Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
Ms Woodson's account of her childhood. She was born in Columbus, Ohio and spent time in Southern Ohio and South Carolina with grandparents too. Once her parents divorced, she moves with the mom and siblings to NYC. Beautifully written in verse.
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Browning Girl Dreaming follows the story of Jacqueline growing up in the Civil Rights era and moving from Ohio to Jim Crow South Carolina to New York. The book is expertly written using poetry. It’s an easy read with each poem building on the last. Reading the book was like sitting in front of Woodson as she recalls a memory of her past, it isn’t one story, but individual memories put together to create a giant story. You get to experience what it was like to Jackie to grow up wanting to read and write, but the struggles she encountered at school with both. The book is full of moments of laughter and sadness. She shows what it’s like to grow up in a family who isn’t afraid to laugh at themselves and have a good time. The book is poignant and would help any middle or high school student connect with the Civil Rights era and the struggles of growing up.
I really enjoyed this memoir that is written in verse and is aimed at young adults. It really is strong in terms of memoir. As someone who doesn’t remember much of her childhood I am always in awe of those who do, and the detail with which they seem to recall it. I won’t lie, I know virtually nothing about poetry. I’ve never been fond of it, because I’ve in all honesty never given it a chance. This book has me reconsidering that stance-I really just loved it. Th fact it was written in verse gave it a sense of being just a tad bit beyond reach. Isn’t that how remembering childhood is for those of us who aren’t in her YA demographic. For those who are, this is a great testimony of black girlhood in the 1960-1970s. I’ll definitely be checking out some of her other titles in the future.
2.5 I don't know, am I missing something here?
This book! I finally got around to reading it (I'll admit what pushed it to the top of the list was President Obama's recommendation) and I couldn't be happier. I'm relatively new to the 'verse-novel' but I can't imagine this fantastic book written any other way. Jacqueline Woodson is a wordsmith of the finest degree and the pictures she paints are poignant, delicate and real. There were parts that reminded me of Audre Lorde's mythobiography Zami: A New Spelling of My Name and there were parts that reminded me of Anne of Green Gables. I loved the descriptions of the South, and was moved by her struggle to love and live in both North and South.
Woodson expresses the injustices of the time with language that does not shy from the truth but is gentle enough for young readers. She speaks of the simple joys of everyday life in the same breath as her youthful struggles with the institutionalized racism that continues to plague our country today.
I was pleasantly surprised by the family photo album in the back! I spent the whole story wondering what everyone looked like but was too riveted by her poetry to go looking online.
My favorite parts were the descriptions of her relationship with her grandfather and her discovery of writing as her true passion.
"Nothing in the world is like this--
a bright white page with
pale blue lines. The smell of a newly sharpened pencil
the soft hush of it
moving finally
one day
into letters."
-from Composition Notebook
A thoroughly excellent novel and one that I simply must have for my own!
Woodson expresses the injustices of the time with language that does not shy from the truth but is gentle enough for young readers. She speaks of the simple joys of everyday life in the same breath as her youthful struggles with the institutionalized racism that continues to plague our country today.
I was pleasantly surprised by the family photo album in the back! I spent the whole story wondering what everyone looked like but was too riveted by her poetry to go looking online.
My favorite parts were the descriptions of her relationship with her grandfather and her discovery of writing as her true passion.
"Nothing in the world is like this--
a bright white page with
pale blue lines. The smell of a newly sharpened pencil
the soft hush of it
moving finally
one day
into letters."
-from Composition Notebook
A thoroughly excellent novel and one that I simply must have for my own!
I loved this book SO MUCH. I can't wait to put it into the hands of a few of my students who haven't discovered it yet.