Brown Girl Dreaming
Bibliography
Woodson, Jacqueline. 2014. BROWN GIRL DREAMING. New York, NY: Nancy Paulson Books. ISBN 9780399252518
Plot Summary
Award winning author Jacqueline Woodson writes about her times living in the South with her grandparents to moving up North with her mother and siblings. From being a Jehovah's witness to meeting new friends to wanting to become a writer, Woodson uses free verse to share her inspiring and heartfelt story, with her words and emotions filling the pages with love, laughter and friendship and her reflection on her experiences as an African American during and after the Civil Rights Movement.
Critical Analysis
Brown Girl Dreaming is a powerful story of identity and discovery seen through the eyes of a young black girl. Jacqueline Woodson recounts her early childhood through beautifully written free verse, with each poem taking us on a journey filled with emotion. The use of free verse is used perfectly to illustrate Woodson's scattered but insightful thoughts on her upbringing, the Civil Rights Movement, her family, both by blood and found (Maria), her religion, and her dream of becoming a writer and finding her place in the world.
Children will be able to see even a little of themselves in young Jackie, and adults will get a poignant glimpse of living during the Civil Rights Movement through the eyes of a Black child. Woodson's descriptive language paints images of beauty (Hope's singing), and sadness (Roman's illness) and community (Daddy's neighborhood strolls), which wonderfully show the power of written word. Woodson's dream of being a writer has come to fruition, and we are extremely luckily and blessed to have gotten a front row seat.
Review Excerpts
Newbery Honor Book
Coretta Scott King Award
The New York Times: "Ms. Woodson writes with a sure understanding of the thoughts of young people, offering a poetic eloquent narrative that is not simply a story... but a mature exploration of grown-up issues and self-discovery."
School Library Journal Starred: "A personal memoir and a child's eye view of the nascent civil rights movement, this work confirms Woodson's brilliance as a writer for children and for adults, too."
Connections
More by Jacqueline Woodson: I Hadn't Meant to Tell You This
After Tupac and D Foster
Miracle's Boys
Free Verse Novels: Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Rebound by Kwane Alexander
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds
Activity: Students compose their own free verse poems and draw art work to go with it.
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