"Brown Girl Dreaming" by Jacqueline Woodson- Book Review

 

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. Penguin Group. 2014.

“And that is what this book is-my past, my people, my memories, my story.” 

Jacqueline Woodson’s free verse memoire Brown Girl Dreaming, details her childhood growing up in Ohio, South Carolina, and New York. Woodson was born in 1963 in Ohio during the civil rights movement. Although her father was hard set on keeping her, her siblings, and their mother in Ohio, in the end when her mother and father separate, Woodson’s mother decides to move with the children to her hometown in South Carolina with their grandmother and grandfather. 

However, Greenville is in the deep south and segregation is heavily enforced. Although the children love being in South Carolina with their mother it is clear that South Carolina is not nearly as welcoming of people of color. The children must always use correct grammar, speak clearly, and look everyone in the eye. The Woodson’s will not be made to feel lesser. 

Once in the loving care of her grandpa, who they call Daddy and her grandmother Irby, Jackie and her siblings, Hope and Dell easily fall into a comfortable routine. The children eagerly wait for Daddy to come home from working in the printing press. During the day grandma works a second job to make ends meet. When she comes home Jackie, Hope and Dell take turns rubbing her feet and hear how her day was. The easy routine of helping Daddy garden, going to church, getting their hair ribbons ready for school the next day, and spending their days playing with their cousins is one the Woodson children will miss. 

Change comes quickly in Jackie’s life. Her mother, who has been in New York and calls every night, will be taking the children to join her. Not only that but, she comes with news Jackie will be a big sister, Roman her baby brother is due to come any day. Slowly they become accustomed to their new life in the city, until they are unexpectedly brought back to Greenville for the summer, to Daddy and grandma. There Jackie continues to grow as a writer, her experiences in the city and in the country shaping her writing. 

Brown Girl Dreaming is a beautifully written memoire Jacqueline Woodson’s use of words paints a clear picture. I often felt like I was walking in Woodson’s shoes, experiencing her times of joy, anger and frustration. I would share Brown Girl Dreaming with students in 4th grade and older. Because novel is written in short and easy to follow free verse, students are able to absorb in the story without feeling intimidated. They can also do so in a short amount of time since the book is fairly short. I also greatly appreciated how Woodson discussed her experiences during the civil rights movement. Often times I think students believe these events occurred centuries ago when in reality it is a quite recent part of our county’s history. I truly believe all students could gain a lot from reading this beautiful novel.