Brown Girl Dreaming

About this book

Jacqueline Woodson's National Book Award-winning memoir in verse tells the story of her childhood growing up in South Carolina and New York in the 1960s and 70s. A Newbery Honor book and frequently assigned in 5th-8th grade units on identity, memoir, and civil rights-era America.

Why widely assigned

This Memoir / Verse title, reads at young-adult to upper-middle-grade complexity, typically at grades 5–8. Written in the 2010s; pairs with curriculum units on identity and family; cited across 4 curriculum frameworks.

Where this book is assigned

• Common Core State Standards (ELA)

  • recommended·5th gradesource: CCSS ELA grades 4-5 verse-memoir Newbery Honor
  • recommended·5th grade · South Carolinasource: SC ELA grade 5 — SC-set memoir alignment
  • recommended·6th gradesource: CCSS ELA grades 6-8 civil rights memoir exemplar
  • recommended·6th grade · New Yorksource: NY Next Gen Standards grade 6 — Brooklyn-set memoir

• Coretta Scott King Author Award

  • recommended·5th gradesource: Coretta Scott King Author Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2015 CSK Author Award
  • recommended·6th gradesource: Coretta Scott King Author Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2015 CSK Author Award
  • recommended·7th gradesource: Coretta Scott King Author Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2015 CSK Author Award
  • recommended·8th gradesource: Coretta Scott King Author Award winners (American Library Association), via Wikipedia — 2015 CSK Author Award

• Great Stone Face Book Award

  • recommended·5th grade · New Hampshiresource: Children's Librarians of New Hampshire / NH Library Association — Great Stone Face Book Award (student-choice, grades 4-6; 20 nominees/year, annual since 1980). Winner + nominee rolls via the LibraryThing award/757 mirror of the official sponsor records.
  • recommended·6th grade · New Hampshiresource: Children's Librarians of New Hampshire / NH Library Association — Great Stone Face Book Award (student-choice, grades 4-6; 20 nominees/year, annual since 1980). Winner + nominee rolls via the LibraryThing award/757 mirror of the official sponsor records.
  • recommended·7th grade · New Hampshiresource: Children's Librarians of New Hampshire / NH Library Association — Great Stone Face Book Award (student-choice, grades 4-6; 20 nominees/year, annual since 1980). Winner + nominee rolls via the LibraryThing award/757 mirror of the official sponsor records.
  • recommended·8th grade · New Hampshiresource: Children's Librarians of New Hampshire / NH Library Association — Great Stone Face Book Award (student-choice, grades 4-6; 20 nominees/year, annual since 1980). Winner + nominee rolls via the LibraryThing award/757 mirror of the official sponsor records.

• National Book Award for Young People's Literature

  • recommended·5th gradesource: National Book Award for Young People's Literature winners (National Book Foundation), via Wikipedia — 2014 winner
  • recommended·6th gradesource: National Book Award for Young People's Literature winners (National Book Foundation), via Wikipedia — 2014 winner
  • recommended·7th gradesource: National Book Award for Young People's Literature winners (National Book Foundation), via Wikipedia — 2014 winner
  • recommended·8th gradesource: National Book Award for Young People's Literature winners (National Book Foundation), via Wikipedia — 2014 winner

Similar grade-level books

• 
  The Diary of a Young Girl
  Anne Frank · 1080L
• 
  The Giver
  Lois Lowry · 760L
• 
  The Outsiders
  S.E. Hinton · 750L
• 
  To Kill a Mockingbird
  Harper Lee · 870L

See all books like Brown Girl Dreaming→ — matched on theme + reading level.

Common questions

What grade level is Brown Girl Dreaming?

Brown Girl Dreaming is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 5–8, with a Lexile measure of 990L. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.

What is the Lexile level of Brown Girl Dreaming?

Brown Girl Dreaming has a Lexile measure of 990L according to MetaMetrics. Lexile measures text complexity, not content maturity — check the grade range and content notes separately for age-appropriateness.

How long does it take to read Brown Girl Dreaming?

It takes about 6h 25m to read Brown Girl Dreaming (352 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 385 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.

Is Brown Girl Dreaming hard to read for 5th grade?

At 990L, Brown Girl Dreaming falls within the typical 740–1010L text-complexity range for 5th grade (Common Core Appendix A) — a grade-appropriate reading challenge. Lexile measures text complexity, not thematic maturity — check the content notes for age-appropriateness separately.

What curricula assign Brown Girl Dreaming?

Brown Girl Dreaming appears on reading lists for Common Core State Standards (ELA), Coretta Scott King Author Award, Great Stone Face Book Award, and 1 others. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.