Still I Rise: The Biography of Maya Angelou (HeRose and

Still I Rise: The Biography of Maya Angelou (HeRose and SheRose Book 1)

Unlike other books about Maya Angelou written for middle and high school students, this short book about Maya Angelou also includes

â€¢A vocabulary builder
â€¢Ten thought-provoking review questions

This life history of Maya Angelou is an ideal resource for

â€¢Book reports
â€¢Homeschooling

More than just presenting interesting facts about the life of Maya Angelou, teachers and parents will also find the subject matter and easy-to-read and understand style appropriate for

â€¢Literacy programs
â€¢Reading comprehension

Life for Maya Angelou as a kid was hard and confusing. Her parents ended their marriage when she was three-years-old. Neither of them wanted to raise their kids so they put Maya and her older brother on a train headed east out of California.

They ended up living with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. Momma, as Maya called her, was a strong Christian woman who owned a general store.

Despite her love for her grandmother, Maya was confused by her parents sending her away. She felt unwanted by them and cried a lot.

What had she done to make them get rid of her?

Maya began to feel at home in Stamps. She even got used to the racism and prejudice, although it confused and hurt her. Sometimes she wished that she had blonde hair and blue eyes and all of the beautiful clothes that the white girls had.
At the age of seven, the life of Maya Angelou changed again.

Her father arrived unannounced. He packed Maya and her brother in his big, shiny car and left Momma standing there, crying in the dust.

Maya thought they were going back to California to live with their father. But he dropped them off at their motherâ€™s apartment in St. Louis, Missouri instead.

Maya Angelouâ€™s mom was beautiful. She liked to wear lipstick and fancy clothes. A nurse by trade, she made most of her money as a gambler. And she had lots of boyfriends, some of whom stayed overnight.

At the tender age of eight, one of her mother's boyfriends raped Maya. Scared and confused, she quit talking to anybody but her brother. Her mother sent her back to Stamps.

Maya threw herself into school. She studied hard and soon rose to the top of her class. She finished eighth grade at age 12.

Shortly after that, Maya found herself travelling to San Francisco to live with her mother again. Maya continued to do well in school and graduated high school at age 16.

That same year, she started experimenting with sex. At 16, she had a son.

Maya turned to prostitution to support her son and to drugs to hide her shame.

For the next few years, Maya drifted from one job to the next. She wanted to be a good mother to her young son. She began dancing in bars and clubs, and then landed a chance to perform in a touring group.

In the late 1950â€™s Maya moved to New York City, where she worked as a dancer and actress. Meeting with a writerâ€™s group in Harlem, Maya soon began writing stories, poems and essays.

But when she became involved in the Civil Rights Movement with Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., the life of Maya Angelou changed forever.

Purchase this book about Maya Angelou to learn how she rose above her humble and troubled beginnings to become America's Poet Laureate.
Country USA
Manufacturer William Gladden Foundation Press
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2014-06-23
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	William Gladden Foundation Press
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2014-06-23
Format	Kindle eBook

Still I Rise: The Biography of Maya Angelou (HeRose and SheRose Book 1)

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