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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
Really enjoyed this, listened to the audiobook read by the author and it gave it a richness and depth I'm not sure I would have experienced by "just" reading. Honest, thought-provoking. Told from the perspective of a child which allows a truthful yet innocent look at race relations and her experience within a changing world. Highly recommend.
The audio, read by the author, is fantastic.
I listened to the audiobook of this one, and I'm glad I did. This is YA author author Jacqueline Woodson's memoir of her childhood, written in verse. I heard about it because it was the Tumblr book club's pick a couple months ago, and I, of course, dragged my feet. But I am so thrilled that I finally got around to it because it's my favorite book of the year so far.
Woodson is an African-American woman who grew up in South Carolina and the Brooklyn in the 1960s. Her memories of her childhood are vivid and rich. Everything about this book is just charming and lovely and painful and inspiring. I could not recommend it enough. And I highly, highly suggest listening to the audiobook, read by Woodson herself.
Woodson is an African-American woman who grew up in South Carolina and the Brooklyn in the 1960s. Her memories of her childhood are vivid and rich. Everything about this book is just charming and lovely and painful and inspiring. I could not recommend it enough. And I highly, highly suggest listening to the audiobook, read by Woodson herself.
I loved this book more than I expected to love it! I love the very brief chapters, the poetry, and the insights into Woodson's life.
Dripping in gorgeous prose, this novel-in-verse tells of Woodson's life and follows her upbringing from Ohio, to North Carolina, to NYC. Her "How To Listen" haikus are models to burgeoning young writers. "A Girl Named Jack" will be read this week to my class as we discuss where we come from as writers in preparation for our own personal narratives; already, her newly published book a mentor to newly minted writers with fresh composition books in their hands.
Beautiful, empowering, and easily one of only two middle grade books I can qualify as Newbery contenders this year, Brown Girl Dreaming will leave you both breathless and banging your head demanding to know why you cannot be as adept at the English language as she is.
Jacqueline Woodson graciously agreed to skype with my students in December after they read Brown Girl Dreaming.I am eternally gratefully and I.cannot.wait.
Highly, highly recommended
Beautiful, empowering, and easily one of only two middle grade books I can qualify as Newbery contenders this year, Brown Girl Dreaming will leave you both breathless and banging your head demanding to know why you cannot be as adept at the English language as she is.
Jacqueline Woodson graciously agreed to skype with my students in December after they read Brown Girl Dreaming.I am eternally gratefully and I.cannot.wait.
Highly, highly recommended
"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."
Jacqueline Woodson writes powerful prose for everyone, but even more particularly for children of color. This book is a beautifully written, personal glimpse at her younger years that undoubtedly helped lead her to create the incredible stories she has imparted on us this far. Woodson leaves us with these words,
"And all the words you are-
...-
gather into one world
called You
where You decide
what each world
and each story
and each ending
will finally be."
I can't wait to see what worlds and stories and endings she will share with all of us next. And I'm excited to see what worlds and stories and endings she prods out of the next generation of storytellers.
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."
Jacqueline Woodson writes powerful prose for everyone, but even more particularly for children of color. This book is a beautifully written, personal glimpse at her younger years that undoubtedly helped lead her to create the incredible stories she has imparted on us this far. Woodson leaves us with these words,
"And all the words you are-
...-
gather into one world
called You
where You decide
what each world
and each story
and each ending
will finally be."
I can't wait to see what worlds and stories and endings she will share with all of us next. And I'm excited to see what worlds and stories and endings she prods out of the next generation of storytellers.
Listened to the audio book in just a day, couldn't stop.
“The revolution is always going to be happening.” Wow. That gets you right in the gut.
Reading poetry is not something that I do often, and I sat on this for a long time, but I’m so glad I finally picked it up. It’s compelling & readable, heartbreaking at times, and the struggles of the mid century- economic, racial, familial, etc - shine through childhood memories.
Reading poetry is not something that I do often, and I sat on this for a long time, but I’m so glad I finally picked it up. It’s compelling & readable, heartbreaking at times, and the struggles of the mid century- economic, racial, familial, etc - shine through childhood memories.
Telling the story of Jacqueline Woodson’s childhood, beginning in Ohio, then living in the South in the middle of the Civil Rights movement and ultimately ending up in New York City, the city of dreams and light. Beautifully told in verse, Woodson’s story shares their triumphs of life and love of family. It’s really a love letter to her family, whether it be good or bad, and a snapshot of her childhood life.
Woodson doesn’t hold any punches in her writings. She discusses without sugarcoating her religious upbringing in the Jehovah’s Witnesses, her absentee father, her unwed mother and the surprise of a younger half white sibling and what his arrival meant to her family. Jackie’s time in the South is marked by sit-ins, black’s only restrooms, and the trying times her family endures when fighting for their own rights in this controversial period of American history.
Gorgeously written, Woodson’s story speaks to the human experience. Covering such taboo topics as religion, race, poverty, education, incarceration, death, sickness, unplanned pregnancies, learning disabilities, absentee parents and growing up. This story is so much more than a coming of age novel, it’s a historical document testifying to our past and giving us hope for our future.
Woodson doesn’t hold any punches in her writings. She discusses without sugarcoating her religious upbringing in the Jehovah’s Witnesses, her absentee father, her unwed mother and the surprise of a younger half white sibling and what his arrival meant to her family. Jackie’s time in the South is marked by sit-ins, black’s only restrooms, and the trying times her family endures when fighting for their own rights in this controversial period of American history.
Gorgeously written, Woodson’s story speaks to the human experience. Covering such taboo topics as religion, race, poverty, education, incarceration, death, sickness, unplanned pregnancies, learning disabilities, absentee parents and growing up. This story is so much more than a coming of age novel, it’s a historical document testifying to our past and giving us hope for our future.
Through poetry, Jacqueline Woodson beautifully tells her own story, and perhaps the story of all of us. We are all made of all the places and people who raised us. After reading, I found myself wanting to write poetry about the people and places who made me.