brown girl dreaming

Woodson, J. (2014).  Brown girl dreaming.  New York:  Penguin.

Jacqueline Woodson in poetry tells us her story of growing up in this book.  She tells us of her parents divorce and how her grandparents took care of her and her siblings in the South.  She describes what it means to be a Jehovah's Witness child. The story is rich in family values and culture.  During her move to New York, she met her best friend Maria.

            Brown Girl Dreaming is a great book to introduce during a biography book talk.  This autobiography will appeal to girls, African American students, poetry buffs, and kids wanting to become writers.  Our school celebrates Black History Month and the principal announces a famous African American on the morning announcements.  Jacqueline Woodson would be a great author to highlight and the students would be eager to check out this Newbery Honor Book.  Her other books include Locomotion, Miracle’s Boys, The House You Pass on the Way. Locomotion is similar to Brown Girl Dreaming since it uses free verse poetry to tell a story.  The story, not an autobiography, tells of Lonnie who is an orphan and is living in a foster home.  Similar to Brown Girl Dreaming, there is loss and always a sense of hope in Locomotion.  Miracle’s Boys and The House You Pass on the Way are for middle school students and are multicultural novels.  Though these books are for older readers and are not poetry, Woodson continues to tell stories of African American children growing up with huge struggles and a focus on the importance of family.