Content Warning: This section of the guide mentions racist concepts that were common during the novel’s setting of the late 19th century.

In the sleepy Texas town of Fentress, 11-year-old Calpurnia “Callie” Virginia Tate sneaks down to the San Marcos River and dives in. Although Callie’s six brothers cut their hair to cool off in the hot weather, Callie’s mother forbids her to follow suit because she holds traditional beliefs about femininity, so Callie cuts her hair at a rate of one inch per week, hoping that no one will notice. Despite her family’s resistance to her interests, Callie is deeply curious about the natural world and makes many detailed observations about the weather and the behavior of animals. Her older brother Harry—the eldest brother and Callie’s favorite—rewards her with a leather notebook for her scientific observations and tells her that she is a “naturalist in the making” (8). Callie feels vindicated.

Her next area of study is about dogs. When she asks Henry about her observations, he tells her to ask their grandfather, Walter Tate, who is a scientist. To Callie, her grandfather is a dragon, a large and mysterious man that she can’t remember speaking to directly.