"Brown Girl Dreaming" is the autobiography of author Jacqueline Woodson written in free verse. The story follows from the time she was born to around the time she was 12 years old living in New York. The story features what it was like to be an African-American girl with divorced parents in the late '60s and '70s. The story is one featuring a strong female character. I would use this book in my classroom as a mentor text for poetry or for a book group. I would use this book for older elementary/middle school (4th and up) as it sometimes deals with harder concepts such as racism and death. Also, the word choice is more advanced. I recommend this book to every teacher.