Borrowed Names

By Jeannine Atkins

Book Overview

As a child, Laura Ingalls Wilder traveled across the prairie in a covered wagon. Her daughter, Rose, thought those stories might make a good book, and the two created the beloved Little House series. Sara Breedlove, the daughter of former slaves, wanted everything to be different for her own daughter, A'Lelia. Together they built a million-dollar beauty empire for women of color. Marie Curie became the first person in history to win two Nobel prizes in science. Inspired by her mother, Ir ne too became a scientist and Nobel prize winner. Borrowed Names is the story of these extraordinary mothers and daughters. Borrowed Names is a 2011 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805089349
• ISBN13: 9780805089349
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 12 to 18 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

Beautiful book about mothers, daughters, & the creative spirit

I think this is one of my favorite books ever. Really. Full disclosure - I know Jeannine and heard her read a poem from this book at a writers retreat last summer. It was lovely and poignant, but when she described the book as a collection of poems about mothers and daughters, in the voices of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madam C.J. Walker, and Marie Curie, I wondered a bit how that could all fit together. Then I was lucky enough to pick up an advance copy of BORROWED NAMES at ALA Midwinter, and I understood. It does fit. As beautifully as anything I've ever read. The poetry in this book is magnificent by itself, but it's the characterization of the women -- mothers and daughters both -- that makes it stand out even more. The verse shines with the creative spirit of all of these amazing women, and I really can't imagine capturing the whole give-and-take, come-together-and-go-away moments of mothers and daughters any better. I'm sitting here at my computer frowning because I can't really make my words do justice to this special book. But trust me. Just go get it.