Skunked!

Readers were first introduced to aspiring naturalist/veterinarian Callie Tate in The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (rev. 9/09) and The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate (rev. 7/15), novels intended for upper elementary and middle-school readers. Now she appears in an engaging standalone series for younger readers. The first entry, Skunked!, offers a comfortable family story featuring Callie as more sister than scientist (although scientific information about the natural world and her observational skills are both unobtrusively included in the text). Here, Callie's one-year-younger brother, Travis, finds an abandoned baby skunk and takes it home. In relating the story, Callie's first-person narration adopts a tone of loving exasperation, like an oft-told tale of family lore with an extravagantly humorous ending. In the second book, Counting Sheep, Callie is more immersed in her science, and beginning to put her newfound skills into practice as she helps town veterinarian Dr. Pritzker with a lamb's difficult breech birth. Details in the generous black-and-white illustrations, such as the vet's horse and buggy, reinforce the historical setting as well as highlight important points in the action. Delicate leafy branches decorate the top of each page, subtly underscoring Callie's scientific interests. betty carter

This first entry in an engaging standalone series for younger readers features aspiring naturalist/veterinarian Callie Tate (The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate) as more sister than scientist. Her one-year-younger brother, Travis, brings a baby skunk home; Callie's first-person narration adopts a tone of loving exasperation and it reads like family lore with an extravagantly humorous ending. Generous black-and-white illustrations reinforce the turn-of-the-twentieth-century Texas setting and highlight action.