Brown Girl Dreaming

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.

If not for a Young Adult Lit class I'm taking, I probably would have missed out on this wonderful book, by the gifted Jacqueline Woodson. What a treasure to stumble upon Woodson's book of autobiographical prose, that is both simple enough for my 8 year old to read, and rich, and authentic enough for me to enjoy on my own. This book tells the story of Woodson's family history, filled with joy and sorrow, and traces the seeds to her own path as a writer. Woodson's tales are deeply personal, but still relatable and endearing. She also brings all of the characters in her book to life with individual personalities and idiosyncrasies, while still illustrating the historical context that is the backdrop of her upbringing, from the Jim Crow South of her younger days with her grandparents, to the Civil Rights era and Revolutionary times of Angela Davis of her adolescence in Brooklyn. I breezed through this book in two days, and will be buying a paper copy to add to my library.

Jaqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming is a beautifully written story that draws you in and lifts you up. Spanning her childhood from Ohio through the rural south and back to Brooklyn, New York, it is a collection of poem-stories that carries her young self and the reader into young adulthood, describing with clarity and depth what it means for her to be a “Brown girl dreaming.” A celebration of friendship and the evolution of her understanding of family, it touches on a part of American history common to us all.

Brown Girl Dreaming is a novel written in verse. It was interesting to read how Jacqueline Woodson channeled her childhood memories into a descriptive and nuanced story. Jacqueline’s story shows that children have a greater awareness and understanding than we give them credit for. They are aware of the nuance and complexity of life and people’s behaviors. Due in part to her being raised in the South, Jacqueline and her siblings had a firm understanding for race and inequality, and religion and spirituality. I liked that Jacqueline was able to discuss heavy topics while also maintaining the innocent tone of a child. I also loved how Jacqueline discusses her experience in the South. You could tell that she had such a fondness and nostalgia for her childhood home in Greenville. She described the South with such wistfulness and beauty and I appreciated that. I think this also alluded to the complicated relationship black people have with the South. For those of us who are raised here, it’s attached to a very traumatic and detrimental history but it’s also a place that’s connected to our memories. We have family and friends here and our memories with them are connected to this place they were made. I’m also from SC so it felt like reading a mini time capsule on South Carolina’s history while reading this book. This was an aspect of the book that I connected to. This is Jacqueline’s story so I would encourage people to read it if they want to learn more about her. She has an interesting family history which renewed my interest in learning more about my own family. Anyways, this was a nice story that captured the innocence of childhood while also conveying how history impacts our lives.

My ten year old granddaughter loves this book!

This book is such a delight. It is a wonderful book to recommend for any age. Jacqueline Woodson is one of my favorite authors. I have read all of her books, but this one is my favorite. Of course it’s a Newberry Medal winner too. Beautiful characterization and lovely description and I love the short chapters. She is a genius!

This was a great book that my 15 year old wanted to read several times over.

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

BROWN GIRL DREAMING This 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

Beautiful story, book arrived a bit damaged though

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!

Moving and brilliant - this is an extraordinary book.