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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
So many connections to this book. I currently live near Columbus, so I'm familiar with the Ohio landscape she describes in the beginning -- it's Buckeye country, Nelsonville and southeast Ohio, how rivers shape the landscape of SE Ohio. And I grew up in the South, just a few years after Woodson. Georgia instead of South Carolina. And I'm not African-American, so in some ways a vastly different experience. But so many things are familiar -- especially the foods, the extended family (especially grandparents), the views (sometimes real and sometimes the prejudice of the unknown) of the South and of the North, from that other point of view. And the forever friend? My best friend from childhood, Mary, seems to echo Woodson's friendship with Maria. That intensity of connection at a young age can last a very long time.
Apart from my own connections with the book -- it's wonderful. Beautifully written, genuine, moving, real.
Apart from my own connections with the book -- it's wonderful. Beautifully written, genuine, moving, real.
I think I would have liked it more if I had listened to the audio book version.
Brown Girl Dreaming is Jacqueline Woodson's wonderful novel in verse memoir of her childhood. She moves from her birthplace in Ohio to her mother's people in South Carolina to New York. It is a story of leaving things behind as she leaves her father behind in Ohio and her beloved grandparents behind in South Carolina. It is a story of love and loss and hope and dreams. Woodson dreamed of creating stories and being a writer from an early age but struggled with a learning disability. The book also shows the struggle of Blacks during the Civil Rights era. We are shown what it means to be Black in South Carolina and how that is different in New York. Woodson's story is beautiful and lyrical and a wonderful story to read. I'm not sure how much traction it will get with the elementary/middle school readers as novels in verse are sometimes a hard sell.
I do not generally read poetry and didn't realize this would be a poetic autobiography when requesting it from the library. It is absolutely one of the most compelling and beautiful books I have read. I enjoyed the dance between the worlds of Ohio, South Carolina, and New York.
"We all have the same dream, my grandmother says.
To live equal in a country that's supposed to be
the land of the free."
Wow. I'm not sure I've read a memoir quite like this one by [a:Jacqueline Woodson|74640|Jacqueline Woodson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1327352477p2/74640.jpg]. I loved that Jacqueline chose to tell the story of her childhood through verse. It was incredibly moving and touching in a way that I'm not used to experiencing in memoirs. I really like how Woodson sectioned the book to show the various stages of her childhood. I also appreciated the family tree Woodson included at the beginning of the book as this was incredibly helpful to me as I progressed through the book.
I started reading this book along with Jacqueline in early April as she read aloud a part of the story every day on Facebook Live. I got behind and settled for listening to the audiobook along with reading her words. I really liked listening to the Facebook Live of this book because Jacqueline would stop reading in parts to offer her thoughts and memories of various events in the book. This was incredibly powerful and I wish I had been able to enjoy the entire book in this manner. One thing that continues to stand out to me from listening to Jacqueline read her memoir is what she said about all of the poems entitled "How to Listen": Jacqueline said that each of these poems contain hints for writing your own poetry. Knowing this changed the way I read these poems and I'm excited to dig into this idea with my own students and see what message they glean from Jacqueline's words.
This book can be enjoyed by children + adults alike. I can definitely understand why this book has received so many awards and I am looking forward to continuing reading through Woodson's backlist titles. She is a phenomenal writer and I am so glad she stuck with writing even when others told her otherwise.
To live equal in a country that's supposed to be
the land of the free."
Wow. I'm not sure I've read a memoir quite like this one by [a:Jacqueline Woodson|74640|Jacqueline Woodson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1327352477p2/74640.jpg]. I loved that Jacqueline chose to tell the story of her childhood through verse. It was incredibly moving and touching in a way that I'm not used to experiencing in memoirs. I really like how Woodson sectioned the book to show the various stages of her childhood. I also appreciated the family tree Woodson included at the beginning of the book as this was incredibly helpful to me as I progressed through the book.
I started reading this book along with Jacqueline in early April as she read aloud a part of the story every day on Facebook Live. I got behind and settled for listening to the audiobook along with reading her words. I really liked listening to the Facebook Live of this book because Jacqueline would stop reading in parts to offer her thoughts and memories of various events in the book. This was incredibly powerful and I wish I had been able to enjoy the entire book in this manner. One thing that continues to stand out to me from listening to Jacqueline read her memoir is what she said about all of the poems entitled "How to Listen": Jacqueline said that each of these poems contain hints for writing your own poetry. Knowing this changed the way I read these poems and I'm excited to dig into this idea with my own students and see what message they glean from Jacqueline's words.
This book can be enjoyed by children + adults alike. I can definitely understand why this book has received so many awards and I am looking forward to continuing reading through Woodson's backlist titles. She is a phenomenal writer and I am so glad she stuck with writing even when others told her otherwise.
First and foremost, I learned from her experience— new depth to growing up African-American and poor. But because it was presented in a new way, I think I had more appreciation . So, I’m not one to read verse often. But this book is put together so well that the verse builds as if it were straight text.
And then as a bonus— her use of language demonstrates the power of verse. I would think teachers of poetry would grab this for their classes.
Couldn’t put it down but wanted to start all over once it was done!
And then as a bonus— her use of language demonstrates the power of verse. I would think teachers of poetry would grab this for their classes.
Couldn’t put it down but wanted to start all over once it was done!