I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780375507892)

Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou's debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.

Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local "powhitetrash." At eight years old and back at her mother's side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age--and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors ("I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare") will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.

Poetic and powerful, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will touch hearts and change minds for as long as people read.

"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings liberates the reader into life simply because Maya Angelou confronts her own life with such a moving wonder, such a luminous dignity."--James Baldwin

Author: Maya Angelou
ISBN-10: 0375507892
ISBN-13: 9780375507892
Publisher: Random House
Language: English
Published: 03/05/2002
Pages: 304
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.91lbs
Size: 8.57h x 5.75w x 1.09d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 6.7
Point Value: 13
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 8660 / I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings


Review Citation(s):
Entertainment Weekly 06/27/2014 pg. 22
Ebony 12/01/2014 pg. 30