Author: Jacqueline Kelly
Format: Hardcover
Published: Henry Holt, 2009

It is the summer of 1899 in central Texas, and 11-year-old Callie ("I'm practically twelve. Really. You can hardly tell the difference.") spends most of her time outdoors recording her observations in her Scientific Notebook. Her mother is determined to make a young lady out of her, the only girl in a family of seven children. Callie, just as determined to avoid the trappings of young womanhood, finds an unlikely ally in her grandfather. ("The old man...was altogether too imposing a figure for me to have clambered on as an infant. He had never spoken to me directly that I remembered, and I wasn't entirely convinced he knew my name.") Callie learns that her grandfather is a passionate amateur naturalist who has corresponded with Charles Darwin. Together they spend the summer trying to realize his goal of discovering a new plant species. First-time author Kelly weaves historical fiction, a coming-of-age story, and scientific information together in a beautifully-written, sophisticated novel. Ages 11 and up.