Text to Connections, Mirror and Window Connections

Jaqueline Woodson crafted this book from the perspective of a young girl growing up in a different time frame. By creating the dialogue in this way, Woodson makes the story more personable so that the reader can feel a connection between the characters of the story. Woodson also allows you to sort of peer through the window of what it’s like for someone such as Sean, her brother who is deaf, and all the emotions that he is feeling as well as the things he is going through. The story may also mirror the feelings of what it’s like to be a new student in a different environment, where they might feel they don’t exactly fit in such as the experience with the Jesus boy who is the new white boy in a predominantly black school.  There might also be the connection of growing up or living on a different side of town or even a connection with Frannie’s mother who has gone through some struggles and hardships with not being able to carry some of her babies to full term, and losing one shortly after being born. There are many connections a reader might have with the story, which I think might be one of the reasons why it won a Newberry Medal.   I related to this book through multiple characters as well as the setting and environment, and for me it was an interesting read that kept me reading and left me wondering what happened after the book finished.