Brown Girl Dreaming

 Brown Girl Dreaming by Jaqueline Woodson

1. Bibliography 

Woodson, J. (2014). Brown girl dreaming. Puffin Books. 

ISBN:9780147515827 

2. Plot Summary 

The author, Jaqueline Woodson has written a memoir in verse about her childhood growing up in the early 1960’s and 1970’s. Her story begins with her being born in Ohio. Then her mother and 

her sister and brother moved to Greenville, South Carolina to live with her grandparents. Her father is no longer in the picture and grandfather has earned the named Daddy. Jaqueline’s mother moves to Brooklyn, New York to be with her sister and leave the children behind. Later her mother comes back expecting their younger brother. After her younger brother is born the family moves to New York. Jaqueline and her siblings spend their time living in Greenville in the summer and Brooklyn in the fall. During this time, we see the struggles that Jaqueline faces in school with reading and writing. We also see the change that is happening around the country concerning black people. We live through her Daddy (Grandpa) dying and her grandmother moving in with them in Brooklyn. We grow up with Jaquelinne as she begins to write her stories. It is when she is a 5th grader that her teacher tells her she is a writer. She was always a storyteller but now she is writing her own stories. 

3. Critical Analysis 

Jaqueline Woodson has written a memoir in verse book that has various length poems. She divided her memoir up into 5 parts. Each part describes the progression of how Woodson's grows. The words she uses are very soft and warm. Many of her poems challenge the reader to think beyond the words. She is not always direct in her poem in the words she chooses. Her words linger in your heart. She has poems that she titles How to listen #1-#10. These poems are examples of situations Jaqueline faced and how she managed to get through them using the tip suggested in these poems. The poems are lyrical and filled with imagery. You see what the author sees, you hear what the author says. When there is a conversation in the poem it is written in italics. The reader goes through Jaqueline’s life step by step. We see the troubles that the family faces and how they handle the sorrows that occur. 

4. Reviews 

• Publishers Weekly (May 26, 2014) Written in verse, Woodson's collection of childhood memories provides insight into the Newbery Honor author's perspective of America, "a country caught/ between Black and White," during the turbulent 1960s. 

• • Kirkus Reviews starred (July 15, 2014)" Words are my brilliance." Woodson cherishes her memories and shares them with a graceful lyricism; her lovingly wrought vignettes of country and city streets will linger long after the page is turned. 

• Horn Book Guide starred (Spring 2015 A) memoir-in-verse so immediate, readers will feel they are experiencing Woodson's childhood along with her. 

5. Connections 

• Jacqueline’s mother tells her children that they will experience a “moment when you walk into a room and/no one there is like you” (p.14). Have you experienced this? What might this feel like? 

• What is the theme in the story? Support your answer with text evidence? 

• Students can research how to create a family tree then interview family members to create their own family tree.