You are hereMeet the Author: Newberry Honor Winner Jacqueline Kelly featuring hands-on activities for the kids from Durango Nature Studies

Meet the Author: Newberry Honor Winner Jacqueline Kelly featuring hands-on activities for the kids from Durango Nature Studies

Start: 07/31/2012 4:30 pm

End: 07/31/2012 5:30 pm

We love, love, love the historical novel for tweens The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate and couldn't be happier about bringing Jacqueline Kelly our way to share it with you all! We'll be joined by the naturalist staff from Durango Nature Studies, who will lead kids through some hands-on activities as part of this fun event for the whole family.

Calpurnia Virginia Tate is eleven years old in 1899 when she wonders why the yellow grasshoppers in her Texas backyard are so much bigger than the green ones.With a little help from her notoriously cantankerous grandfather, an avid naturalist, she figures out that the green grasshoppers are easier to see against the yellow grass, so they are eaten before they can get any larger. As Callie explores the natural world around her, she develops a close relationship with her grandfather, navigates the dangers of living with six brothers, and comes up against just what it means to be a girl at the turn of the century. Debut author Jacqueline Kelly deftly brings Callie and her family to life, capturing a year of growing up with unique sensitivity and a wry wit. "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" is a 2010 Newbery Honor Book and the winner of the 2010 Bank Street - Josette Frank Award.

jackie kelly Jacqueline Kelly was born in New Zealand and moved with her parents to western Canada at an early age. She grew up in the dense rain forests of Vancouver Island, so you can imagine her shock some years later when her family moved to the desert of El Paso, Texas. She attended university in El Paso and medical school in Galveston (lovingly known as “Galvatraz” among the inmates). She practiced medicine for many years and then attended the University of Texas School of Law. She practiced law for several more years before realizing that what would really make her happy is to write fiction. Her first published short story appeared in 2001 in the Mississippi Review (one of her proudest accomplishments). Her debut novel, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, was released by Henry Holt on May 12, 2009 (another one of her proudest accomplishments).