Renee Watson Focus by Brielle Meskin https://padlet.com/bmeskin/eo3zke9s7tqs Text Set Assignment: YA Literature en-us 2019-01-30 23:40:47 UTC 2025-03-16 23:35:22 UTC hello@padlet.com Author: Renee Watson bmeskin https://padlet.com/bmeskin/eo3zke9s7tqs/wish/326085028 Renee Watson is a Portland, OR native who mainly write young adult fiction. Watson enjoys writing about her experience growing up black in Portland and many of her works center around her upbringing. She has a background in poetry and teaching theater, she often describes herself as a teaching artist. Watson's works typically involve themes and plots surrounding relevant topics such as race, culture clashes, coming of age, gentrification, female body issues and overcoming adversity. Watson currently resides in New York City and continues to write today. 

]]> 2019-01-30 23:41:12 UTC https://padlet.com/bmeskin/eo3zke9s7tqs/wish/326085028 Watson’s books are contemporary works of literature and focus on relevant issues pertaining to American culture, especially the experience of being black in America.This Side of Home focuses on two black twin teenagers living in a racially and culturally changing Portland, OR. The book centers on the twins whose parents are pillars in their community, which was predominantly black, and how the narrator, Maya, is conflicted with the gentrification process taking place on her street. The twins’ best friend is Essence, and her alcoholic mother are forced to leave their apartment to make way for higher paying white families coming into the neighborhood. Maya and her sister are twins, yet have differing opinions of what is happening to their neighborhood. Maya is holding strong to her black roots, while her sister Nikki is open to the change surrounding them. When a white family moves into Essence’s old house, Maya is surprised to find herself falling in love with Tony who attends her school. Nikki becomes best friends with Kate, Tony’s sister much to Maya’s dismay. The book navigates Maya’s struggle with her black identity amongst the changing faces of her school and neighborhood, while allowing herself to branch out of her comfort zone to discover love even though the face of what she thought she wanted may not be what she expected. bmeskin https://padlet.com/bmeskin/eo3zke9s7tqs/wish/332051860 2019-02-17 00:14:16 UTC https://padlet.com/bmeskin/eo3zke9s7tqs/wish/332051860 Piecing Me Together takes place in Portland, OR and the story is narrated by Jade an overachieving black teenager attending a mostly white private school on scholarship in downtown Portland. Jade lives in the predominantly black neighborhood of St. Johns and considers herself an outsider in her school environment. The story follows her journey of piecing her identity together and searching for that just right place where she feels comfortable in her own skin. Jade’s reality of living in a world where police brutality is common, and people of her status are seen as a project frustrates Jade endlessly. When she is volunteered for a female black mentoring program, she is paired with Maxine an alumnist of her school. Jade immediately recognizes her experience as a black woman to be vastly different from her mentor who is described as an “Oreo.” Oreo is a derogatory name for someone who is black on the outside and white inside. The reader journeys with Jade while she advocates for herself and fights to not be seen as the poor black girl from the bad side of town who needs her hand held every step of the way. bmeskin https://padlet.com/bmeskin/eo3zke9s7tqs/wish/332053657 2019-02-17 00:44:14 UTC https://padlet.com/bmeskin/eo3zke9s7tqs/wish/332053657 Black Like Me bmeskin https://padlet.com/bmeskin/eo3zke9s7tqs/wish/332054176 Black Like Me is an article from Rethinking Schools, a personal narrative recounting Watson’s experiences growing up black in the Portland Public School system. She attended during the time when PPS began busing black students to white parts of town to integrate students. She describes her experience not only looking different because of her skin, but also because of her body type. Watson recalls how people treated her differently and how their preconceptions created many obstacles while building relationships, “Being seen—truly seen—is to feel that all parts of who I am are recognized not as compartmentalized pieces of myself, but blended truths of my identity. So when my white friends told me they didn’t see me as a black girl that meant they didn’t see me. When white teachers seemed shocked to hear me speak black vernacular in the hallway with my friends when I “spoke so well in class,” what they didn’t understand is that code-switching came natural to me—I talked both ways and I wasn’t trying to fit in with my friends or impress my teachers. I was being myself.” The article then transitions into a poem articulating her experiences of how her teachers and peers viewed her and the impact on her psyche. ]]> 2019-02-17 00:52:23 UTC https://padlet.com/bmeskin/eo3zke9s7tqs/wish/332054176 Interview with Watson bmeskin https://padlet.com/bmeskin/eo3zke9s7tqs/wish/332055287 Watson participated in an interview with Pine Manor College in 2010 in which she reveals why she is motivated to write for young people and how her influence as an educator has been shaped because of her experiences. “I very much feel inspired to write for children because, as Rudine Sims Bishop so poignantly said, children need both mirror and window books—books where they can see themselves in the pages, books that open up a new world to them.” Watson walks readers through her process for character development, and how her personal life drives her to be a voice other outcasts can identify with and possibly uncover to them they are not outcasts like they may think they are. Watson suggests MFA writing students to watch Chimamanda Adichie’s TED talk, “The Danger of a Single Story.”]]> 2019-02-17 01:10:44 UTC https://padlet.com/bmeskin/eo3zke9s7tqs/wish/332055287 The Odds and Age Range... bmeskin https://padlet.com/bmeskin/eo3zke9s7tqs/wish/332056442 In my opinion, the odds are split 50-50 in regards to students reading her texts inside and outside of the classroom. I find her writing to be very effortless, but poignant which makes it accessible to readers ages 15-21.  Watson’s gift for articulating her experiences in simple language makes her writing approachable and easy to digest although the topics are heavy at times. Teachers can fill in the gaps about social structures in which she refers to if students are not acquainted with the realities she lives in.  The structures of her books are linear and the vocabulary is appropriate for teenage American students to comprehend, and the real strengths of her books lie in the dialogues she sets up for classrooms. Her characters are searching for their identity, where they belong, how they belong in this world...in an article by Caskey and Anfara, they cite from research by Scales, "Research suggests distinctive characteristics of young adolescents with regard to their physical, cognitive, moral, psychological, and social-emotional development, as well as spiritual development (Scales, 2010)." From the books I read, Watson's narrators are constantly grappling with the development of their moral compass which is a developmentally appropriate topic for readers ages 15-21. Not only are her books intriguing, they are relatable through many lenses which makes great reading for in and out of the classroom! ]]> 2019-02-17 01:30:59 UTC https://padlet.com/bmeskin/eo3zke9s7tqs/wish/332056442 Oh the awards and accolades for Watson! bmeskin https://padlet.com/bmeskin/eo3zke9s7tqs/wish/332162365 *NY Times Best Selling Author
One of the nation's leading newspapers best seller lists which is a preeminent compilation of the nation's best selling books.
*Coretta Scott King Award
Annual award given to exceptional African American authors and illustrators which exhibit regard for US culture and human values.
*Newbery Honor
prestigious award for authors contributions to children's literature in the US.
*NAACP Image Award nomination in children’s literature
Award nomination for NAACP recognized literary superstars since 1998.]]> 2019-02-17 20:33:59 UTC https://padlet.com/bmeskin/eo3zke9s7tqs/wish/332162365 References bmeskin https://padlet.com/bmeskin/eo3zke9s7tqs/wish/332164487 Caskey, M. M., & Ruben, B. (2007). Under construction: The young adolescent brain. In S. B. Mertens, V. A. Anfara, Jr., & M. M. Caskey (Eds.), The young adolescent and the middle school (pp. 47-72). Charlotte, NC: Information Age.

Scales, P. C. (2010). Characteristics of young adolescents. In This we believe: Keys to educating young adolescents (pp. 63-62). Westerville, OH: National Middle School Association.

Strattman, J. (2010). Interview with renee watson. http://www.pmc.edu/interview-with-renee-watson

Watson, R. (2014). Black like me. https://www.rethinkingschools.org/articles/black-like-me

Watson, R. (2017). Piecing me together. NY, NY: Bloomsbury.

Watson, R. (2015). This side of home. NY, NY: Bloomsbury.]]> 2019-02-17 20:49:49 UTC https://padlet.com/bmeskin/eo3zke9s7tqs/wish/332164487