Jacqueline Kelly

In central Texas in 1899, eleven-year-old Callie Vee Tate is instructed to be a lady by her mother, learns about love from the older three of her six brothers, and studies the natural world with her grandfather.

When Callie's little brother Travis brings home an abandoned baby squirrel and names him Fluffy, Mother isn't so sure that Fluffy will make a good family pet, and neither is Thud, the cat. Can Fluffy find a home in the Tate household?

Calpurnia and her grandfather rescue a barn owl from the river and, with the help of Dr. Pritzker, dead mice, and some detective work, nurse it back to health.

Callie and Travis need sheep for the town Christmas pageant. Travis is playing the shepherd in the Nativity scene, and what's a shepherd without his flock? Unfortunately, Fentress is low on sheep—but not on goats. When Callie and Travis decide to borrow two goats from their neighbor, they don't know what they're in for. As it turns out, the main trouble with goats is that they'll eat just about anything. This will be one Christmas pageant Fentress...