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Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Brown Girl Dreaming

Jacqueline Woodson

Penguin Young Readers Group · Print & ebook · October 11, 2016

A Poetry pick for readers exploring Brown Girl Dreaming.

PoetryAfrican American Life (U.S.)Writers' Lives for Kidsblack
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Who it’s for
Woodson’s vivid poems make personal memory a way into childhood, history, and the search for belonging.
Themes
Poetic childhood memoir, Belonging between two homes, Finding a voice through writing
Genres
Poetry, African American Life (U.S.), Writers' Lives for Kids

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About this book

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The acclaimed author of Red at the Bone tells the moving story of her childhood in mesmerizing poems. A NEWBERY HONOR BOOK • WINNER OF THE CORETTA SCOTT KING BOOK AWARD • A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST MIDDLE GRADE BOOK OF THE CENTURY “Moving and resonant . . . captivating.”—The Wall Street Journal I am born in Ohio but the stories of South Carolina already run like rivers through my veins.

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Raised in South Carolina and New York, Jacqueline Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 70s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, providing a glimpse into a child’s soul as she finds her voice through writing and searches for her place in the world. Teeming with feeling and deeply personal, Brown Girl Dreaming is the groundbreaking chronicle of Woodson’s journey to storytelling, and a beautiful portrayal of physical, emotional, and spiritual growth.

A Childhood in Poems

Woodson’s vivid poems make personal memory a way into childhood, history, and the search for belonging.

Come here for

  • A child’s perspective on growing up amid Jim Crow and the Civil Rights movement
  • The pull between South Carolina and New York

Expect

  • Accessible poems with emotional force
  • A deeply personal journey toward storytelling and finding a voice

Where it sits

Poetry59%
African American Life (U.S.)54%
Writers' Lives for Kids28%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Writers' Lives for Kids
  • Biographies of Women for Kids
  • Prejudice & Racism
Authors
Jacqueline Woodson
Publisher
Penguin Young Readers Group
Published
October 11, 2016
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Poetic childhood memoir · Belonging between two homes · Finding a voice through writing
Reading lane
Writers' Lives for Kids