Castro Valley Library

Looking for a good summer read?  We read The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly for our Parent/Child book club and this is what one member had to say:

The Evolution Of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly, is a great historical fiction novel. This novel is about an eleven-year-old girl, living in the hot summer of an 1899 Texas town. Through the hot summer days, “Callie Vee” finds out how exciting it is to hang around with her naturalist grandfather, while possibly finding a new species of “vetch”. During her scientific experiments, Callie finds out that, sometime or another, will depend on her to cook, clean, and sew. At the turn of the century, Calpurnia Tate is about to have the best year of her life.

I would rate this a 4 out of 5 stars, since the book is overall amazing, but there’s no action or big conflict in this book. It just ends with a thud. The small conflicts of the book are great and very interesting, and the book tells about Callie’s life throughout the days. It includes much of science and conversations with Callie and her friends and family.

I would recommend this book if you are willing to sit down and read. I’ve tried to read this book in fifth grade, but was never interested, and didn’t finish it. Now, a year later, just reading a few chapters in, and I’m hooked. This is a great novel, and I would recommend it to any age able to sit down and read.  Kristen, 7th Grader

You can get more information @ http://www.jacquelinekelly.com/