The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Calpurnia Tate #1)
The spunky girl heroine. Shes an enduring character in our middle grade fiction. From 1928s 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 given
In Texas, 1899, Calpurnia Tate is 12 when she discovers she has a passion for the world around her - evolution, insects, animals, and plants. She finds a kindred spirit in her grandfather and they both start experiments and recording different species they find around them.Overlaying this gorgeous tale of a girl and her grandfather is the time period and location where the telephone has just been installed in town (and to be a telephone operator is the height of a glamorous job!), Charles
Ok, in the spirit of full disclosure, I'll let it be known that I live in the geographic area where this book takes place. The main action in the book takes place in Fentress, Texas, a small town that I have visited many times, and I live in Lockhart, Texas, which is a secondary point of interest in the text.Author Jacqueline Kelly also knows the area well, splitting her residential time between Fentress and Austin. Originally from New Zealand, Kelly has obviously lived here long enough to
Wavering between three and four stars. I liked this a lot; it was very funny in spots, and I enjoyed the setting and everyone in the family. (Monica mentioned that she couldn't keep the brothers straight until well into the book; one of the funniest moments is when the grandfather says "Which one is he?" about one of his grandsons--obviously he had the same problem.) It was maybe a bit longer than it should have been, but that didn't really bother me.I did feel like it was occasionally
4 1/2 starsI think that every little girl probably has that moment of confusion, that moment when she realizes that the expectations for her will be different than those for her brothers or male friends. I actually got to witness my little girls a few months ago. We were driving down a busy road on a hot day, and after seeing the second or third shirtless male jogger, she asked, why do they get to be naked? When I told her that it was just a custom in our society that women wear shirts outdoors
I can't be objective or tell you effectively why I love this so much. Reminds me a bit of Caddie Woodlawn or even Thimble Summer but with even more joy. I decided that I couldn't wait until my Newbery discussion group gets around to it, so I read it now (and will read the sequel very shortly) and will read it again then. Highly recommended to those of you who know what it's like to be a young reader and find a kindred soul in a treasure of a story.
Jacqueline Kelly
Hardcover | Pages: 344 pages Rating: 3.99 | 28329 Users | 4467 Reviews
Mention Books Supposing The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Calpurnia Tate #1)
Original Title: | The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate |
ISBN: | 0805088415 (ISBN13: 9780805088410) |
Edition Language: | English URL http://us.macmillan.com/theevolutionofcalpurniatate/JacquelineKelly |
Series: | Calpurnia Tate #1 |
Characters: | Calpurnia Virginia Tate, Granddaddy Walter Tate |
Setting: | Fentress, Texas,1899(United States) |
Literary Awards: | Newbery Medal Nominee (2010), Josette Frank Award (2010), Audie Award for Children's for Ages 8-12 (2011), Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (2011), IRA Children’s and Young Adult’s Book Award for Intermediate–Fiction (2010) Iowa Children's Choice Award Nominee (2013), Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children's Literature (2010), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Children's Book (2009), Premio El Templo de las Mil Puertas for Mejor novela extranjera independiente (2010), Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award Nominee (2012) |
Interpretation Conducive To Books The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Calpurnia Tate #1)
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 larger. As Callie explores the natural world around her, she develops a close relationship with her grandfather, navigates the dangers of living with six brothers, and comes up against just what it means to be a girl at the turn of the century. Debut author Jacqueline Kelly deftly brings Callie and her family to life, capturing a year of growing up with unique sensitivity and a wry wit.Itemize Of Books The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Calpurnia Tate #1)
Title | : | The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Calpurnia Tate #1) |
Author | : | Jacqueline Kelly |
Book Format | : | Hardcover |
Book Edition | : | First Edition |
Pages | : | Pages: 344 pages |
Published | : | 2009 by Henry Holt and Company |
Categories | : | Historical. Historical Fiction. Young Adult. Fiction. Childrens. Middle Grade |
Rating Of Books The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Calpurnia Tate #1)
Ratings: 3.99 From 28329 Users | 4467 ReviewsCritique Of Books The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Calpurnia Tate #1)
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 goalThe spunky girl heroine. Shes an enduring character in our middle grade fiction. From 1928s 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 given
In Texas, 1899, Calpurnia Tate is 12 when she discovers she has a passion for the world around her - evolution, insects, animals, and plants. She finds a kindred spirit in her grandfather and they both start experiments and recording different species they find around them.Overlaying this gorgeous tale of a girl and her grandfather is the time period and location where the telephone has just been installed in town (and to be a telephone operator is the height of a glamorous job!), Charles
Ok, in the spirit of full disclosure, I'll let it be known that I live in the geographic area where this book takes place. The main action in the book takes place in Fentress, Texas, a small town that I have visited many times, and I live in Lockhart, Texas, which is a secondary point of interest in the text.Author Jacqueline Kelly also knows the area well, splitting her residential time between Fentress and Austin. Originally from New Zealand, Kelly has obviously lived here long enough to
Wavering between three and four stars. I liked this a lot; it was very funny in spots, and I enjoyed the setting and everyone in the family. (Monica mentioned that she couldn't keep the brothers straight until well into the book; one of the funniest moments is when the grandfather says "Which one is he?" about one of his grandsons--obviously he had the same problem.) It was maybe a bit longer than it should have been, but that didn't really bother me.I did feel like it was occasionally
4 1/2 starsI think that every little girl probably has that moment of confusion, that moment when she realizes that the expectations for her will be different than those for her brothers or male friends. I actually got to witness my little girls a few months ago. We were driving down a busy road on a hot day, and after seeing the second or third shirtless male jogger, she asked, why do they get to be naked? When I told her that it was just a custom in our society that women wear shirts outdoors
I can't be objective or tell you effectively why I love this so much. Reminds me a bit of Caddie Woodlawn or even Thimble Summer but with even more joy. I decided that I couldn't wait until my Newbery discussion group gets around to it, so I read it now (and will read the sequel very shortly) and will read it again then. Highly recommended to those of you who know what it's like to be a young reader and find a kindred soul in a treasure of a story.
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