Calliope Callisto Clark and the Search for Wisdom

Gr 3-7–Eleven-year-old Callie has strong emotions that she sometimes struggles to control. And right now, at the start of sixth grade, much is happening that is making her feel big feelings. First, her boring, old teacher Mrs. Kippenberger is being completely unfair. Second, her beloved dog Archie is not exactly well-behaved, and Grampy is threatening to rehome him if she can’t get him under control. Callie decides to seek guidance from the ancient Greek philosophers she’s heard about in Mrs. Kippenberger’s class. She and her best friend Peggy, along with Callie’s nemesis Phillip, join their school librarian for a weekly Philosophy Club where they discuss Aristotle and Epictetus, and Callie hopes some of their wisdom will wear off on her. The protagonist is feeling increasingly out of place at home, at school, and in her friendships. Grappling with Aristotle’s complicated ideas about justice and fairness and Epictetus’s concept of “the purple thread” helps her make sense of her own place in the world. Mills (The Last Apple Tree), a Philosophy professor, adeptly makes Socrates and Epictetus understandable and relatable, and readers will find the various scrapes that Callie finds herself in with Archie and at school hilarious and heartwarming. Calliope is cued white.