Bradberry Youth & Experience Design Lab Texas A&M University • Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences aglifesciences.tamu.edu/byedl

Jacqueline Woodson: An Author Worth Pursuing

I just finished reading Jacqueline Woodson’s (2014). What a discovery. Writing in free verse, the book starts with her 1963 birth in Ohio during the civil rights movement, when America is “a country caught between Black and White.” While she evokes names of some of the great civil rights icons, such as Malcolm, Martin, James, Rosa and Ruby, Woodson’s story is also one of family. Born in Ohio, her mother leaves her husband and moves the family to be with “her people” in South Carolina. There she lives in the world of the segregated south, with all its rules for how black people are to behave in a white controlled society (e.g., no direct eye with White people; move off the sidewalk when encountering a White person; not eating at the Woolworth’s lunch counter). Within a few years, Jacqueline’s mother moved the family to , where the rules and lifestyle were again different. While Brown Girl Dreaming was intended for young readers, my interest in stories of people’s lives made the book a page-turner and compelling. Some reviewers have said that readers will memorize their favorite verses and compare the stories to their own lives, no matter how similar or different to their own experiences growing up. Woodson seems to cherish her memories and shares her vignettes of country and city streets so that they will linger in our thoughts long after we have finished reading the book. Woodson is the winner of the 2018 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world's largest prize for children's writing ($600K!). She has written more than 30 books, most of which focus on teens making the transition from childhood to adult life. According to the Lindgren Award jury: "Jacqueline Woodson introduces us to resilient young people fighting to find a place where their lives can take root. In language as light as air, she tells stories of resounding richness and depth. Jacqueline Woodson captures a unique poetic note in a daily reality divided between sorrow and hope." Previously Woodson also has received the 2018 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, 2014 , multiple Coretta Scott King Awards, multiple Newbery Honors, the NAACP Image Award, and a Sibert Honor. In 2015, she was named the Young People’s Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation. Woodson is known for the detailed physical landscapes she writes into each of her books. She places boundaries everywhere—social, economic, physical, sexual, racial—then has her characters break through both the physical and psychological boundaries to create a strong and emotional story. She is also known for her optimism. She has said that she dislikes books that do not offer hope. She has been vocal about the need for more diversity in books to introduce young people to writers, characters and themes that might be unfamiliar. (http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/fiction/10747-another-brooklyn-woodson?showall=1). Woodson also writes books for adults, with her recent being a National Book Award finalist. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York. For those interested in youth and societal issues, Woodson’s books offer a diverse array of subjects. Her books also deal with issues of class, race, family ties, and history. According to reviewers, she places her characters into realistic situations, through which they search for self-identify. Woodson noted in an NPR Interview, "I'm writing about adolescents for adolescents. And I think the main difference is when you're writing to a particular age group, especially a younger age group, the writing can't be as implicit. You're more in the moment. They don't have the adult experience from which to look back. So you're in the moment of being an adolescent...and the immediacy and the urgency is very much on the page, because that's what it feels like to be an adolescent. Everything is so important, so big, so traumatic. And all of that has to be in place for them." So, like me, if you have not already, discovered the world of Jacqueline Woodson, you, and your children, have a treat in store for you. I can’t wait to read more of Woodson’s writings.

Reviewed by Peter A. Witt, Professor Emeritus, Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Sciences, Texas A&M University.