Brown Girl Dreaming

I love Jacqueline Woodson's novels so when I finally got the opportunity to get this book, I seized it.She is a masterful storyteller and poet and her life story made me laugh, cry, and identify so closely with her being split among different communities and cultures while searching for her own voice.I highly recommend this memoir to middle graders and up. It is a great personalized look at life in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s as well as a study of family dynamics and black culture.

This is a beautifully written memoir set in poetry by the much acclaimed author Jacqueline Woodson. Jacqueline’s aunt Ada, a genealogist and family historian, provided Jacqueline with tremendous family history with which this book begins that adds depth and history to the memoir. There is always a contrast between the north an south running like a current through this book. Jacqueline and her family begin in Ohio visiting South Carolina in the summer. They ultimately begin alternating between Brooklyn and South Carolina.Jacqueline Woodson is so eloquent in ascribing the haziness of memory and how feelings and emotions at the time become the more important element. The poetic format for placing these snippets of memory seems so honest and heartfelt.This is a small volume, yet contains so much. There is so much history, especially regarding the Civil Rights Movement, written into these pages. There is the effect of teachers on a young girl’s self-confidence when they praise her writing. There is the love of a family; the complete trust and vulnerability of young children knowing that they are safe with family they love. There is the beauty of forever friendships, these early friendships that are so important and make life so much more enjoyable. This is a book about race, about growing up as a Jehovah’s witness, about dreams in childhood that have so wonderfully come to fruition for Jacqueline Woodson.This book has been marketed as middle grade, but I would recommend it to everyone. It is a remarkably beautiful collection of poetry, rich in history. I think it is so hard to write from a child’s perspective and honestly capture the thoughts and perspective from that time in life, but Jacqueline Woodson does so brilliantly. I love how within this book, Jacqueline talks about how she does not read quickly like her sister. She takes her time with books, reading, thinking, re-reading, enjoying. This, I believe, is how one should read Brown Girl Dreaming, There is so much to take away and enjoy from each chapter/poem.I loved this book for being a beautiful heartfelt collection of poetry, for moving me in ways I did not expect to be moved, for giving young girls hope and reason to dream, for beautifully describing family, and so much more. Beyond that, I also appreciate that this adds to the growing body of diverse literature, especially for young people.For discussion questions, see book-chatter.com.

This is a perfect read! So gripping and visualizing with each word.

This was a great read that had me all kinds of nostalgic. Jacqueline Woodson is a world renowned author, but this book is her memoir of growing up a “brown girl dreaming.” This is actually written in free verse poetry. She tells her story of her family and lineage. She was born right here in central Ohio, writing about Lancaster, Nelsonville, Columbus, Circleville… I thought that was so cool! Her parents do not stay together and she soon finds herself living with her grandparents in South Carolina. She was born in the 60s, a brown girl trying to navigate a world that did not want to include her. It seemed like such a simpler time that I wish I could have been a part of. The English teacher in me thought this book was brilliant. However, don’t be scared of the poetry aspect. She weaves her free verse so effortlessly, you are caught up in her growing up and her family ties and Jacqueline experiencing life through her child eyes and you don’t really even notice that it is poetically written… just that it’s beautifully written. This one is being added to my classroom library. I can’t wait to share this one with my students!I take this quote from Jacqueline’s southern grandmother - oh how I wish I could have spent summers with her myself! But ever a collector of quotes, this one got me: “God gives you what you need - best not to ask for more than that.” ❤️

There is something so very real, honest, and about Jacqueline Woodson’s writing, regardless of what she’s writing about in “Brown Girl Dreaming.” Her prose contains heartrending stories, thoughts, musings, and emotions ranging from bliss to anger. There’s a childlike purity in her work, these snippets of thoughts that tell her story, stories… the story of her family, friends, her beliefs, her religion.Growing up in the south in an era where so much change was taking place, where children were surrounded from the outside with the message to be proud, and where the message from the older generation was still to avoid eye contact, you might expect more anger, more focus on the ugly side of that time. It’s not glossed over, it’s that the focus for those years shared in “Brown Girl Dreaming” is love for the place, the people and her memories. The nostalgia is sweet without sacrificing any truth, her power in the restraint she shows.“The first time I write my full name Jacqueline Amanda Woodson without anybody’s help on a clean white page in composition notebook, I know if I wanted to I could write anything. Letters becoming words, words gathering meaning, becoming thoughts outside my head becoming sentences written by Jacqueline Amanda Woodson.”This is the story of one girl finding her voice.This is also the story of a part of America’s racial history.This is Woodson’s story, but it’s also a story that is part of all of us.“The people who came before me worked so hard to make this world a better place for me. I know my work is to make the world a better place for those coming after. As long as I can remember this, I can continue to do the work I was put here to do.”

This book is worth the read.

I bought this book for my son’s English reading.

Es un libro que compre para mi hijo ya que se lo van a empezar a leer

This book was so wonderful because it was so interesting to learn about Jacqueline Woodson’s childhood, and what helped create who she became. I always love learning about other people’s childhoods, because no person grows up the exact same as another person!

Good book for pre teens who are interested in memoirs and historical fiction

Beautiful story, book arrived a bit damaged though

Moving and brilliant - this is an extraordinary book.

BROWN GIRL DREAMINGThis remarkable novel told in verse is the memoir of Jacqueline Woodson ( @jacqueline_woodson ). In these verses she shares what it was like to grow up in the 60's & 70's in South Carolina & New York amidst the remnants of Jim Crow and during the Civil Right Movement. I initially picked this book up because it seemed to be an easy and fun middle grade read. But it turned out to be so much more ...📚As a woman of color it was refreshing to read about the hot comb, the freshly starched Sunday clothes and the colorful ribbons in her hair. Her stern but very warm and loving grand parents who would help raise her and her siblings put a smile on my face, simply because it made me realize that there are more similarities than differences when it comes to growing up black. Some things are the same no matter where you come from. 😊📚For me, the most fascinating verses were those about anything Civil Right Movement related. It was interesting to learn about the training for the sit-ins and the non-violent marches that made a difference for colored people all over the world for decades to come. These actions were the beginning of the fight against segregation and discrimination of African Americans. The mind boggling thing about all of this is that historically speaking the 60's and 70's are not even that long ago 😳... 📚Brown girl dreaming won several awards and all of them are well deserved. This book was as pleasant as it was educational and I feel very blessed that this outstanding literary work was brought to my attention. I read the book while listening to the audio. The audiobook happens to be narrated by the author and that is always a plus. 4,5 out of 5 stars.#JacquelineWoodson #BrownGirlDreaming #2014 #Poetry #Memoir #MiddleGrade #Bibliophile #Bookstagram #Books #Reader #Booknerd