Question

NO LINKS (If I get a link, I will fill you sinuses with urine)

In Brown Girl Dreaming, how does the poet feel about the rain in Greenville? How does her use of imagery show you her feelings?
You may use the following paragraph stem to help you create your constructed response:

In Brown Girl Dreaming, the speaker feels____________________________about the rain in Greenville. She expresses this through imagery by using words and phrases such as______________________________ and _______________________________ which conveys that she _________________________________. In contrast, she feels_________________________________about the Brooklyn Rain because she says_____________________________________________.

Answer 1

Discussion Questions

1. Brown Girl Dreaming is an award winning memoir written in verse. Do you enjoy this format for an autobiography? Even though each chapter/ verse is short, do you feel that you got a good sense of the setting or mo ment that the author was trying to convey?

2. Jacqueline shares her childhood experiences amidst the backdrop of the Civil Rights movement. What role does history play in this book? What can we learn from this first-person perspective of American history?

3. In what ways does Woodson manipulate words, phrasing, and white

space in her writing? How does this influence your reading of the book?

4. How does Jacqueline Woodson come to find herself, as told in Brown

Girl Dreaming?

5. What and/or who are the strongest influences on Jacqueline's identity? How do they help her find her voice?

6. An important theme in the book is family. What does it mean to Jac

queline? What does it mean to you?

7. Brown Girl Dreaming was the 2014 National Book Award winner for Young People's Literature, a 2014 Coretta Scott King Award winner, and a 2014 Newbery Honor Book, along with many other impressive reviews and awards. What do you makes this book special?

8. Jacqueline Woodson is a major voice in the campaign for more publi cation of diverse books. In light of the We Need Diverse Books campaign, do you feel Brown Girl Dreaming is a book that promotes diversity and if so, why?

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9. What types of discussions do you think the author was hoping to inspire with this book? Why did she give the book this title? What does it say about her? What does it say about the world?