Grades: 5+The summer of 1899 is HOT in Calpurnia Virginia Tate's sleepy Texas town, and there aren't a lot of good ways to stay cool. Her mother has a new wind machine from town, but Callie might just have to resort to stealthily cutting off her hair, one sneaky inch at a time. She also spends a lot time at the river with her notoriously cantankerous grandfather, an avid naturalist. It turns out that every drop of river water is teeming with life - all you have to do is look through a microscope!As Callie ecplores the natural world around her, she develops a close relationship with her grandfather, navigates the dangers of living with six brothers, and comes up against just what it means to be a girl at the turn of the century.
I thought this would be a boring science story. It is funny. Calpurnia has an interesting point of view and comes to interesting conclusions. It also brings in some history without even meaning to. You know how people are still angry about evolution? Well, think about how people must have felt about it when the idea was fresh. Yeah, Calpurnia's neighbors are livid about the very idea of evolution. When Calpurnia tries to go to the library to get Darwin's book, the librarian refuses to give it to her. The librarian said it was inappropriate subject material. Such a change!
There were times when I laughed outloud funny. Just a really great story.
I thought this would be a boring science story. It is funny. Calpurnia has an interesting point of view and comes to interesting conclusions. It also brings in some history without even meaning to. You know how people are still angry about evolution? Well, think about how people must have felt about it when the idea was fresh. Yeah, Calpurnia's neighbors are livid about the very idea of evolution. When Calpurnia tries to go to the library to get Darwin's book, the librarian refuses to give it to her. The librarian said it was inappropriate subject material. Such a change!
There were times when I laughed outloud funny. Just a really great story.
