The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

The author of this book is a practicing physician and lawyer. Oh, and by the way, her first novel (this novel) is a Newbery Honor book. Really? Really?? I think Jacqueline Kelly might be Superwoman.

In The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, Kelly transports readers to a rural town in the year 1899. The United States is on the brink of change, 11 year old Calpurnia, Callie Vee, is still expected to learn to darn socks, cook biscuits and learn the Science of Housewifery.

Well, Callie is terrible at all things domestic, much to her headache-prone mother’s chagrin, and would much rather spend her days learning about the “Science of Mr. Charles Darwin” with her grandfather on their 600 acre cotton plantation.

I really enjoyed this book. While Callie is clearly the star, each character in her life--from her animal loving little brother Travis to the postmaster who "pretends" to like children--is well-developed. And Callie has a refreshing and genuine perspective on every detail.

I especially enjoyed her take on her older brother's girlfriend, Miss Minerva Goodacre. “And there She was. A young woman…with big, protuberant eyes; a fashionably small, squinchy mouth; a long, slender stalk of a neck; and such great quantity of hair massed above it that she looked like a dandelion puff before the wind decapitated it…I hated her instantly.”

I have to admit, I normally don’t read a lot of historical fiction, or stories about family relationships or science for that matter, but this book was warm, well-written and enjoyable. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate is a great summer read.

>>Michelle