THE EVOLUTION OF CALPURNIA TATE

Eleven-year-old Calpurnia Tate is growing up on a Texas farm with six brothers in 1899. She longs to learn more than what her mother is teaching her—proper comportment, cooking, and sewing. Callie has a raging curiosity and wants to know about everything from Darwin to Dickens. Thanks to her eccentric, educated grandfather, she discovers the science of the world around her. She begins to imagine a future as a scientist, keeping a scientific journal and thrilling at each new discovery. Natalie Ross delivers this first-person story with a bouncy lilt that fits Calpurnia's inquisitive spirit. Also noteworthy are Ross's portrayals of Calpurnia's social-climbing mother and the transformation of her grumpy grandfather into an admiring science partner. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2011 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2010]