When I first saw the cover of this book and read the brief synopsis I almost put it down, but I’ve learned that you can’t judge a book by its cover, so I went ahead and read it. I was actually pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the book. It takes place in Texas during the turn of the century (1899 - 1900). The main character is a 12 year old girl named Calpurnia Tate and she is the only girl of seven kids. The whole book is about her struggle with wanting to become a naturalist, thanks to her grandfather, but resigning herself to the fact that she has to learn the domestic side of being a girl during that period. In addition, there are a lot of references to history, such as the first telephone line and automobile, even what it was like to live during that time. In her acknowledgements the author does admit that some of her Texas history is exaggerated and not entirely accurate, but it made for a really good story. I really felt for this little girl and some of the stunts her and her brothers pull are hilarious. You could use this book across all content areas and it could lead to wonderful research and discussion. The neatest thing was when I first looked at the cover I wasn’t impressed it was the shadow of a girl and plants all around her. Yet, after I finished reading the book, I looked at it again and intermixed between all the leaves are objects mentioned in the book.
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