Brown Girl Dreaming

Locations
Call Number: R Newbery Honor, Y 811 Wo, Kids Book / Fiction / Poetry & Plays / Woodson, Jacqueline
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch, Westgate Branch

"Jacqueline Woodson, one of today's finest writers, tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing verse. Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child's soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson's eloquent poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become. Praise for Jacqueline Woodson: 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"-The New York Times Book Review"-- Provided by publisher.
"The author shares her childhood memories and reveals the first sparks that ignited her writing career in free-verse poems about growing up in the North and South"-- Provided by publisher.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Great submitted by ECReader on July 11, 2015, 10:40am This was one of the best memoirs I have ever read. It isn't my favorite book, but I definatley enjoyed it and I think that other people should read Jacqueline Woodson's memoir of her childhood.

Beautifully Written submitted by Beth Manuel on August 4, 2015, 9:08am This was eloquent and inspiring. It's a very quick read and serves to share what life was like for a young black girl who found her voice by writing and discovering herself.

poetic memoir; power of diverse books submitted by camelsamba on June 20, 2016, 7:25pm This is a memoir told in verse, about how Jacqueline Woodson became a writer / story-teller. The parts I liked best were the meta / self-referential poems. One of the most poignant, especially in light of the movement to get more diverse books, tells about how she gets to check out whatever books she likes from library. No one nags her to read more advanced books like her sister. She discovers a book titled Stevie.


Stevie and me (pp 227 & 228)

If someone had been fussing with me
to read like my sister, I might have missed
the picture book filled with brown people, more
brown people than I'd ever seen
in a book before.
...
If someone had taken
that book out of my hand
said, you're too old for this
maybe
I'd never have believed
that someone who looked like me
could be in the pages of the book
that someone who looked like me
had a story.

Memoir written in prose submitted by jcottey on July 22, 2020, 8:49am This book reads quickly because it's in prose. I'm not the biggest fan of that format because I want more. However, Woodson's writing is excellent and gives a vivid picture of her childhood.

Spectacular memoir in verse submitted by ahlalejini on July 20, 2022, 4:12pm Woodson is one of the great writers of this century and this book is well worth the read!

Wonderful poetic memoir submitted by srlorand on August 20, 2023, 11:46pm I'm at a loss for words to describe how wonderful Woodson's writing is. This memoir-in-poems tells of her roots in Ohio and her childhood in South Carolina and New York City -- including how she discovered she could be (and in a way already was) a writer. Highly recommended.
Thanks, AADL, for collecting so many of her other books as well!