Brown Girl Dreaming

As a member of the Kentucky Bluegrass Award panel, I've been asked to preview the latest by Jacqueline Woodson, Brown Girl Dreaming. I started it this week and have been working my way through slowly.  The poems are loaded with thoughts to peruse and historical events to consider.  I find it quite the challenge for middle school students.  With that said, I believe in challenging students.  Struggle brings about self-confidence.  Pride.  That's not always a bad thing.  Reading this book would be an accomplishment for many of my students.  I do have a few in mind who would be able to grasp Woodson's themes and wit.  So with that said, I would encourage you to pick up a copy.  Sit down with some time to read slowly.  Think about the time period, the setting, the characters experiences and how they mold their point of view.  And then read some of them again.  One poem I read five times before I felt like I truly understood what the author was trying to tell me.  Sometimes that happens to readers.  We get lazy and just become receivers of information.  We sit back and expect the author to spoon feed us everything we should know or feel.  And when they don't, we can feel frustrated.  We can quit reading.  We can say we don't "like" this book.  It wasn't a "good one".  Hmmmm.  Makes you wonder how many times you've done the same thing.  Makes me wonder as well.

Keep Reading the good stuff!
RC