MAYA ANGELOU FINDS HER VOICE

A beloved writer overcomes childhood trauma.

When Maya Angelou was a little girl, she loved words: their sounds, their rhythms, the lyrics of songs. She especially adored Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poetry. At age 8, she suffered a devastating assault—referred to here as an attack and “painful trauma”—and believed that her words were later responsible for the death of the person responsible. For years, she read and listened but spoke aloud only to her older brother, Bailey. Finally, a neighbor, Mrs. Beulah Flowers, insisted that Maya carry her groceries home. Mrs. Flowers read to Maya from A Tale of Two Cities when the two reached her home. Maya admired Mrs. Flowers, and her words of encouragement and her “melodic voice” inspired her to begin speaking again. Mrs. Flowers also provided a book of poetry and asked Maya to memorize one to recite on her next visit. Connie and Peter Roop share a powerful episode from the early life of a heralded writer, speaker, and teacher. Their in-depth research—detailed in an authors’ note—results in a telling that emphasizes the loving family and community that nourished Maya despite the harsh reality of segregated Arkansas. Denmon’s elegantly constructed, earth-toned digital art supports this engaging story; the words in the illustrations speak to their importance to Maya.

Uplifting narrative and images demonstrate how pain can be healed through love and literary expression.