Status
Checked out
Series
Publication
Square Fish (2011), Edition: Reprint, 352 pages
Library's review
From Kirkus Reviews, "“Mother was awakening to the sorry facts: My biscuits were like stones, my samplers askew, my seams like rickrack.” The year is 1899, the place Texas and the problem is 11-year-old Calpurnia Virginia Tate, who is supposed to want to cook, sew and attract future beaux, not
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play in the dirt, examine insects and, perhaps most suspect of all, read Darwin’s controversial The Origin of Species, the source of the novel’s chapter introductions. A natural-born scientist, she alone among her six brothers has discovered the rare specimen under her own roof—a funny-smelling, rather antisocial grandfather who preoccupies himself with classifying flora and fauna...when he’s not fermenting pecans for whiskey. Their budding friendship is thoughtfully and engagingly portrayed, as is the unfolding of the natural world’s wonders under Calpurnia’s ever-inquisitive gaze. Calpurnia is not a boilerplate folksy Southern heroine who spouts wise-beyond-her-years maxims that seem destined for needlepoint—her character is authentically childlike and complex, her struggles believable. Readers will finish this witty, deftly crafted debut novel rooting for “Callie Vee” and wishing they knew what kind of adult she would become." https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jacqueline-kelly/the-evolution-of-cal... Show Less
Awards
Nebraska Golden Sower Award (Nominee — 2012)
Massachusetts Children's Book Award (Nominee — 2012)
Audie Award (Finalist — 2011)
Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award (Nominee — 2012)
BCCB Blue Ribbon Book (2009)
Utah Beehive Book Award (Nominee — Children's Fiction — 2011)
Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award (Nominee — Junior — 2012)
William Allen White Children's Book Award (Nominee — Grades 6-8 — 2011-2012)
Newbery Medal (Honor Book — 2010)
Vermont Golden Dome Book Award (Nominee)
Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children's Literature (Medalist — 2010)
Oregon Reader's Choice Award (Nominee — 2012)
Arkansas Teen Book Award (Nominee — 2011)
West Virginia Children's Choice Book Award (Nominee — 2010-2011)
Iowa Children's Choice Award (Nominee — 2013)
Josette Frank Award (Winner — 2010)
Flicker Tale Award (Nominee — Juvenile Books — 2013)
Volunteer State Book Award (Nominee — Young Adult — 2012)
The White Ravens (2010)
Prix Sorcières (2014)
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 2010)
The Best Children's Books of the Year (Nine to Twelve — 2010)
Great Reads from Great Places (Texas — 2009)
Notable Children's Book (2010)
Rise: A Feminist Book Project for Ages 0-18 (Selection — 2010)
Teacher Favorites Award (2010)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Adults (Selection — 2010)
El día de los niños / El día de los libros (6-8 — 2015)
Texas Lone Star Reading List (2010)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2009-05-12
2009
ISBN
031265930X / 9780312659301