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Tuesday, March 24, 2015

A Story of a Different Shape


I'm over halfway through Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. I've been able to do a lot of reading while my kids play at the park. I love sitting in the car outside the little neighborhood school down the road while my kids play and I read. Win win! Normally I am a slow to start reader who goes fast through the rest of a book. I think a lot of people are like this. But this book is different. I am reading it really slow. I am soaking it up. Marinating in the words. I'm taking my time. Reading each verse as though it were the only verse in the story, but connecting them as I go. There are so many parts that I love and on Thursday I get to share some of those parts with some third graders. A class at my school recently read a Time For Kids magazine that talked about the book and I believe had a short interview with Woodson. One of their questions was, "How can you write a whole book in verse?" I thought this was a good question and one I would love to talk to students about, however, my kindergartners aren't quite ready to talk about a book of this breadth. We'll see how the third graders do. I am excited to share portions of this story with them and talk about how verse can tell a beautiful story. It may be shaped a little differently, but a story definitely emerges.  

On another note, my sister recently began writing on Tuesday's for SOL. She is an amazing writer and it would be minutes well spent if you have time to spare to go read her post today. It is a beauty. Click here

6 comments:

  1. I have only read this book once and I went through it quickly. Now, I want to reread it and like you said, marinate in the words. So many good things to mark and think about on much deeper level. It would be fun to see a third graders perspective on it.

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  2. I loved "Brown Girl Dreaming" and your post makes me want to read it all over again. I have many favorite pages and lines marked. I have not used it with my third graders but now I will need to rethink this. I have used another verse novel that is perfect for third grade and maybe your are familiar with it already, "Words with Wings," by Nikki Grimes. I promise you, if you have not read it, you will love it. I think you could even use some of the poems with K-1 students. Have fun working with the BIG kids!

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  3. I loved "Brown Girl Dreaming" and your post makes me want to read it all over again. I have many favorite pages and lines marked. I have not used it with my third graders but now I will need to rethink this. I have used another verse novel that is perfect for third grade and maybe your are familiar with it already, "Words with Wings," by Nikki Grimes. I promise you, if you have not read it, you will love it. I think you could even use some of the poems with K-1 students. Have fun working with the BIG kids!

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  4. Brown Girl Dreaming is as amazing as Jacqueline Woodson herself! It IS her! I love the way this book is so many genres, so many points of view, yet all wrapped up in an AWARD-WINNING book! Jennifer Sniadecki

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  5. I loved this book and need to find a class to share it with. So many things to talk about with kids. Have fun with the third graders.

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  6. This book has been officially added to my summer reading list! Summer sounds like the perfect time to marinade myself in beautiful words. :)

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Thanks for the comment love!