The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
By Jacqueline Kelly
Published by Holt in 2009

In this book, Calpurnia takes on the role of a naturalist with her grandfather. He pushes her to learn and explore the world she lives in, while her mother wants her to learn what all good housekeepers and wives to be should learn. She is torn between the two worlds. She knows she has to do what her mother says, but she finds it repetitive and boring. She would much rather be outside collecting specimens and working on her experiments.

I really enjoyed this book. When I first started reading it, it reminded me of the Little House on the Prairie series. I am not the hugest fan of these books. They were just not something I could get into when I was younger.  However, reading this and seeing her love of science and the natural world, really threw me into the story. I was rutting for her the whole time! The book showed the male and female stereotypes back in the early 20th century in full view. It really allowed the reader to see that cooking and cleaning are only jobs that women were able to do, and boys had to do jobs like fatten up the turkey for Thanksgiving dinner and work on the cotton gin with their father. Although it does not  tell you what she grew up to be, it leaves you with a feeling of wanting to know more! Does she just become a housewife or does she strive for her dream and do what she loves? I am hoping for the latter!

Swindle by Gordon Korman

Swindle
Written by Gordon Korman
Published by Scholastic 2008

This book is a Blue Stem Award nominee. It shows the life of a sixth grade boy, Griffin Bing, who is faced with a dilemma. His parents have run out of money and are forced to see their home. He finds a Babe Ruth baseball card in an old abandoned house (I'm not going to tell you why he is in there! Read the book!). He took it to Palomino's Emporium of Collectibles. Griffin thought it had to be worth thousands of dollars, but unfortunately Mr. Palomino only gave him a $120. Devastated by this he gave up on thinking their was a chance they would stay in town. After a turn of events and some careful planning, a group of sixth graders used their talents to retrieve what is rightfully theirs.

This book was very enjoyable! It made some great points on friendship and how we stick with people we care about even when some of their ideas are a tad crazy. It tells the reader to never give up on what he or she believes and good things happen when you least expect them to happen. This book brought up a great moral dilemma that the character in the book had to face. It made you think about what you would have done, if you were in their place. I know what it is like to worry about if your parents have enough money to pay the house payment. I went through the same situation in high school. This book creates great self-to-texts connections. It is also enjoyable for anyone who is a baseball fan, since this is all about a rare baseball card of the great BAMBINO!! The audience range for this book is also huge from second grade all the way to sixth maybe seventh for a fun entertaining read for all reading levels. This is just a great and fascinating book with lots of twist and turns that keep you thinking of what you would do in Griffins situation.