Maya Angelou: Journey of the Heart (Rainbow Biography)
Grade 5-8?This interestingly told account begins on the steps of the Capitol Building in 1993, as Angelou recites her inaugural poem, "On the Pulse of the Morning." Drawn from her subject's autobiographies, Pettit then details the childhood journeys of Marguerite Johnson and her brother from California to their grandmother's home in Stamps, AR; to their mother's hometown of St. Louis, MO; back to Stamps; and then, following their mother's remarriage, to San Francisco. During these first 17 years of Angelou's life (which account for half of the text), readers learn of her rape at age 8 and the subsequent murder of her assailant, her ensuing silence, and her teenage pregnancy and single motherhood. These events are told in a straightforward but compassionate way. The rest of the book is devoted to Angelou's professional development and achievements, as well as her personal relationships. The final chapter summarizes the past 30 years. Disappointingly, only a handful of black-and-white photographs are included. Nonetheless, this is a short, readable biography.?Marilyn Makowski, Greenwood High School, SCCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.