Kelly, J. (2009). The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. New York: Henry Holt and Co.
Summary:
In this historical fiction novel, Calpurnia Tate is struggling to grow up with certain expectations of a young girl entering the 20th century. Calpurnia is the middle child of seven and the only female. She is more interested in "boy" things and becomes close with her grandfather. Together they work on Science. Calpurnia's mother wants her to learn to cook and sew like everyone young woman should. Will Calpurnia follow the path of the other young women or will she find herself on a different one?
Discussion questions:
1.) How would you feel if you had to grow up like Calpurnia Tate? Why?
2.) How would you have handled Calpurnia's life? Do you think she did a good job?
3.) What do you think Calpurnia's life would be like if her grandfather wasn't present? Why?
Author website:
http://www.jacquelinekelly.com
If you like this, you might also like...
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
By Grace Lin
Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2009
This looks like a fabulous book I could use in fourth grade as we study Nebraska History. We do a unit called "Pioneer Living". In this unit we complete a very detailed comparison between a child's life then and now. This would be a great novel to create a literature unit that students would read simultaneously with our Nebraska unit to get a better understanding of what would be expected of a young girl back in this time period.
ReplyDeleteCoon