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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
A must read. As good as it gets. Vermont Reads choice this year.
Very unique way to tell a memoir. Held my interest. Good read for teen girls.
Listening to the author read her work was wonderful. She has a great voice and a great cadence. This is a memoir in poetry, and it took me a while to figure that out...so having the actual book might have given me a better sense of the structure. However, the story of this author's childhood and family life was so powerful. She brings in experiences and exposure to the cultural events of the 1960's and 1970's and it is interesting to hear about those things from a child's perspective. There is sadness and loss, but it is tempered by so much real life, filled with the grandmother's strong faith, the mother's self-respect and high standards for her children, grandfather's love and admiration, strong friendships, neighborliness, and a particular teacher who provided validation that the Jacqueline is a writer. This is a wonderful book.
Jacqueline Woodson's biography told through poetry is a wonderful read. The language and imagery sweep you along. If you have never read a novel in verse or a nonfiction book in verse like this, don't let the format scare you away. It is very easy to follow and reads quickly (Although I found that I reread many passages just because I really loved the language or I was reading it aloud to someone else). Just to show you the wide ranging appeal of this book, you may have to search your library for this book. I know that our library system has one copy in juvenile biography, one in teen biography, and one in adult poetry. If you can't find it, request it. I think this would be a good book for mother/daughter book clubs or just shared reading.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
In this book, Jacqueline Woodson tells her family story. She also tells the story of our country, of north and south, city and country, and the swelling of the civil rights movement in the 1960s and early 1970s. In beautiful and accessible language, she describes what it is like to belong to many disparate worlds, each seeming to hold a different place in time and different ways and priorities. Especially moving is the way she depicts each of her siblings (and herself) discovering what he or she will be good at, passionate about. Young readers will be encouraged to be patient with and not judge themselves to harshly.
I really enjoyed this book. I sometimes shy away from poetry, wondering if it will be too much "work." This book is not work. Each page flows to the next and, while I occasionally lost the chronology, Woodson never lets the reader lose the feeling or the meaning.
Highly recommended for older kids who have some sense of recent history (though a lot of knowledge is not needed to enjoy this).
I really enjoyed this book. I sometimes shy away from poetry, wondering if it will be too much "work." This book is not work. Each page flows to the next and, while I occasionally lost the chronology, Woodson never lets the reader lose the feeling or the meaning.
Highly recommended for older kids who have some sense of recent history (though a lot of knowledge is not needed to enjoy this).
This is the third work I've read by this author and I absolutely love her writing. This the first that was in verse, but it definitely didn't feel that way to me. This is a memoir, yes, and it focuses on her "coming-of-age" years, as she grew up in Ohio, New York, and South Carolina during the time of the Civil Rights movements. Besides describing some of what it was like to live during these turbulent times, she also talks about her struggles with finding her voice as her sister was the "smart one" in the family and she had trouble reading. I found myself tearing up at times and wanted more by the time she finished. This book deserves all the awards and nominations and should be in every school library.
I could not put this book down. Each poem paints a picture with words. This is how I want to write. She brings you along into her childhood. I could imagine the houses, the rooms, the relatives. It was an invitation to a journey home. Thank you, Ms. Woodson, for your beautiful, inspiring writing.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Woodson's poems will take you back to the deep south when times were simple and complicated all at the same time. The love she feels for her family is melted into the poems and will stay with you long after the last page.