[1] It tells the story of the author’s early childhood life growing up as an African American girl in the 1960’s and depicts the events that led her to become a writer.

Brown Girl Dreaming is considered to belong in the category of children’s middle-grade literature, and it is also classified as a memoir since the content directly relates to real events that happened in the author’s life.

[1] Another scholar Giselle Anatol made the argument that the book could be considered as a work of modern gothic fiction, due to the presence of ghosts in the form of her departed family members throughout the novel.

[4] Woodson herself commented on the form of the book as a collection of poems in an interview, stating that her intention behind this choice was to make poetry more “‘accessible” to all readers regardless of ability.

Jackie comes to know the days of the week because of the religious activities that take place on each one, such as Bible Study on Mondays and Tuesdays, and Ministry School on Thursdays.

The children acclimate to the South and the cultural tendencies, but their mother is wary of them becoming "too Southern" and corrects their form of speech whenever they say things like "y'all" or "aint" because it reminds her of the subservient role Blacks were forced into due to slavery.

The family also makes trips to South Carolina to visit her grandparents, but each time they go back Grandpa Gunnar's health deteriorates due to lung cancer.

[4] The author notes how Woodson sometimes “repurposes” lines of poetry from Hughes to track her own experience as an aspiring writer and eventual poet, which shows the importance of the “practice of influence” for creative projects.

[4] In another paper written by Howard focusing solely on Brown Girl Dreaming, she calls this collection of paratextual elements the “collage effect”.

[8][9][10] Ross Collin advocated for the use of the book in an educational setting because the content helps to expand students' “moral worldview” when it comes to considering ethical questions of behavior when religious beliefs impact these actions.

[9] Rabia Arif highlights the memoir as a reminder of the “simplicity of childhood dreams” while also tackling challenging topics such as issues of race and loss.