How do you make something out of your life? How can you overcome abuse, poverty, or whatever form the darkness takes in your world? Can you only succeed, be somebody, if you come out of safe and perfect?
Maya Angelou's biography answers those questions. This is the story of a little girl and her brother who are shuttled from home to home, from North to South, from safe to dangerous.
Maya was abused by her mother's boyfriend (in this book the abuse is referred to as being "hurt" by someone) when she was a young girl. For 6 years after that she chose not to speak.
As she grew older, she chose to move beyond her fears and to let her powerful voice be heard. She became the poet of the people.
This is her journey. This is her story. Vibrant, rich, poignant and full of the courage she prized so highly. Maya's grandson, Colin Johnson, says in his foreword, that Maya believed "courage started with the simplicity of realizing there are no monsters under the bed."
Her voice, her strength, her courage shared here, maybe be the wings that empower and lift many children who could use a little help to rise. They can see themselves in her and really "get" that they are perfect in themselves no matter how dark the world is around them.
48 pages 978-1620145876 Ages 7-11
Keywords: biography, African American, poet, social activist, courage, overcoming adversity, grit, resilience, Character Building Curriculum, racism, sexual abuse, finding yourself, prejudice, finding your voice, 7 year old, 8 year old, 9 year old, 10 year old, 11 year old
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In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, this beautiful biography of Maya Angelou describes how she rose above a childhood of trauma and emotional pain to become one of the most inspiring voices of our lifetime.
Writer, activist, trolley car conductor, dancer, mother, and humanitarianMaya Angelou's life was marked by transformation and perseverance. In this comprehensive picture-book biography geared towards older readers, Bethany Hegedus lyrically traces Maya's life from her early days in Stamps, Arkansas through her work as a freedom fighter to her triumphant rise as a poet of the people.
A foreword by Angelou's grandson, Colin A. Johnson, describes how a love of literature and poetry helped young Maya overcome childhood trauma and turn adversity into triumph. Coupled with Tonya Engel's metaphorical and emotive illustrations, this biography beautifully conveys the heartaches and successes of this truly phenomenal woman, and is a powerful tribute to the written word.---from the publisher
