The woods in Sterling, Massachusetts, where Jeannine Atkins grew up, stimulated her curiosity in many ways. She wondered about the things that might be hidden under rocks, and years later such wondering led her to write Girls Who Look Under Rocks, a book about girls like Jane Goodall, Rachel Carson, and others who became naturalists as adults. Wandering near the woods gave her child’s

Add a Comment

Continue reading ... →

Add a Comment

Ten years ago, I was spending these heated summer days reading through 160+ books written for children and teens.  Picture books, middle-grade books, history books, biographies, verse novels, novels—you name it.  I'd been asked to chair the Young People's Literature Jury for the National Book Awards.  I was serious, as I tend to be, about the responsibility.

Among the books that rapidly made its way to the top of my pile was Marilyn Nelson's Carver: A Life in Poems.  Here was George Washington Carver's life told with lyric majesty.  Here was poverty and agriculture, botany and music, and I loved every word. Nelson's book would go on to be among the National Book Award finalists that year.  It remains a book I return to repeatedly, cite often, keep tucked into a special corner of my shelves.

It seems fitting, then, that I have spent much of this warm, quiet day with Caroline Starr Rose's magnificent middle grade novel-in-verse in hand.  It's called May B. and it takes us to the Kansas prairie, where young Mavis Elizabeth Betterly, a struggling reader in school, has been sent fifteen miles from her home to help a new homesteader out.  Tragedy strikes, and May B. is soon alone—fending off winter and wolves and the flagellation of self doubt until:

It is hard to tell what is sun,
what is candle,
what is pure hope.

That is May B., thinking out loud. That is the quality of the prose that streams through this book—timeless, transcendent, and graced with lyric spark, moving, always, the consequential story along:

She rocks again.
"The quiet out here's the worst part,
thunderous as a storm the way
it hounds you
inside
outside
nighttime
day."

And:

He had that look that reminds me
someday he'll be a man.

Caroline Starr Rose is both a teacher and a writer (and a fine blogger).  She wondered, she writes, how children with learning differences, such as dyslexia, made their way, years ago, and May B. arose in part from that question, as well as from Caroline's own love for social history.  I listen for rhythms in the books I read, and I found them aplenty here.  I look for heart, and found that, too—abundant and dear. Special books fit themselves into special places, and May B. has a new home here on my shelves—right beside Ms. Nelson's Carver and Jeannine Atkins' Borrowed Names, where versed, artful, backward-glancing works for younger readers go. 

A non sequitur, perhaps:  When I finished reading May B. an hour or two ago, I realized something.  I have at long last collected enough fine young adult literature of different genres and slants to teach that YA course that I have so often been asked to consider.  Ideas form.

May B. is due out from Schwartz & Wade Books, January 2012.

Display Comments Add a Comment

In Borrowed Names, Jeannine Atkins retells the stories of three famous women through verse, using poetry to shine a light on the relationships that these women had with their daughters.We learn how Laura Ingalls Wilder's daughter, Rose, encouraged her mother to write down her childhood stories, and the challenges that the two encountered as Rose tried to help her mother shape a book out of her

Add a Comment

#15 in the Poetry Potluck Series, celebrating National Poetry Month 2010.


 photo by nobleup.

Why, yes. That would be Jeannine Atkins up there waving to us from atop that airplane. Of all our Potluck guests, Jeannine knows best how to make a dramatic entrance. And she's not fashionably late or anything, which is quite surprising considering she had to travel back in time to bring us the two amazing women who appear in her poem: Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane.

Today, Jeannine is sharing an excerpt from her recently released verse biography, Borrowed Names. You may remember my singing its praises on its official pub day. Since then, it has earned yet another *starred review*, this time from Horn Book! We're absolutely thrilled for this author/poet/professor who dares to defy publishing odds against poetry and historical fiction. Just as Rose Wilder Lane once flew over San Francisco Bay strapped to the wing of an airplane, these days Jeannine Atkins is flying high on well-deserved praise.

I'll let Jeannine tell you all about her poem and recipe:

      

My new book, Borrowed Names: Poems about Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madam C. J. Walker, Marie Curie, and their Daughters (Holt) has three parts. I chose a poem about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her only child, Rose, since Jama has written some great posts about the Little House books and their incarnation on television.

This poem is from the end of the section, written as if from the point of view of Rose. She left the Missouri farmhouse to go farther west than Pa Ingalls, her grandfather, ever did – Rose lived for years in California – then toured much of Europe and the Middle East as a journalist. Eventually Rose came back home and typed and rather heavily edited the beloved books Laura wrote by hand into orange-covered notebooks.

Who can discuss any kind of writing without mentioning procrastination? So here’s a take on that, which includes a dessert.


photo by VinciiWincii.

 

Not Today,

Mama says, There’s too much housework.
 

Please. Do not get sidetracked

by shirts that need pressing.

There will always be fine grime

on the china on the mantel,

corn to husk, cherries to pit, apples to core.

Ignore them. The dream begun under a tree

is sweeter than stories you tell yourself

over dirty dishes.

Life tempts most away from paper and pen,

but gently bring yourself back.

Who can resist gingerbread

Add a Comment

"Can the past press closer than the present? Who is a daughter without a mother?" ~ from "Handful of Dirt," Borrowed Names by Jeannine Atkins.


Alice Vanderbear reads to her daughter, Fluffy.

I'm absolutely thrilled to be wishing dear friend, Jeannine Atkins, a very Happy Book Birthday! Borrowed Names: Poems about Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madam C.J. Walker, Marie Curie, and Their Daughters (Henry Holt, 2010), is officially out today!

Though this is Jeannine's first book of poetry, Borrowed Names is by no means her first book. She's published a number of collective biographies and picture books about other notable women, including, Anne Hutchinson's Way (FSG, 2007), Wings and Rockets: The Story of Women in Air and Space (FSG, 2003), How High Can We Climb?: The Story of Women Explorers (FSG, 2005), and Girls Who Looked Under Rocks: The Lives of Six Pioneering Naturalists (Dawn, 2000).

Borrowed Names is unlike anything I've ever read before. The poems are absolutely exquisite, far-reaching, quietly powerful, and undeniably moving -- they reveal a poet with a rare, discerning sensibility and wickedly keen insight who, with just a few deft strokes, is able to paint riveting, multi-layered emotional landscapes.

 
    Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane.

Focusing on the mother-daughter relationships of three extraordinary women born in the same year (1867) is both highly original and endlessly fascinating. Though Wilder, Walker, and Curie came from vastly different backgrounds and made their mark in distinctly different ways, they were all fiercely independent women who shared an unwavering devotion to work and family. Despite numerous personal, social, and economic challenges, they all raised remarkable daughters in a rapidly changing world.  

What kind of home did these mothers provide for their daughters? What values and lessons were passed on? What unforeseen factors figured in the give and take of their relationships to directly or indirectly affect their choices? And, in the circle of their intimate, albeit fragile relationships, how did mothers and daughters navigate rough waters?

  
    Madam C.J. Walker and A'Lelia Walker. 

Each poem is a stunning snapshot -- a shining moment in time, a revelation, a turning point, a step towards fulfillment or achievement, an encounter with frustration or anguish. I love the compelling emotional dimension these poems provide. All are beautifully crafted and will impact the reader in surprising ways. How much joy or heartache can a moment hold?

In her introduction, Jeannine says, "Details gathered meaning as I lingered over them, and I came to love what was small and tangible as much as the grand or public moments." So we read of a lap-s

Add a Comment

"The wind was blowing, but not too hard, and everyone was so happy and gay for it was only twenty degrees below zero and the sun shone." ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder


I didn't realize until the other day that Charles Dickens and Laura Ingalls Wilder were both born on February 7th. Definitely must give Laura a little equal time today! (Anyone who says "only twenty degrees below zero" deserves 100 birthday cakes.)

Enjoy this 10-minute video about Laura's life. It was done for a school project and is narrated by a very articulate young lady.



Wishing for something new to read about Laura? A very special book is coming!

               

On March 16th, Borrowed Names by Jeannine Atkins (Henry Holt, 2010), will be officially released! It features poems about three notable mother-daughter pairs: Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane, Madam C.J. Walker and A'Lelia Walker, and Marie Curie and Irène Joliot-Curie. The book has already received starred reviews from Booklist and School Library Journal. Pre-order your copy now! To whet your appetite, click here to read a nice excerpt.

Now, let's celebrate Laura's birthday with a nice piece of apple pie!
   
      photo by forkableblog.

Have a lovely Sunday!

More Pajama Party posts here.

Related posts about LIW on alphabet soup:

♥ My interview with Sidney Greenbush, who played Carrie Ingalls on the TV series, "Little House on the Prairie." (It gets the most hits on this blog!)

♥ "Laura for a Day" (with her gingerbread recipe).

♥ "A Heapin' Helpin' of Almanzo's Fried Apples 'n Onions."

Copyright © 2010 Jama Rattigan of jama rattigan's alphabet soup. All rights reserved.

Add a Comment

"By-and-by Pooh and Piglet went on again. Christopher Robin was at home by this time, because it was the afternoon, and he was so glad to see them that they stayed there until very nearly tea-time, and then they had a Very Nearly tea, which is one you forget about afterwards, and hurried on to Pooh Corner, so as to see Eeyore before it was too late to have a Proper Tea with Owl."  ~ from THE HOUSE AT POOH CORNER, by A.A. Milne (E.P. Dutton & Co., 1928).  

                              
The other morning I was feeling a little odd. 

It was almost eleven and I needed a little smackerel of something.

Just in time, I received this lovely email from author Jeannine Atkins ( jeannineatkins):

Jama, this is my favorite scone recipe, which I doubled and brought into my children's literature class after reading WINNIE-THE-POOH and feeling like we needed 'a little something.' One student said he was happy to 'walk into class and see two big cookie-like things on the table.'

Rum-tum-tiddle-um-tum!

Scones!

No tea party would be complete without them. Whether you pronounce it skon to rhyme with John (as in most of the UK), or skoan to rhyme with Joan (as in the U.S.), there's no denying their appeal. Split them in half while they're still warm, lay on the butter, strawberry jam, and clotted cream (if you're lucky), and you've got home and heaven in one little cake!

Add a Comment

WordFest: Banff-Calgary International Writers Festival is an annual literary festival taking place Oct. 9 - 14, 2007 in Alberta, Canada. One of Canada’s premier literary festivals, WordFest 2007 features over 75 writers of local, national and international stature and will attract more than 12,000 individuals.

Children’s and young adult’s literature will be highlighted in the First Calgary Savings Book Rapport Programme. Festival Director Anne Green tells us:

“Book Rapport brings students up-close and personal with their favourite authors, which is a rare and fantastic opportunity for them. Students can hear the authors read, ask them questions, while teachers have a creative way to bring life into literature.”

Anne adds that this year’s Book Rapport Programme offers a superb line-up of KidLit writers, including the following award winning Canadian authors:

Canadian superstar Kenneth Oppel. Oppel, recipient of numerous prestigious literary awards, is the author of the million-copy-selling Silverwing Saga and has more than twenty children and young adult books to his credit. “To have Ken Oppel attend WordFest is great news for Calgary’s schools, students and families,” says Anne.

First nations writer Larry Loyie and his partner Constance Brissenden. In 2003, Loyie and Brissenden won the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction for their children’s book, As Long as the Rivers Flow which was inspired by Loyie’s Cree childhood and the true story of his grandmother’s confrontation with a grizzly. As Long as the Rivers Flow is about a First Nations boy’s last summer spent with his family in the bush before being taken to residential school. The second book in this series When the Spirits Dance recounts the dramatic changes to the boy’s life when his father is sent overseas in World War 2.

Quebec writer Michel Noël. Noël has over fifty books to his credit and has written several award-winning books for young people, including Pien, which won the 1997 Governor General’s Award for French language children’s literature. His novel Good for Nothing, winner of the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People, takes place in northern Quebec in 1959 and is the story of young Métis who seeks to establish his own identity and find out more about the mystery surrounding his father’s death. The book provides compelling insights into many issues faced by First Nations people during this time (residential schools, racism, land claims etc.) as well as the ongoing struggles of native communities today. Noël was named Citizen of the World by the Canadian Association for the United Nations for his work in seeking better understanding among people.

For those of us who can’t attend WordFest in person, we can still take part! Pop culture writer Hal Niedzviecki will be writing the first official WordFest blog. Niedzviecki describes it as “a gossipy insider look at what’s going on and where to be, what’s not to be missed, who is who, and the opportunity to have your questions answered.”

Add a Comment