Bibliography:
Kelly, Jacqueline. 2009. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company. 9780805088410
Plot Summary:
The year is 1899 and Calpurnia Virginia Tate, “Callie Vee” for short, should be learning to cook, clean, sew and behave like a lady, but instead prefers to spend her time indulging in the field of science. Callie Vee develops a special relationship with her science loving grandfather. Together, the two explore the world around them in hopes of finding something that has never been discovered before.
Critical Analysis:
The author has done a wonderful job magnifying the gender inequality issues of the times. Ladies, both young and old, were expected to act a certain way. Women were expected to know how to take care of a family and prepare for marriage. Women were not encouraged to pursue the field of science or any field outside of the home for that matter. The plot focuses on Callie Vee’s struggles within herself and society all in the name of science.
Callie Vee’s character struggles to find her place in the world around her while also trying to avoid becoming the lady her mother expects her to become. On page 195 we see one of many minor conflicts between Callie Vee and Mother when Callie Vee asks her mother what exactly a debutante was:
Mother’s eyes lit up. “It means that a girl from a good family has become a young lady and is ready to be introduced into Society. That she is ready to take her appointed place. That she can be introduced to young men from good families. It means cotillions and entertainments and a new gown for each one.”
“How long does it last?” I said.
“A year.”
“A whole year?” I didn’t much care for the sound of that. “And then what happens?”
She looked confused. “What do you mean?”
You said it lasts for a year, and then what?”
“Well, usually the young lady has found a husband by that time.”
“So it’s a lot of fancy parties to marry of girls.”
Mother clucked. “Goodness, I wouldn’t put it that way.”
Why not? I thought. There was no disguising it…
Mother and her strong personality are always pushing Callie Vee to become a lady and trying to explain to Callie Vee why sewing is good and rock hard biscuits are bad; her mother absolutely does not approve of her only daughter attempting to become anything but a proper lady. This fact becomes evident when Mother discusses Callie Vee’s inappropriate behavior with Father (and with Callie Vee eavesdropping):
“The boys will make their way in the world, but what about her? Your father feeds her a steady diet of Dickens and Darwin. Access to too many books like those can build disaffection in one’s life. Especially a young life. Most especially a young girl’s life.”
I wanted to yell, We’re doing important work! There’s the plant!” (p. 219)
The characters in this story are well rounded and fit perfectly with the times in rural Fentress, Texas. From the personalities and behaviors of each person in the book it is evident the author did quite bit of research in order to accurately describe each person in the book to fit with the year 1899 and there are no accidental facts improperly placed. Calpurnia tries hard to pursue her love of science (how very un-ladylike!); Mother tries to prepare her only daughter for marriage by forcing her to learn to cook, clean and sew; Father works hard and lets his wife deal with the family matters; the boys work the family business if they are old enough; everyone has a job. Grandfather is different from the rest of the family as he spends his time in retirement experimenting in his shop (laboratory) and keeps to himself.
As serious as this story sounds readers will find quite a bit of funny parts included within. One of my favorite parts of the story is in Chapter 22 titled "Thanksgiving." Calpurnia's animal loving brother Travis was chosen to care for and feed the family's small flock of turkeys for Thanksgiving (each year the children take turns doing this job) dinner. Travis adores animals and grows attached to any animals he takes care of and ends up naming his turkey charges Reggie, Tom Turkey, and Lavinia. At one point Father realizes Travis is growing too attached to the turkeys and reminds Travis to not allow himself to get attached. Upset, Travis goes to his sister to plead his case for the turkeys:
"They're my friends, Callie. Why would anybody want to eat them?"
"Travis," I said, "we always have a bird at Thanksgiving. That's what they're for. You know that."
I thought he was going to cry. "We can't eat my friends. What am I gonna tell Reggie?"
"I don't think you should discuss it with him," I said, "It's better that way, don't you think?"
Later in the chapter Reggie escapes and the whole family assumed Travis engineered the escape; eventually Reggie returns and the escape hole is patched up. In order to fix the situation for Travis, Calpurnia suggests trading Reggie for a neighbor's turkey of the same size so Travis is not left heartbroken over the loss of his "pet." Travis was fine with the neighbor's eating his Reggie, but his family was not allowed to do so! Although it is sad to see Travis so attached to "dinner" it was funny to see Travis referring to his turkeys as though they had feelings. It was even more funny to see the family scrambling to not break the heart of poor, animal-loving Travis nu trading off his pet only days before Thanksgiving dinner.
Recommended for what ages 9 and up.
Review Excerpt(s):
- Newbery Honor Book (2010)
- Kirkus Reviews – given a blue star for remarkable merit – (2009) “Readers will finish this witty, deftly crafted debut novel rooting for “Callie Vee” and wishing they knew what kind of adult she would become.”
- Booklist – starred review – (2009) “Many readers will hope for a sequel to this engaging, satisfying first novel.”
Connections:
- Pair this title with other great historical favorites such as:
Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
Breaking Stalin's Nose by Eugene Yelchin - Encourage future naturalists! Provide several books and photos on the plants and animals Calpurnia and her grandfather studied throughout the story. Encourage the child(ren) to talk about any experience they might have had regarding natural sciences.
- Plant a small native plant and encourage the child(ren) to record the plant's behavior each day. Be sure to tell the children what types of information should be included (time, date, plant name, temperature and so on) inside of the journal. If a plant is not exciting enough try using an insect instead!
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