Woodson, J. (2014). brown girl dreaming. New York, NY: Nancy Paulsen Books.
Summary:
Jacqueline Woodson's newest book is a memoir about her childhood during the 1960s and 70s written in verse. Woodson begins with her early upbringing in Ohio, but most of her childhood includes long summers in South Carolina where her mother's parents lived and New York, where her mother moves as Jacqueline enters school. Part of this memoir is a tribute to Woodson's long family history before her birth and the strength of her African American heritage. Woodson's relationship with her grandmother, a strong Jehovah's Witness which later dictate her own religious practices are chronicled here. This memoir is also a peek into the South during the early Civil Rights Movement, where Blacks are organizing as segregation is at its height. Woodson is able to capture the essence of the time period through vivid sensory detail.
Review:
Woodson writes an evocative memoir in verse. It is a tribute to family and how family shapes individuals. It is also a bit of an exploration of her family tree. A quick, beautiful read for those interested in Black history especially in the South during the late 1960's.
Suggestions for Teachers:
Students might have fun imitating sections of this book since it is written in verse. Excerpts from this could be used at the beginning of the year for community building and units on memoirs or "Where I'm From" poems considering the work of Linda Christensen. There is also a lot in here on the power of reading and writing. Those sections could be excerpted for the English classroom. History teachers could use this as a primary text to go along with the textbook when studying Voting Rights Act, Civil Rights, the Black Panthers and also the effects of slavery and reconstruction. Note: this is a quick read, but not a suspenseful one.
Reading Level:
- Quantitative: Lexile 1350L, ATOS Book Level 4.5, Flesh-Kincaid 9.7, RMM 7.5, Readability Grade Level, 10.0, Titlewave RL: 4.3
- Qualitative: The organization of brown girl dreaming is a little intricate. There are time shifts back to before Jacqueline Woodson was born. Since this memoir is written in verse, it has fairly complex language features including abstract ideas and figurative language. At the same time, many of the sentence structures are very simple. The vocabulary is mostly simple, but Woodson takes some liberties with language combining phrases into one word to sound more vernacular. Woodson uses italics to indicate dialogue. There is some vocabulary connected to a Southern context. Most of the knowledge demands are in the realm of what students know, but, students who have schema surrounding the Voting Rights Act, segregation, Civil Rights Movement, slavery and reconstruction and the Black Panther Party will have a stronger understanding of the text. There are some Biblical references and knowledge surrounding Jehovah's Witnesses will be helpful.
Content Areas: English (teaching memoir, verse, sensory description, setting), History (1960s & 70's, Segregation, Voting Rights, Freedom Riders, Civil Rights, Black Panther Party)
Common Core State Standards:
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.
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- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.6 Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author's point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).
Relevant Links/Digital Content: Teaching Books
Subjects/themes: African American history, women, Civil Rights, Voting Rights, Segregation, reading identity, writing identity
Awards: N/A as of today
Series Information: N/A
