Although The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate is set in Texas, 1899, I saw a lot of myself in her...aways fun for a reader! Curious, outdoorsy, feeling pretty wretched about being a girl. Her grandfather, a devoted naturalist in his retirement years, takes her under his wing and stokes her mind with science and the exploration of the natural world.

Callie Vee, as she is called in her family, is an 11-almost-12-year old sadwiched between three older brothers and three younger brothers. Her mother, determined to transform Calpurnia into a proper young lady,forces piano practice, lessons in the kitchen, and entry of Callie Vee's homecrafts into the County Fair. Calpurnia, on the other hand, would rather be exploring the local flora and fauna with her grandfather and entering her observations into her "Notebook." She longs for a vision of her future that doesn't involve cooking, cleaning, sewing, and starting it all over again the next day. When she and her grandfather discover a possible new species, they send their findings off to the Smithsonian Institution and wait for a response.

The language is clever. The characters are fun. Ms. Kelly deftly handles the culture shifts of a post-Civil War/Emmancipation era in rural Texas and makes the pursuit of scientific learning an attractive proposition...a plus for books with female leads. You may find yourself so busy rooting for young Calpurnia, that you'll end up neglecting your own household chores!