Calpurnia hates every minute of it but slowly begins to understand what her expected role in this world will be. The most exciting event is when Calpurnia and her grandfather discover a new species of plant and send off to Washington DC to have it confirmed.Ĭalpurnia’s mother dislikes all the time she is spending with grandfather and begins to make her take more and more time to learn to sew and cook. He gave her a copy of The Origin of Species and she plugged through that as well. Calpurnia spent every possible moment with her grandfather, learning, observing, and assisting him in his endeavors all the while learning everything possible she could. Here blossomed over the summer of 1899 a relationship of mutual hobbies. Confused on the color of grasshoppers, Calpurnia went to her grandfather for help. He started a cotton gin company, which Calpurnia’s father now runs so Captain Tate spends his days trying to distill liquor from pecans and exploring the scientific world around him.Ĭalpurnia’s brother, Harry, had given her a notebook to write down her scientific observations. Her expected life is one of a wife and mother.Įnter her grandfather, Captain Tate, who’s a war hero from the Civil War. She must take piano lessons, knit, and cook. She is the only girl in a family of seven kids and is expected to act like one when all she wants to do is play outside with her brothers.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jaqueline Kelly, a 2010 Newbery Honor Award winner, is the story of an eleven-year old girl at the turn of the twentieth century.

The evolution of calpurnia tate series