This book is really good. I had to do it for summer reading and the poems are really good. It has the Newbery honor medal, Loretta Scott king award and national book award. Definitely read this!
Brown Girl Dreaming (Newbery Honor Book)
By Jacqueline Woodson
| Interest Level | Reading Level | Reading A-Z | ATOS | Word Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grades 4 - 8 | Grades 10 - 9 | n/a | 5.3 | 30318 |
A New York Times Bestseller and National Book Award Winner
Jacqueline Woodson, the acclaimed author of Another Brooklyn, 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.
A National Book Award Winner
A Newbery Honor Book
A Coretta Scott King Award Winner
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
Jacqueline Woodson, the acclaimed author of Another Brooklyn, 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.
A National Book Award Winner
A Newbery Honor Book
A Coretta Scott King Award Winner
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
Publisher: Thorndike Press Large Print
ISBN-13: 9781432843151
ISBN-10: 143284315X
Published on 9/6/2017
Binding: Hardcover
Book Reviews (45)
I’m going to keep this simple, unlike my other reviews LOL. All I can say about this book is that.... you are going to get inspired by this girl, and her changes to the world.
This book is mostly about the writer Jacqueline Woodson and what she went through as a kid. She took more time doing things so that she could remember everything. Her grandmother took care of her and her sibling when their mom was away. And they never met their dad before.
It's really really good so far!
Lovely book! Although not written in my favorite form (it is written in verse), it had a beautiful story line and was fascinating to learn about Ms. Woodson’s history. She is such an amazing woman! I feel terrible about her losing both “fathers” and many other relatives. Her poems are very well written and she is an accomplished author! Her dream came true, probably even better than she imagined! Thank you for writing this book Ms. Woodson!
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jaqueline Woodson is a verse style autobiography. It is very well written and inspires anyone who reads it! I would totally reccommend this book as a must read! "I let the stories live inside my head, again and again until the real world fades back into cricket lullabies and my own dreams." - Jaqueline Woodson
This book is full of poems. Jacqueline is born on February 18, 1963, in the city of Columbus, Ohio, and named after her father, Jack. While Jackie’s first year is spent in the North, several trips are made to the South for Mary Ann (her mother) to visit her parents, Grandpa Gunnar and Grandma Georgiana, who live in the Nicholtown area of Greenville, South Carolina. The region is segregated and Jackie doesn't understand why she always goes. Her parents' very different feelings about the South causes arguments between them. Eventually, Jack and Mary Ann split up, and Mary Ann and her three children, Hope, Odella, and Jackie, move south to live with Grandpa Gunnar and Grandma Georgiana. Jackie comes to love Greenville. While racism and segregation exist there, the place is still home to her and her grandparents. They believe in peaceful marches for civil rights. They know that God will bless them for doing the right thing. Despite the widespread animosity, there are white people in Greenville who are respectful and treat Jackie and her family like actual human beings, rather than dirt. One such woman is the owner of the local laundromat store, who has known Grandma Georgiana for years. Mary Ann, however, wants to move back North. So, she travels to New York City to get settled. Jackie and her siblings stay on with their grandparents, relishing the time they have with them until Mary Ann comes to retrieve her children, with a brand new baby boy named Roman in tow. They move in with Mary Ann's sister Caroline Irby (Aunt Kay), but Aunt Kay dies and the family of five is left alone. In New York, Jackie becomes best friends with a girl from Puerto Rico named Maria. She also decides that she wants to become a writer after encouragement from her teacher. Each summer, Jackie and her siblings return to South Carolina to visit their grandparents. However, each time they find Grandpa Gunnar, a heavy smoker, sicker and sicker. Mary Ann's brother gets sent to prison after getting in trouble with the police, during which time he converts to Islam. About the same time, Jackie and Maria start to love Angela Davis of the Black Panther movement. They imitate Angela, though they have no real idea about the revolution in which she is involved. Not long after, Grandpa Gunnar dies of cancer, and Grandma Georgiana moves up to New York to be with Mary Ann and the grandchildren.
Very nice story and well written!
I love this book. I have read it so many times
A really good book. An autobiography of the author herself, what her childhood was like.