Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

 

Woodson, Jacqueline. Brown Girl Dreaming. Nancy Paulsen Books; 2014. ISBN 9780399252518    

Plot 

Book is based on Jacqueline Woodson's life. She is born in Ohio, and has two siblings. Parents separate after a tumultuous marriage. Mother goes to the South with her three children to live with her parents in South Carolina. She learns to love the South and living with her grandparents. Eventually, they return to the city and at this time Jackie is no longer the baby and has a new baby brother. During this time Jackie is learning about the civil rights movement. She develops a friendship with a girl named Maria from Puerto Rico. Jackie's grandfather passes away and grandmother moves in with them in New York. She finds her talent in writing with the support of a teacher and learns about other activist such as Angela Davis due to her uncle's involvement in the Black Panthers after spending some time in jail.

Critical Evaluation 

A memoir (in free verse) told in lyrical poetry, in verse. It highlights the times during the civil rights movements and told from the perspective of a young Black girl coming of age. It highlights sibling rivalry, parent's divorce, role of grandparents and the power of friendship. Stylistically, those readers that appreciate in verse novels will greatly enjoy the book, and it may not be a top pick for those that are not fans of the genre. These tend to feel like slow pace readings, and many inferences must be made. One may want to know more about the characters that at times, in verse novels do not expand on.

Reader's Annotation 

Story of a young Black girl during the 60s and moving to the South, a story of family and friendship and finding herself.

Author Information

Jacqueline Woodson was born in Columbus, Ohio and grew up in Greenville, South Carolina and Brooklyn, New York. She is the author of over 30 books for children and adults, including From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun (1995), recipient of both the Coretta Scott King Honor and the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award; Miracle’s Boys (2000), which also won the Coretta Scott King Award, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; Hush (2002), which was a National Book Award Finalist; Locomotion (2003), also a National Book Award Finalist; Coming on Home Soon (2004), a Caldecott Honor Book and a Booklist Editors’ Choice; and Behind You (2004), which was included in the New York Public Library’s list of best Books of the Teen Age. Three of Woodson’s books have won the Newbery Honor: Show Way (2005), Feathers (2007), and After Tupac & D Foster (2008). Her recent books include the young adult novel Beneath a Meth Moon (2012); and Brown Girl Dreaming (2014), a novel in verse about Woodson’s family and segregation in the South, which won the National Book Award and the Newbery Honor Award. In an op-ed for the New York Times, Woodson described how she wrote the book: “As I interviewed relatives in both Ohio and Greenville, SC, I began to piece together the story of my mother’s life, my grandparents’ lives and the lives of cousins, aunts and uncles. These stories, and the stories I had heard throughout my childhood, were told with the hope that I would carry on this family history and American history, so that those coming after me could walk through the world as armed as I am.” Woodson's books for adults include Red at the Bone (2019).(Poetry Foundation, nd) 

Genre

Memoir - In verse 

Booktalking Ideas 

Moment when Jackie's mother is speaking to Jackie's sister on not lying becasue of the slippery slope of certain actions, and Jackie trying to make sense of this dialogue and not understanding the rationale. 

Reading Level/interest Age 

Ages 9th grade +

Challenge

I sense a very conservative person being against this because of the claims of "Critical Race Theory" biase, etc. I will defend it with the Library Bill of Rights and LA County Library Collection Policy. I will practice intent listening and empathy while ensuring I have the support of my library to defend the book. 

Why I Chose This Book

Told from the perspective of a young African American girl growing up during the 60s and to learn about notable figures such as Dr. King and Angela Davis from the perspective of a teen. 

Jacqueline Woodson: It's Important to Know That Whatever Moment We're In It's Not the First Time 

Reference 

Poets (n.d.) The Poetry Foundation Retrieved December 4, 2021 https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/jacqueline-woodson