Jacqueline Woodson takes readers through her childhood growing up during the civil rights era in both the South and the North. Born in Ohio, Woodson's parents split up just after her first birthday and her mother moves her and her siblings to South Carolina with her grandparents. Her mother leaves the children with their grandparents while she moves to Brooklyn to make a life for them there. Woodson grows very close to her grandparents and is nearly devastated when her mother finally comes to take them up to Brooklyn just before Woodson starts first grade. Woodson must adapt to life in the city and without her beloved grandparents. She has a new baby brother, new Puerto Rican friend, and a growing love for writing.
When I read this book, I tagged many of the chapters' free verse poem because they connect with some of the novels my sixth graders read, particularly One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia. The references to the racial tensions and lifestyle of the South, the relationship between Woodson and her sister as well as her mother reminds me a lot of Delphine's story. Fifth or sixth grade teachers should certainly add this book into the curriculum to support standards relating to literary nonfiction, theme, connections, and thematic links. Havighurst's task dealing with changing relationships with parents is exemplified in this book because Woodson is separated from at different times from her father (via divorce), mother (when Mom goes to Brooklyn), and grandparents (when Woodson moves to Brokolyn). She must learn to negotiate this fluctuating authority figures in her life.
No comments:
Post a Comment