or featured some breed of sexy, pre-Twilight vampire/monsterman. So I'm not really qualified to judge.

Like Caddie, Calpurnia Tate is also the sort of "educational" book that will probably be required reading in elementary schools for advanced English classes. I think that's a shame, because I am certain that I got more o...more

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Jul 22, 2009

Heather rated it

Recommends it for: girls 12 and up

Recommended to Heather by: DaNae

Shelves: childrens-fiction, historical-fiction, mock-newbery-2010, coming-of-age

I loved this book, but I didn't give it 5 stars because I don't think it is a life-changing book for me at this stage in my life. Perhaps it would have been when I was younger, but not now. What it did for me, however, was reaffirm that time in my life when I started to "wake up," and really realize that I--a girl--could have aspirations of my own. I had a childhood much like our heroine Calpurnia--lots of time spent outdoors with animals. I too had a mother who exposed me to the "domestic arts,...more I loved this book, but I didn't give it 5 stars because I don't think it is a life-changing book for me at this stage in my life. Perhaps it would have been when I was younger, but not now. What it did for me, however, was reaffirm that time in my life when I started to "wake up," and really realize that I--a girl--could have aspirations of my own. I had a childhood much like our heroine Calpurnia--lots of time spent outdoors with animals. I too had a mother who exposed me to the "domestic arts," although she didn't ever tell me it was my "role" to perform such tasks simply because I was female. She also taught and exposed me to many other creative activities. And even though now I have become that stereotypical female (wife, mother, cook, domestic manager, etc.) I still was given the opportunity to choose that for myself, not have it thrust upon me.

I truly agonized for Calpurnia when she starts to realize that because of the time and place she was born into: she "was only a practical vessel of helpful service, waiting to be filled up with recipes and knitting patterns." What woman hasn't felt trapped by her sex at one point in her life? But, I appreciated that Jacqueline Kelly didn't characterize Mrs. Tate as a villain for trying to teach Calpurnia what was proper at that time. Rather, I think she was portrayed as a woman who wanted a connection with her only daughter. Spunky Calpurnia, on the other hand, has different plans. Thankfully she strikes up a friendship with her naturalist Granddaddy, which opens up a whole new, wonderful world for Calpurnia. Calpurnia is very much akin to the spunky heroine Ann of Green Gables that I loved so much as a girl.

This book is not a high-adventure story. It is historical fiction, and focuses primarily on Calpurnia and her relationships with her family. There are many amusing, anecdotal situations sprinkled throughout, but the most memorable situations are the teaching moments between Calpurnia and her grandfather. It is a very touching, tender, coming-of-age story that embodies the genteelness of a by-gone era.(less)

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Oct 11, 2011

Amy Martin rated it

Although there is a trend in YA literature of female lead characters, the question of "being a girl" is often left aside. If only we truly lived in a post-feminist world where there were no barriers on young women!
This book, set at the turn of the 20th century, addresses the issue of girlhood through the eyes of Callie Vee, the only girl in a household of boys, expected to learn sewing, cookery and other womanly tasks - but not until she gets to know her slightly scary grandfather is she expect...more

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Mar 15, 2009

Lisa rated it

Shelves: families, historical-fiction, values

Jacqueline Kelly is an enormously talented writer and has created a character who will become an instant classic. Twelve-year-old Calpurnia Virginia Tate (Callie Vee) lives with her charming, well-off family in Texas in 1899. Callie has just become her naturalist grandfather's assistant and mentee, and is in love with science and discovery. Meanwhile, her mother decides it's time to improve Callie's feminine skills: tatting, cooking, knitting. As the only girl in a family with six boys, all the...more

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Apr 10, 2012

Andreia Silva rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: biblioteca, leituras-de-2012

Com a premissa deste livro e logo nas primeiras páginas eu soube que iria adorar a história. Não é um livro com uma grande enredo, cheio de acção, de amores arrebatadores, mas é um livro sobre uma menina que nos finais do século XIX descobriu a ciência. Para quem lida com a ciência (como eu) todos os dias é uma delicia. Fala-se do Darwin, do Newton e da Marie Curie e de tudo aquilo que a ciência é e todo aquele fervilhar inerente a uma descoberta cientifica. A Calpurnia Tate quer ser cientista e...more

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Mar 09, 2012

Emily rated it

Shelves: books-read-during-studio

I love this book a lot, even with the bits and pieces I didn't quite understand fully. The science terms kind of bugged me, but I got the basics of it so I knew what was happening around that. What I really liked was how the story itself, and how Calpurnia "evolved" because of certain aspects in life and influences like Granddaddy. How not just her personality and physical appearance, but more of her interests and dreams can morph intensely into a completely new formation. She never really knew...more I love this book a lot, even with the bits and pieces I didn't quite understand fully. The science terms kind of bugged me, but I got the basics of it so I knew what was happening around that. What I really liked was how the story itself, and how Calpurnia "evolved" because of certain aspects in life and influences like Granddaddy. How not just her personality and physical appearance, but more of her interests and dreams can morph intensely into a completely new formation. She never really knew about the core of science, and that was something that she learned along her way with the assistance of her Grandaddy. Even with her dreams and daily life changing that's being affected by two completely different perspectives set for her, she tries her best to see what's best for her own likes and not just for the re-creation of a woman her mother wasn't able to achieve. Anyway, this really is a pretty interesting story that grabs you attention of every little detail in life that you might miss. Excluding all the scientific lingo that's added, it's interesting to learn the life of an only daughter in a world full of life and evolution.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The book, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly, is set in the early 1900's in which a curious young female ventures into the bewildering nature filled with enigmatic creatures wandering about, but the demanding obligations set by her stern mother stop her in her tracks. This befuddled young girl is Calpurnia Tate, or as her siblings (all brothers) call her, Callie Vee, and she wonders whether to follow in the steps of her scientific mystifying grandfather (Granddaddy), or continue the path her mother strictly laid out for her. Within all of the astounding events occurring, there will be several themes popping up every now and then including gender and age solely affecting Calpurnia's multidimensional and perplexed ways.

In my opinion, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate was a compelling story to read that not only showed the works of science and the formalities of women, but a story of a young girl who aspires to be herself guided by her interests. Even so, there are some of those insipid moments that you'd want to just drop it, but I can guarantee you that there's an abundant amount of those moments that will leave you with an enlightening feeling that you won't forget. Callie Vee is a unique character because of her tomboyish atmosphere, curiosity, and empathy. She isn't so self-centered, not like other women that her eldest brother Harry would be attached to. At one point in the book, when he was angry at her for spilling out his secret, I despised him for being such an ignorant and cruel brother for blaming her for being a such tattletale. That didn't last long because they eventually repaired their broken bond once they both realized their foolish errors. The one character that I truly was irritated by, was Calpurnia's mother, who rigorously piled up unwanted work on top of her only daughter's shoulders. I understood that she just wanted her to be a lady she couldn't achieve, but it would've been a lot fairer and easier to let Callie be herself and enjoy what she's content with. Secondly, I enjoyed the majority of the plot from the beginning to almost the end. At times, it was pretty suspenseful, and then something unexpected would happen after that, like when Callie and Harry were locked in a sorrowful discussion resulting in a melancholic little sister regretful of her actions and an enraged brother who just won't forgive. Even if it was something bad that occurred, I felt empathy for Callie and it gave me one of those I-CAN-RELATE moments that I love a lot. Lastly, I hated and loved how the themes (gender and age) intervened with the interests that motivated Callie to become someone out of her league. Because she was a girl in the late 1900's, there weren't many options available for one except for a housewife, which I hated, but because she was young (around the age of 11), she gained a lot of knowledge along the way of her memorable explorations, yet she still needed to learn a lot more about the world she was in, and the little bits of details that mean a lot in her world that she missed out on, which I loved.

Overall, I can say that this book can be hard to understand at times, but that's only because there could be words you won't understand, but you should take your time in reading it to absorb every critical detail. This would be a great book for a young age like 12 and up because it'll help you learn a large amount of vocabulary. Plus, I'd like to add in that you can ignore the science terms and classifications that may pop up because they will only frustrate you if you think too hard about them, ha. Anyway, I would rate this book 4 stars, and not 5 because it wasn't my most favorite book ever, but rather an enjoyable one I spent my time reading. I would recommend that you also read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee if you haven't already, because of the several themes that are alike. I don't know how else to say it, so I'll just say it: READ IT, because it's worth it!
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Jul 11, 2011

Amy rated it

I was disappointed with this book. I felt like the author kept introducing characters and plot lines and then only developing them halfway. That was frustrating.

Also, I found myself irritated slightly with the the way the author portrayed the whole notion of growing up, and becoming a woman, and what it meant in those days. Calpurnia yearns to be a scientist, go to the university and do things that matter in a time when women just got married and had families. Well, I think that Calpurnia's goal...more

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Jun 20, 2011

Cheryl in CC NV rated it

Recommends it for: everybody, really

The best bit was on p. 16. Callie Vee is frustrated so she runs down to the river,

"and ducked my head underwater and let out a long loud scream, the sound burbling in my ears. I came up for air and did it again. And one more time, just to be thorough.... I would live my life in a tower of books. I would read all day long and eat peaches. And if any young knights in armor dared to come calling on their white chargers and plead with me to let down my hair, I would pelt them with peach pits until t...more

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Feb 28, 2011

Shauna rated it

I just finished reading this book, and it was one of the most enjoyable things I have read in a long time. Jacqueline Kelly writes so beautifully about eleven-year old Calpurnia and her awakening to the world around and her place in it. This is not an adventure story and there is very little action. Ms. Kelly’s writing reflects this languor and slowness—her words are often like poetry: so perfectly chosen and evocative that they need to be read slowly to savor their impact. Besides the wonderful...more

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Aug 01, 2010

BJ Rose rated it

Shelves: newbery, library-books, young-adult

In this engaging tale, 11-year-old Calpurnia talks about herself, her family, and other people and events in the year 1899. This was especially interesting to me as this time in history is very close to that of my dad's growing-up years. Callie talks about the advent of the new drink, Coca Cola, and the viewing of the new auto-mobile, which looked so strange without any horses in front of it. And I loved her growing relationship with Granddaddy, who decided he'd devoted enough of his life to thi...more

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Apr 30, 2011

Addie rated it

Shelves: youth

I really enjoyed this book. Calpurnia Tate is growing up on a farm with her family and begins spending more and more time with her naturalist Granddaddy, one day they stumble upon an amazing finding, but Calpurnia's mother has other things in mind for her and she pushes Calpurnia towards the housewife role and that is not what Calpurnia had in mind for herself.
I could not put this book down, it caught me from the very beginning and I loved reading about all the adventures of Calpurnia and her Gr...more

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Apr 13, 2011

Nancy rated it

I found this book and started reading it for my girls, 8.5 and 6.5. The language is a bit advanced for the 6.5 year old and I do need to explain certain period settings and prop devices to my 8.5 year old. The writing is excellent and my girls are very engaged in the book.

I will not place any spoilers, but I was terribly upset at the ending. It was unsatisfying and perhaps echoed something Grandaddy explained as finishing the experiment. Once it is done, it's over and you lose the excitement of...more

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Jul 29, 2009

Alia rated it

Shelves: childrens, favorites

Wow, I really loved this book. It's just so well written. Truth be told when I read the description it sounded a bit boring. Young naturalist learning about Darwin in Texas at the turn of the century? Eh...maybe. But the characters are so wonderful you can't help fall in love with them and the descriptions of the natural world blew me away. I was hooked by the end of the first chapter.

There's only one problem, while I can think of a few select girls who would love this book, I'm not sure of it's...more

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Jan 20, 2012

Cherylann rated it

Shelves: historical-fiction, feminist-themes, ya, bees

Calpurnia Tate is my new favorite protagonist! From the first lines of the book Callie's voice rings strong and true. With humor and poignancy, Callie learns what it means to be female at the turn of the 20th Century. I also love the multiple meanings of the title. This is a book I wanted to savor, but I ended up gulping it down. I have a feeling, I'll be revisiting this book often. If I were to give a literary dinner party, Calpurnia Tate would be seated at the table along with Scout, Flavia de...more

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Oct 25, 2011

El Templo de las Mil Puertas added it · review of another edition

Shelves: templis-2010, novela-extranjera, ganador, 17-eltemplo, criticas-literarias

"En el verano de 1899, Calpurnia tiene once años. Es la mediana de siete hermanos (todos los demás son chicos) y vive en una familia acomodada gracias a las plantaciones de pacana. Su madre quiere que aprenda a tocar el piano, a bordar y a tejer como le corresponde a una chica de buena familia, pero lo que le gusta a Calpurnia es la ciencia. Al principio se dedica a observar a los animalitos que la rodean, pero pronto contará con la ayuda de su abuelo que le deja libros, le explica teorías de la...more

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Feb 05, 2011

mia added it · review of another edition

Its definitely not something I'd usually read but once i picked it up i couldn't put it down. i also met the author a week ago she was a very good speaker.

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Jan 11, 2010

Prairie Star rated it

Shelves: mock-newbery-joco-library-2009, joco-library-mock-newbery-2009-2010

Although this book received good reviews, including a glowing one from a colleague, I was not in a hurry to read it, put off by the summary. However, I am tempted to give this a five star rating and may go back and change my mind after a few days of digesting this novel. This is one of those books for me, like The Secret Life of Bees, where the writing and story are bewitching. The novel chronicles six months in the life of Calpurnia Virginia Tate, a.k.a. Callie Vee at the turn of the century in...more Although this book received good reviews, including a glowing one from a colleague, I was not in a hurry to read it, put off by the summary. However, I am tempted to give this a five star rating and may go back and change my mind after a few days of digesting this novel. This is one of those books for me, like The Secret Life of Bees, where the writing and story are bewitching. The novel chronicles six months in the life of Calpurnia Virginia Tate, a.k.a. Callie Vee at the turn of the century in 1899. Calpurnia is a tomboy bucking against the constraints imposed on young women of the 19th century as she comes to understand them. More than this, however, is her budding relationship with her curmudgeonly, eccentric grandfather, Walter Tate, a retired member of the National Geographic Society who has had some mighty adventures during his life with artifacts to back them up. The writing pulls you along like a current in the San Marcos river Calpurnia likes to float upon during the hot summer months in Texas. Plus, there's an entertaining if sad scene with a librarian. Unfortunately, completely stereotypical.

The librarian frowned at me. I stepped up to the counter and whispered, "Please ma'am, do you have a copy of Mr. Darwin's book?...
She pinioned me with a sour look and said, "I most certainly do not. I wouldn't keep such a thing in my library. They keep a copy at the Austin library, but I would have to order it by post. That's fifty cents. Do you have fifty cents?"

"No, ma'am."...
"And I would need a letter from your mother permitting you to read that particular book. Do you have such a letter?"
"No, ma'am," I said mortified...
She sniffed. "I thought not. Now, I have books to be shelved. You must excuse me."
I wanted to weep with rage and humiliation, but I refused to cry in front of the old bat..."What is the point of a library if they won't give you a book?"
Harry glanced around. "What are you talking about?"
"Some people aren't fit to be librarians," I said.

Amen to that! And that is precisely why I am a librarian!

This is an enduring novel that will stand the test of time, a strong Newbery contender, in my opinion.(less)

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May 10, 2012

Wandering Librarians rated it

Shelves: fiction, family, good-for-anyone, growing-up, historical-fiction, middle-grade, realistic-fiction, elementary-school

This book was lovely. Sweet, slow, and humorous, each chapter was a rather delightfully packaged little vignette that made you care for the entire family more and more. Each chapter begins with an excerpt from Origin of the Species, and it helps keep the theme of evolution very prevalent throughout the book even when the chapter might not have anything to do with the science experiments that Calpurnia and her Grandaddy perform.

This was a very character driven book, which partially makes it such...more

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May 08, 2012

Amanda Kimball rated it

Shelves: historical-fiction, coming-of-age

This novel was witty and heartfelt. Calpurnia definitely was spirited and born before her time. I loved seeing her relationship with her grandfather blossom, even through his eccentricities. I have to say my favorite brother was Travis. His character touched me with his innocence and love for animals. One of my favorite scenes, while heartbreaking, is Thanksgiving when he has to face the facts of living on a farm. I loved what Calpurnia does does for him.

I enjoyed the scientific end of the nove...more

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Apr 19, 2012

Natalie Rion rated it

Shelves: historical-fiction

“The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate” is a children’s fictional book written by Jacqueline Kelly. This novel is about a young girl named Calpurnia, or mostly referred to as Callie. Callie is a 12 year old girl growing up in a small town in Texas in the year of 1899. Callie, who is more of a “tom boy” in a sense is growing up in an era that is hard for her to get away with that type of personality. Callie is terrified of growing up and maturing. She doesn’t want to think about the adult stresses that...more

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Apr 03, 2012

Moira rated it

Shelves: history, juvenile, literary, classic-candidate, essential-mother-daughter-reading

By small and gradual changes are great things achieved. That’s one of the defining principles of evolution, and of Calpurnia Virginia Tate, the heroine in this novel. I finished reading her story aloud to my 11-year-old daughter last week. I suppose she’s too old for read-alouds, but I’m not telling her. Already we don’t do it every evening as we used to, which means I have the time to write reviews while she splits a gut with her father over a Netflix comedy. One of those small, gradual changes...more By small and gradual changes are great things achieved. That’s one of the defining principles of evolution, and of Calpurnia Virginia Tate, the heroine in this novel. I finished reading her story aloud to my 11-year-old daughter last week. I suppose she’s too old for read-alouds, but I’m not telling her. Already we don’t do it every evening as we used to, which means I have the time to write reviews while she splits a gut with her father over a Netflix comedy. One of those small, gradual changes.
Calpurnia’s eleven in 1899, living near Austin, Texas with her well-to-do traditional family, the only girl of seven governed by her harried, proper mother and her responsible father who operates a prosperous pecan and cotton farm. There’s the grandfather who all the children are alarmed by. He and Calpurnia strike up a relationship bound by their fascination with the natural world. In the ramshackle former slave quarters he’s converted into his laboratory, he introduces her to the ever-expanding world of science. Always there are careful questions, little discoveries, small accidents that lead to a rather grand discovery, though I’ll be good and not say what it is. The other force in Calpurnia’s life, as intractable as gravity, is her mother who has high aspirations for her only daughter. She intends to make her daughter marriageable. It is, after all, the task set before all young women, one that tears at Calpurnia as she sees the walls close about her. She loves her family. The way she talks about them, you can’t help love the whole bunch, including the domestic help, with their romantic mishaps and comic doings and dinnertime dramas.
And here I am, more than a century later, reading it to my daughter and getting choked up because Calpurnia’s dilemma is still mine and will be my daughter’s. Family or career? And if both, how? And if one and not the other, how to reconcile yourself to the loss? Homeschooling my two, I understand the pull to get myself out there. Wasting my life on laundry and dirty floors, I am. At one point, I had to stop reading and my daughter wrapped her arm around my shoulder and pressed herself against me. And that made me feel worse because I don’t want her to feel resented. I hate to think she thinks I begrudge her.
And it’s not only a gender-specific quandary. One of the more touching scenes is with Calpurnia’s youngest brother, four-year-old JB. For supper, the family is presented Calpurnia’s pie, a sorry patched creation that the family chokes down. JB, the boy, asks why he can’t make a pie, and his mother explains that his wife will make him one. He’s not satisfied. And I wonder how many modern men aren’t either?
Maybe by small, gradual changes Calpurnia, JB and my daughter and son can make their pie and eat it, too.
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Mar 06, 2012

IMCPL Kids Book Blog rated it

Shelves: historical-fiction, favorites

It’s 1899. Calpurnia is 11 years old and lives in Texas with her six (six!) brothers - three older and three younger. On her report card, Calpurnia gets an “acceptable” grade for “Posture” and an “unsatisfactory” grade for “Use of Hankie and Thimble”. Her Mother is not pleased! Can you imagine having “Use of a Hankie” as a school subject? (A hankie is a square piece of cloth they used in the old days to wipe their eyes or nose - no kleenex back then.)

Calpurnia isn’t the least bit interested in...more It’s 1899. Calpurnia is 11 years old and lives in Texas with her six (six!) brothers - three older and three younger. On her report card, Calpurnia gets an “acceptable” grade for “Posture” and an “unsatisfactory” grade for “Use of Hankie and Thimble”. Her Mother is not pleased! Can you imagine having “Use of a Hankie” as a school subject? (A hankie is a square piece of cloth they used in the old days to wipe their eyes or nose - no kleenex back then.)

Calpurnia isn’t the least bit interested in what is known as “woman’s work.” She doesn’t want to cook and sew and knit - she wants to run and swim and explore everything that lives in the woods and river near her house. She likes to study bugs. The dirtier Calpurnia gets, the happier she is.

After observing some curious grasshoppers in her yard, Calpurnia has some questions. Why are some of the grasshoppers large, yellow and slow, and some of the grasshoppers small, green and quick? And why is it that the smaller quick ones are easier to catch? No one is able to answer her questions, in fact, her family seems completely uninterested.

Calpurnia gets up the courage to ask her Granddaddy, a man who lives in the family house but hardly speaks a word to anyone. He shows up for meals and then disappears: out in the woods to collect specimens, into his library or out to his backyard shed/laboratory. Nobody in the family is quite sure what he is up to, but everybody knows to stay out of his way. Except Calpurnia. She steps into the shed to ask her question and a friendship is born. After 11 years of thinking that she is an oddball, Calpurnia finds a kindred spirit in her quiet, cantankerous Granddaddy who shows her that being a girl who loves books and science is OK.

If you have ever wanted something different than you think is expected of you, or if you have ever felt uninterested in the same things as the people around you, maybe you and Calpurnia are kindred spirits too. Sometimes blazing your own way can be pretty exciting. Author: Jacqueline Kelly

For more: http://www.imcpl.org/kids/blog/?p=3396 (less)

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Feb 25, 2012

Lauren rated it

Personal Opinion: I didn't really like the story that well, because there was no really big problem. Just a small problem/solution event would occur every once and a while. You could skip a few chapters and still know what was kind of going on, so basically this book was slow pace. I wouldn't really recommend this book for someone that wanted to read this for an assignment (mainly because it is slow paced) but it is OK for leisure.

Book Review: Calpurnia Tate is a young girl looking for adventur...more

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Feb 10, 2012

Iria Jones rated it

· review of another edition

Callie es una niña de Texas, cuya historia se desarrolla a finales del siglo XIV, cuando la mujer aún está simplemente designada a sus tareas en la casa. Desde el principio de la historia ella descubre que eso no es lo que ella realmente desea, que tejer y zurcir no le interesa y lo único que desea es estudiar la naturaleza. Gracias a su abuelo, su aprendizaje avanza y su curiosidad crece, pero serán muchas las personas que quiera impedírselo.

Desde un principio la historia me pareció entretenida...more Callie es una niña de Texas, cuya historia se desarrolla a finales del siglo XIV, cuando la mujer aún está simplemente designada a sus tareas en la casa. Desde el principio de la historia ella descubre que eso no es lo que ella realmente desea, que tejer y zurcir no le interesa y lo único que desea es estudiar la naturaleza. Gracias a su abuelo, su aprendizaje avanza y su curiosidad crece, pero serán muchas las personas que quiera impedírselo.

Desde un principio la historia me pareció entretenida, aunque si llegar a engancharme por completo. En ella se van describiendo poco a poco episodios de la vida de Callie, describiendo la vida de una niña de doce años que lucha contra las costumbres de su época.

El mayor fallo que he podido observar en ella, y por lo que no te consigue dejar atado al libro como en tantos otros ha sido la ausencia de un argumento central. Podría tomarse como tal el camino hacia la ciencia de la muchacha (aunque no llega a estar del todo claro como termina esto) o el tiempo que tardan en recibir una respuesta al gran descubrimiento de una nueva especie de planta; sin embargo, este último punto tampoco puede considerarse como el sustento principal de la novela, ya que en el tiempo que transcurre entre su descubrimiento y la respuesta que recibe apenas se comenta el tema.

Por otra parte, me ha gustado el lenguaje y modo en que está escrito, como si en algunas ocasiones realmente fueran los pensamientos de una niña: constantes preguntas que hacerse, divagaciones sobre el futuro o su curiosa pronunciación de las palabras más complicadas. Todo esto, le confiere a la historia un tono jovial y juvenil.

El principal tema a trata acaba siendo las diferencias sociales de la época y el como puede parecer una idea absurda que una muchacha quiera acudir a la Universidad. En estas situaciones, Callie se ve censurada por su familia, que no consiente que no quiera ser una tranquila ama da casa a quien le gusta bordar o cocinar. A la madre de la joven se la muestra como una mujer afianzada en los cánones que rigen la época, aunque en algunas circunstancias deba evadirse de sus obligaciones.No obstante se percibe el avance del tiempo, con todas las novedades (el teléfono, los automóviles o la Coca-cola) y como nuestra protagonista espera ferviente que continúen.

Lee más en: http://alasombradelcuento.blogspot.co...
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About Jacqueline Kelly

Jacqueline Kelly was born in New Zealand and moved with her parents to western Canada at an early age. She grew up in the dense rain forests of Vancouver Island, so you can imagine her shock some years later when her family moved to the desert of El Paso, Texas. She attended university in El Paso and medical school in Galveston (lovingly known as “Galvatraz” among the inmates). She practiced medic...more

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“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” — 111 people liked it

“One day I would have all the books in the world, shelves and shelves of them. I would live my life in a tower of books. I would read all day long and eat peaches. And if any young knights in armor dared to come calling on their white chargers and plead with me to let down my hair, I would pelt them with peach pits until they went home.” — 87 people liked it

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