The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

Kelly, Jacqueline. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. New York, NY: Square Fish, 2009. ISBN 9780312659301

Summary:

Calpurnia Virginia Tate, or as she prefers to be called Callie Vee, is not your typical young girl growing up in hot, hot Texas the summer of 1899. First of all, Calpurnia is one of seven children and the only girl, and isn’t interested in the same things as most young girls her age. She would rather spend the adventures of her summer with a peculiar, cantankerous new best friend - her Granddaddy. Together Callie and her Granddaddy come to discover that they are both naturalists at heart, and they are on the brink of an important scientific discovery.

Analysis:

For her debut novel, Jacqueline Kelly has certainly crafted a captivating, unpredictable novel. At first, I was reluctant to read this novel based on reviews from children I had encountered and am I glad that I didn’t listen well! I was initially drawn to this novel based on its intriguing cover with the yellow background and silhouette pictures. The connection of Calpurnia’s interests to those of my own daughter – science and nature – made me want to read more.

Immediately, Kelly sets the tone for this novel with her detailed and descriptive setting of the hot and sweltering summer in 1899 Texas. You almost find yourself wanting to cut your hair just to cool off! Throughout her novel, Kelly captures what it’s like to be a young girl, out numbered by her brothers (older and younger). Calpurnia is somewhat of a loaner who finds friendship in her grouchy and secluded Granddaddy. Jacqueline Kelly is brilliant with her character and plot development. The reader learns a lot of background about both Granddaddy and Callie before finally reaching the place where several photographs and careful care of a distinct plant become critical to the story.

Darwin and his theories of The Origin of Species become an important piece to this novel. They are critical to the plot for two reasons: 1) Darwin’s theories and research was highly important at this time and helps create setting, and 2) the discussion of Darwin provides backing and meaning to Callie and Granddaddy’s interests and discovery. Although the author does not push Darwin’s theories on the reader, a strong reader with skilled inference abilities will be able to conclude and learn more about his research. Each chapter opens with a quote from Darwin; however, these quotes and information about Darwin do not make the reader feel uncomfortable about his or her beliefs. It is not a book of propaganda.

Jacqueline Kelly has developed a novel that helps young readers realize that it’s important to accept who you are and to make sure you stay true to yourself. This is true of the two main characters – Callie and Granddaddy. This book speaks well to young girls who are interested in science and to boys who will find a deep connection with Granddaddy and his scientific inquiry and knowledge. This is definitely an unconventional historical fiction story, and one that was needed. Thank you Jacqueline Kelly for using your talents to craft this poignant novel!

Awards and Review Excerpts:

- 2010 Newbery Honor Book

- 2010 ALA Notable Children’s Book

- 2010 Texas Lone Star Reading List

- YALSA Best Book for Young Adults, 2010

- IRA Children’s Book Award, 2010

From Kirkus Reviews: “Readers will finish this witty, deftly crafted debut novel rooting for ‘Callie Vee.’”

From The Horn Book Review: “A memorable, warm, spirited young woman who’s refreshingly ahead of her time.”

From “Book Bench” Section of The New Yorker: “The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" is the most delightful historical novel for tweens in many, many years. …Callie's struggles to find a place in the world where she'll be encouraged in the gawky joys of intellectual curiosity are fresh, funny, and poignant today.

From The Washington Post: “In her debut novel, Jacqueline Kelly brings to vivid life a boisterous small-town family at the dawn of a new century. And she especially shines in her depiction of the natural world that so intrigues Callie… Readers will want to crank up the A.C. before cracking the cover, though. That first chapter packs a lot of summer heat.”

From New York Times Book Review: “Each chapter of this winning…novel opens with a quotation from 'On the Origin of Species'—a forbidden book that her own grandfather turns out to have hidden away. Together they study Darwin's masterpiece, leading to a revolution in Callie's ideas of what she might accomplish on her own.”

From Booklist: “Many readers will hope for a sequel to this engaging, satisfying first novel.”

Connections:

Share the sequel to The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly – The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate ISBN 9780805097443

Visit Jacqueline Kelly’s website - http://www.jacquelinekelly.com - There are several wonderful interviews that help provide the reader with insight concerning The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate.

Names appear very important in this novel. Originally, Calpurnia does not like her name until her Granddaddy shares some important and new information about Calpurnia’s name with her. Calpurnia’s brothers, besides Harry, are all named after famous Texans (Sam Houston, Lamar, Travis, Sul Ross, and Jim Bowie). Research these famous Texans to learn more. Learn more about the meaning of your name.

Locate Calpurnia’s hometown –Prairie Lea – between Austin and San Antonio. Locate Caldwell County and the San Marcos River. Research the summer of 1899 to find out more about the weather conditions.

Collect and share information regarding Darwin and his scientific research.

Darwin’s book The Origin of Species could have been considered “banned” at the time. Calpurnia is refused the book at the Lockhart Library. Speculate why this might have happened. Research and list currently banned books. Why does this happen?

Capturing the discovered plant on film becomes very important for Granddaddy and Callie. Document something on film. Research how photographs were taken in 1899.

Granddaddy loved classic music. Listen to and share some of his favorites, including: Mozart and Vivaldi

Calpurnia kept a detailed science notebook. Keep your own notebook of observations and scientific findings.

*image borrowed from www.barnesandnoble.com

Add this unconventional, must-read to your historical fiction diet! Cheers!

~ Mandy J

Elijah of Buxton

Elijah of Buxton

Curtis, Christopher Paul. Elijah of Buxton. New York, NY: Scholastic, 2007. ISBN 9780439023450

Summary:

Buxton, Canada – a settlement founded by freed salves - is home to eleven-year old Elijah (or ‘Lijah, as some call him) Freeman, the first “free born” and very “fra-gile” (according to his Ma) child. While growing up in Buxton, Elijah encounters many adventures, including those with his best friend, Cooter and some more dangerous journeys with the deceitful settlement preacher, Reverend Connerly. However, Elijah’s most dangerous journey is to help a fellow freed-man, Mr. Leroy find the thief who stole the money he had saved to buy his family out of slavery. Will the brave and not so “fra-gile” Elijah be able to safely help his friend?

Analysis:

Christopher Paul Curtis has done it once again! His enthralling story, adventurous plot, detailed setting, and likeable, yet believable characters immediately captivate the reader.

For this book review, I chose to listen to the audiobook version of Elijah of Buxton read by Mirron Willis. Willis’ tone and voice inflections really make this book come alive. Mirron Willis has the ability to vary his voice and provide accents for each specific character in the story - making this an audiobook where you can’t stop listening. His deep voice is smooth and clear, and he pauses at all of the right places making the listener eagerly wait to hear what’s going to happen next. At one point, I thought I might benefit from following along with the text while listening as Mirron Willis read; however, I didn’t find this to be beneficial since Willis’ voice is so powerful at reading this story aloud. I had to turn off my inner-reading voice, which proved difficult for me, so I chose to just listen nonstop!

Elijah of Buxton is definitely a favorite of mine when it’s comes to Curtis’ historical fiction works. That says a lot since Curtis has several others that stand in good company – The Watsons Go to Birmingham and Bud, Not Buddy. This specific historical fiction is unique in that it tells the story of slavery in an accurate setting that might seem unconventional to most historical fiction books published on this topic.

Curtis has the ability to develop characters that the reader can easily connect with, understand, and dislike, too. Most of his character development takes places through the way characters respond to specific situations both in actions and words. This is important to note because this does require keen inference skills on the part of the reader. Christopher Paul Curtis has accurately portrayed the dialect and dialogue of the times through the use of language, such as “gunn” (going to), “axed” (asked), “I’m-a-be” (I will be), “caint” (cannot), and “afore” (before). Curtis also incorporates the –ed past tense where it’s not grammatically correct and –est endings to words that don’t typically require this addition (horrifyingest). Mirron Willis’ inflections for each character help the reader vividly imagine the characters actions through their words – intonation and articulation. The reader can “see” the characters in Willis’ voice. Christopher Paul Curtis has

At the end of the novel, Christopher Paul Curtis provides the reader with some additional information about the settlement in Buxton, including a timeline and a brief history of the Elgin Settlement at Buxton. I found both of these, including the interview with Curtis’, to be helpful and fascinating. Curtis’ has definitely done his work to ensure the historical accuracy of this novel. Be sure to pick up the Curtis’ masterpiece – and I’d highly recommend that you listen to Willis’ share it!

Awards and Review Excerpts:

- 2008 Newbery Honor Book

- 2008 Coretta Scott King Award Winner

- 2008 Scott O’Dell Award

- 2007 Jane Addams Book Award

- Winner, Canadian Library Association Book of the Year

- Finalist, Governor General’s Literary Award

- ALA Notable Book

- Publishers Weekly’s Best Children’s Fiction of 2007

From The New York Times: “As in his previous novels, Curtis is a master at balancing the serious and the lighthearted.”

From Publishers Weekly: “The arresting historical setting and physical comedy signal classic Curtis (Bud, Not Buddy), but while Elijah's boyish voice represents the Newbery Medalist at his finest.”

From Children’s Literature: “Christopher Paul Curtis knows how to write characters so engaging and believable you want to meet them in person. In fact, after reading his books, you feel like you have.”

From School Library Journal: “This engrossing tale is read by Mirron Willis who effortlessly varies his rich, textured voice to make each character unique. This story will captivate listeners.” - Karen T. Bilton, Mary Jacobs Memorial Library, NJ

From Kirkus Reviews: “This is Curtis's best novel yet, and no doubt many readers, young and old, will finish and say, ‘This is one of the best books I have ever read.’”

Connections:

Collect and share other historical fiction books by Christopher Paul Curtis, including:

- The Watsons Go to Birmingham ISBN 9780385382946

- Bud, Not Buddy ISBN 9780553494105

- The Madman of Piney Woods ISBN 9780545156646

- The Mighty Miss Malone ISBN 9780440422143

Collect and share books concerning slavery in America to build background knowledge, such as:

- If You Lived When There Was Slavery in America by Anne Kamma ISBN 9780439567060

- Slavery in America by Jean F. Blashfield ISBN 9780531266243

- Enemies of Slavery by David A. Adler ISBN 9780823415960

Research and share information surrounding the Elgin Settlement at Buxton, Canada. Locate Buxton on a map.

Research Frederick Douglas and the Underground Railroad.

Elijah was particularly good at math. Spend time working through some of his math problems. Prepare a response to the people who questioned Elijah’s math skills – such as the Preacher and the fish count or the number of bell rings for the five newest members of Buxton.

Elijah had a talent with his hands, especially his left hand, which according to the Preacher was from the Devil. Elijah had amazing throwing accuracy. Write about something you are really skilled at doing.

Share some of the difficult situations Elijah found himself in and talk about how you would have handled those (i.e. the Preacher lying about Elijah’s talent to make money, having to read the letter to Mrs. Holton about her husband’s death, finding and confronting the thief who stole Mr. Leroy’s money).

Listen to Christopher Paul Curtis talk about his book, Elijah of Buxton - Barnes and Noble Interview

Visit Christopher Paul Curtis’ website - NobodyButCuris

*image borrowed from www.barnesandnoble.com

Be sure to go and get "urself" a copy! 

~ Mandy J

Lily's Crossing

Lily’s Crossing

Giff, Patricia Reilly. Lily’s Crossing. New York, NY: Yearling Newbery, 1997. ISBN 9780440414537

Summary:

Imagine a life where major change is constant and everything you know is quickly altered. This is Lily’s story – her mother passed away when she was young, war has caused her to move alone with her grandmother to her family’s summer home, her best friend has moved thousands of miles away, war has called her father overseas, and an interesting, suspicious refugee has moved in next door. Although Lily’s life seems traumatic, Albert – the Hungarian refugee – has experienced things Lily can’t even imagine. Quickly, the two youth form a special bond over a kitten, music and swimming; however, Lily’s lies may catch up with her and cost her - her new friend, Albert.

Analysis:

Giff has the amazing ability to take a tale and make the reader feel as if they are sitting right alongside the characters on the beach, hiding out in the vacant home, or traveling into town together. Her words carry the reader seamlessly though the novel and paint a vivid historical picture of a story that takes place in 1944 America during World War II.

Patricia Reilly Giff creates a setting where the reader can imagine the ships traveling across the channel to Europe and where the reader can feel the tension, relief, and sand in their eyes as the trainer naval plane zooms low over the water. All of her vivid details help recreate the setting, time, and feeling of WWII.  This is true of Giff’s plot structure as well. The idea of families moving away because of wartime opportunities or parents being deployed or called overseas to serve their country is all very believable. Albert’s sister was left behind in France because of illness, which was also a common occurrence for families during the World Wars. Family separation is a critical aspect in this novel.

Lily and Albert are both very believable characters that readers are able to easily connect to and empathize with during this dangerous and unnerving summer. Lily is likeable and struggles like many young children to tell the truth. She finds adventure in her stories, but also learns the real danger of a lie. Albert is quiet, lonely, and withdrawn – all believable characteristics of a refugee. Giff’s characters are easy to identify with and realistic. Patricia Reilly Giff incorporates accurate dialect and dialogue to help the reader “hear” the characters. The character development and setting details help make this a believable piece of historical fiction.

The title Lily’s Crossing implies the theme of this book, and it is one that the reader must infer from Lily’s actions and growth as a character throughout the book. There is a lot of literal crossing that occurs for many of the characters in Giff’s novel; however, Lily’s “crossing” is more figurative in terms of growth from a silly, playful girl to a thoughtful, truthful young lady. This transition is very believable and fits with the idea that many young children had to grow up quickly during the time of war.

Lily’s Crossing is a beautiful piece of historical fiction that allows the reader to be fully submerged in wartime America. It’s a book I couldn’t put down until finished, and one I am eager to share with my fellow readers!

Awards and Review Excerpts:

- 1998 Newbery Honor Book

- Boston-Globe Horn Book Honor Book

- ALA Notable Children’s Book

From The Horn Book Magazine: "Details...are woven with great effect into a realistic story."

From Publishers Weekly: "Exceptional characterizations and a robust story line...this has all the ingredients that best reward readers."

From The New York Times Book Review: "Brilliantly told."

From Booklist: "With wry comedy and intense feeling...Giff gets across a strong sense of what it was like on the home front during World War II...The friendship story is beautifully drawn."

From Kirkus Reviews: “[A] deftly told story.”

From School Library Journal: “Giff’s well-drawn, believable characters and vivid prose style make this an excellent choice.”

Connections:

Share Patricia Reilly Giff’s letter to the reader at the conclusion of the novel. This helps add some important background knowledge and offers insight to Giff’s purpose.

Collect and share other works by Patricia Reilly Giff, such as:

- Pictures of Hollis Woods ISBN 9780440415787

- Nory Ryan’s Song ISBN 9780440418290

- Maggie’s Door ISBN 9780440415817

- A House of Tailors ISBN 9780440238003

Collect and share other pieces of historical fiction connected to World War II, including:

- Number the Stars by Lois Lowry ISBN 9780547577098

- The Boy in Striped Pajamas by John Boyne ISBN 9780385751537

- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak ISBN 9780375842207

Build background knowledge about World War II through various media, such as video clips, radio recordings, photographs, historical documents, and nonfiction works, including:

- World War II: An Interactive History Adventure by Elizabeth Raum ISBN 9781429634571

- World War II for Kids: A History with 21 Activities by Richard Panchyk ISBN

  9781556524554

- Why Did the Whole World Go to War?: And Other Questions About … World War II by

  Martin Sandler ISBN 9781402790447

Locate and note all of the major locations mentioned in the novel on a map for student reference. Include areas such as, Rockaway Beach in New York, Detroit, France, Germany, and Hungary. GoogleEarth would be a helpful tool to travel across the world, too.

Discuss the significance of the stars – both in the novel, human history, and in our solar system.

Music is an important element in this story. Share some of the musical pieces mentioned in the novel, such as:

-  “The Blue Danube”

- “Mairzy Doats”

- “Swinging on a Star”

- “God Bless America” sung by Kate Smith – Listen here Kate Smith - "God Bless America"

Listen to excerpts from the radio shows of the times, such as Lux Radio Theatre and Portia Faces Life. Here are archived recordings from Lux Radio Theatre in 1944 - Lux Radio Theatre 1944

Share Willow Run by Patricia Reilly Giff (ISBN 9780440238010) the companion novel to Lily’s Crossing.

*image borrowed from www.barnesandnoble.com

Destiny is in the stars…

~ Mandy J