Brown Girl Dreaming
by Jacqueline Woodson
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson is assigned in US schools at grades 5–8, with a Lexile measure of 990L. It appears across 1 curriculum reference and 2 states, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.
This page shows where Brown Girl Dreaming is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.
- Lexile
- 990L
- Grade range
- Grades 5–8
- Difficulty for grade
- Within the grade 4–5 band (740–1010L)
- Age range
- Ages 10–14
- Pages
- 352
- Reading time
- about 6h 25m (est.)
- First published
- 2014
- Genre
- Memoir / Verse
- ISBN-13
- 9780147515827
Reading difficulty: 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.
Where to find this book
Other formats on Amazon: Kindle · Audiobook
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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 1 curriculum framework.
Content notes
racial segregation
Common Sense Media recommends age 10+.
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
Similar grade-level books
The OutsidersS.E. Hinton · 750L
The GiverLois Lowry · 760L
The Diary of a Young GirlAnne Frank · 1080L
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper 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). Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Why this book is on this list
Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.
- Lexile measure
- 990L — sourced from MetaMetrics’ Lexile Hub.
- Grade band
- Grades 5–8 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Cited in 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
- State-level evidence
- Cited in 2 states ELA frameworks or DOE list (see citations above).
- Removal / banning records
- No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- No seasonal or program-specific tags on this book.