Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Poetry is a great way to tell a story, even a biography, the truth told in just the perfect number of words, no more, no less.
Jacqueline Woodson tells not only her own story but those of her parents and grandparents in a time of great change in America. From the days of slavery to feminism, trying not to forget all the old ways in the midst of gaining the new.
She writes wonderfully about learning to read, how much slower she was than her older sister, but how stories embedded themselves in her mind so she could tell them well before she could write them down, and there's a slowly growing ember of the desire to become a writer.
This book is a brilliant way for a child reader to develop empathy for those who struggle one way or another to make their way in life, but somehow do it all the same. 
The story of the author researching her own life story is briefly outlined at the end, and is a tribute to all those family members who came before her, who come together in the pages of this book to tell a very fine story. National Book Award winner.
9+
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (Nancy Paulsen Books / Penguin Group USA) ISBN 978-0-399-25251-8`