Brown Girl Dreaming
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| Author | Jacqueline Woodson |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature, Poetry, Biography |
| Publisher | Penguin Group |
Publication date | August 28, 2014 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 336 |
| ISBN | 0399252517 |
Brown Girl Dreaming is a 2014 adolescent novel told in verse by author Jacqueline Woodson. It discusses the author's childhood as an African American growing up in the 1960s and '70s in South Carolina and New York. It was awarded the Newbery Honor, the National Book Award for Young People's Literature and an NAACP Image Award for outstanding literary work-youth/teens.
Awards
- Newbery Honor[1]
- National Book Award for Young People's Literature[2]
- NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in Young Adult Fiction[3]
Plot
Jacqueline is born in a small town near Ohio on February 12, 1963, and is named after her father, Jack. While Jackie’s first year is spent in the North, several trips are made to the South for Mary Ann to visit her parents, Grandpa Gunnar and Grandma Georgiana, who live in the Nicholtown area of Greenville, South Carolina.The region is segregated and Jack doesn't understand why she always goes. Their very different feelings about the South causes arguments between Jack and Mary Ann. Eventually, Jack and Mary Ann split, and Mary Ann and her three children, Hope, Odella, and Jackie, move south to live with Grandpa Gunnar and Grandma Georgiana.
Jackie comes to love Greenville. While racism and segregation exist there, the place is still home to her grandparents. They believe in peaceful marches for civil rights. They know that God will bless them for doing the right thing.
Despite widespread animosity, there are white people in Greenville who are respectful and treat Jackie and her family like actual human beings, rather than dirt. One such woman is the owner of the local fabric store, who has known Grandma Georgiana for years. Mary Ann, however, wants to move back North. So, she travels to New York City to get settled. Jackie and her siblings stay on with their grandparents, relishing the time they have with them, until Mary Ann comes to retrieve her children, with a brand new baby boy named Roman in town. They move in with Mary Ann's sister Caroline Irby (Aunt Kay) Aunt Kay dies and the family of five is left alone.
In New York, Jackie becomes best friends with a Puerto Rican girl named Maria. She also decides that she wants to become a writer. Each summer, Jackie and her siblings return to South Carolina to visit their grandparents. However, each time finds Grandpa Gunnar, a heavy smoker, sicker and sicker. Mary Ann's brother gets sent to prison after getting in trouble with the police and returns as a Muslim. About the same time, Jackie and Maria start to love Angela Davis of the Black Panther movement. They imitate Angela, though they have no real idea about the revolution in which she is involved. Grandpa Gunnar ultimately dies of cancer, and Grandma Georgiana moves up to New York to be with Mary Ann and the grandchildren.
References
- ↑ "Newbery Medal and Honor Books". Association for Library Service to Children. 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ↑ "2014 National Book Awards". National Book Foundation. February 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ↑ "Jacqueline Woodson Wins NAACP Image Award For Outstanding Literary Work For YA Brown Girl Dreaming". HelloBeautiful.com. February 9, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2015.