Brown Girl Dreaming

"My mother has a gap between
her two front teeth. So does Daddy Gunnar.
Each child in this family has the same space
connecting us."

It's hard to write anything about this book that will do it justice.  On the surface it's a memoir about an African American author growing up during the Civil Rights Movement.  But it's not really about any one thing just as a person's life isn't about any one thing.  There are parts about her family, her struggles with learning to read, and how she eventually found her voice as an author. The things Woodson chooses to describe are just as interesting as the way she chooses to describe them.  The language is simply gorgeous.  If you have an interest in memoirs, history, poetry, family life, or just want to read something extremely well-written then this is the book for you.  


"On paper, things can live forever.
On paper, a butterfly
never dies."

Erica's Picks
4th - 7th Grade
Tags: Biography, Family Life, History, Novels in Verse, People of Color, Poetry

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