Florence "Floy" Hutchings is the daughter of a famous father, and while the extra attention that brings is not unwelcome, all she really wants is to be herself. However, in 1876 being clever, confident, and bold are not expected of girls on the cusp of turning twelve. Stuck in a stuffy classroom in crowded San Francisco, Floy longs to return to the majestic place where she was born and where she has always felt free: Yosemite!
Upon returning to her beloved Valley, Floy finds that it is changing in confusing ways: the intimate paradise she once knew is opening to more visitors and to troubling attitudes about her indigenous friends and about what girls should and should not do. Yet, against this backdrop of change, Floy pursues her dream of climbing the indomitable Half Dome.
Steeped in the rich atmosphere of old Yosemite and based on real people and true events, Call Me Floy is about a girl who struggles against the expectations of her times and follows her dream up the steepest path imaginable.
"Enlivened by rich similes, the book’s Yosemite sweeps across the page. . . Restless, energetic Floy stands at the center of massive change—for herself, for the country, for Yosemite, for the Native Americans, and for the rights of women. Those vital forces come together in Joanna Cooke’s novel, driving Floy on her epic, complex coming-of-age adventure." — Foreword Books
"Call Me Floy is a great story. I loved Floy's voice and how all the characters came together. I can't wait to buy this for my library and give it to kids who are going to love it!" — Melissa Snider, librarian, Munger Mountain Elementary School
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Teaching guide available here!