Brown Girl Dreaming by Jaqueline Woodson

Quick Synopsis: Brown Girl Dreaming is autobiographical and traces the story of Jaqueline Woodson as she grows up in the 60s and 70s living between South Carolina, Ohio, and New York. She tells of her experiences gaining baby siblings, learning that she wants to be a writer, moving many times with her family, learning about the sit-ins at Woolworth’s lunch counter, experiencing the deaths of family members, and longing for places that weren’t perfect but were very much home.

Why Students Like It: It’s written in poetry, and it’s got strong ties to South Carolina. The poems about sitting on the porch, or making up stories at school about our summer time adventures, or moving with our parents who can’t seem to set down roots are all very realistic experiences for students. They can relate to Jaqueline’s story because its so similar to all of ours. At one point in the book, Jaqueline’s mom says to write whatever she wants, “Just so long as you’re not writing about our family…” (pg. 275). Jaqueline tells her mom that she’s not, but that’s exactly what she doing. And, by doing so she helps us see the beauty in our own family’s story.

Why You Might Like It: Same reasons as the students—it’s a presentation of poems and it has strong ties to South Carolina! Also, Brown Girl Dreaming presents a very reliable narrator during a time when, as she herself says, “the world was changing like crazy” (pg. 325). I enjoyed reading this because the narrator was reliably headstrong and curious. She had a deeper understanding of her surroundings than many narrators who are in the 1960s and 70s, and she explains how each part of her world shaped the young woman whom she grew into. You might also enjoy the Author’s Note that explains how she planned and researched this book through conversations with her family and friends.