Assigned reading for MLIS 7421: Multicultural Youth Literature.

Brown Girl Dreaming is a nonfiction poetry memoir, which is a fascinating medium in and of itself, and Jacqueline Woodson wields it magnificently. The poetry is beautiful and descriptive, but succinct enough that even readers who don't enjoy lyrical writing could easily get lost in her storytelling.

She works through her life from the beginning, telling stories of her birth, her infant and toddler years, up through to when she was a preteen girl. Moving from Ohio to South Carolina, and then to New York with occasional trips to her grandparents' back in the south, she has a unique advantage of being able to describe how much racism varied from the north to the south in the 60s and 70s.

She tells stories of how desperately her parents wanted her and her siblings to speak properly, carry themselves with poise, and toe the line between respecting others and respecting one's self. The entire package is incredibly insightful into the dynamics of what it was to be a black child during the heart of the Civil Rights movement.