The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

Review by: Yagyesha Roy

  The main character, Calpurnia Virginia Tate (AKA Callie Vee), lives in Fentress, Texas, approximately 50 miles from Austin, the capital. (You can check if that's true, I honestly don't know, that's what they said in the book.) Callie is eleven-going-on-twelve, and worries if she is going to have to be like a "lady"- all fashionable, and doing all the tedious work that ladies do. She spends a lot of time with her grandfather, Walter Tate, and is very interested in science.

  Calpurnia's a very observant girl, so she has a lot of questions about the world. Her oldest brother, Harry, gives her a notebook to write things down in but she needs someone to discuss those questions with her, and Harry won't do it. Whenever she asks him, he always tells her to go ask Grandfather. Her grandfather, Captain Tate, is a very strict and scary figure, at least to his grandchildren. After contemplating which was better (never knowing the Answers, or never having to talk to a scary figure), she rounded up her courage and she finally finds that she and her Grandfather both share the same love of science. Thus, their adventures begin! 

  Calpurnia spends hours almost every day with her grandfather learning about Science. He even gives her a huge college - textbook style book on science that she starts to read. This sparks some arguments between Calpurnia and her brothers. JB (one of her brothers) complains that Callie barely spends any time with him and wastes her entire day with Grandfather.

  While attempting to make liquor out of pecans (takes a bunch of attempts, and even gives some to Callie), Grandfather tells Callie how he got interested in Science. It was during the war. One day a bat flew into his tent. He felt like he HAD to protect that small little mammal. To save it from the attack the next day, he put a flag to indicate yellow fever on the tent where the bat was resting. He even felt guilty later on, because he went to extreme measures to protect a bat, and not the men he was put in charge of. 

  Callie also has to learn the piano, along with her older brother Harry. Calpurnia's father disapproves of Harry taking the lessons, because all he wants is for him to inherit the farm and work like him. Callie, on the other hand, gets no such saying. She is forced to take the lessons which much arguments between her and the piano teacher. After much time (and much scoldings Calpurnia takes about the position of her hands), her teacher decides Calpurnia should perform in front of the audience (along with her other very fine pupils) for an event. She spends hours practicing her curtsy and finally gets it right. 

  Before the performance, Callie and her best friend Lula Gates have to go through the horrendous torture of having masks put on their face and getting their hair curled. Lula is one of the best piano players Calpurnia knows, but Lula has stage fright. Her face is pale throughout the entire event, and she gets violently sick the second after she finishes. Callie forgets to curtsy, and another player falls of the bench and starts wailing really loudly. That's piano playing for you!

  Callie and her Grandfather walk to the San Marcos River to observe the wildlife around them. One day, before Callie gets to go to the river, her mother stops her. She tells Callie that she has to make 2 socks for everybody in their house before Christmas. And she has to do it by herself. Callie is horrified by this news. Still, she has to knit them. She slowly realizes that the life of a housewife is coming nearer, because her mother is forcing her how to learn to cook. NOOOOOOOOO!

  On one of the days that she is allowed to go to the river (or simply escapes without her mother noticing) Callie and her Grandfather find a hairy vetch. After bringing it into the house and investigating it, they think that the have discovered a new species of the vetch. They go to a local photographer to photograph the plant and then send the photos to the Smithsonian . They wait anxiously for a reply.

  In the mean time, plenty of things happen to Callie, including being entered into the Fentress Fair for her needlework. Which she is very bad at. But, believe it or not, she came 3rd place! Why? Because she came 3rd place out of 3 entries. That's why. 

  To find out what happens about the vetch, read the book! It won a Newberry Medal. I like books where a girl is the main character so obviously this book appealed to me initially. I shared Calpurnia's distaste for housework and some characters were very endearing  but I didn't really like the book so much as to to give it 4 stars. It was too "sciency" for me. Read the book and find out yours!