Rating: 
Summary: Not Very Good. . .
Review: I don't like books like this and the only reason I read it was because I had to for our "multi-cultural" unit of Literature Class. I didn't know what was going on half the time, but some of it wasn't the books fault. Our teacher only let us read the "important parts" and had to staple together three chapters because they were "inappropriate." Basically, this whole book tell's about Maya's hard and traumatic childhood. I'm real sorry for her, I really am, but I really don't want to read 200+ pages about it, simply because I frankly didn't care. It seems like the school expects us to like these books just because they're written by people of different races and they're semi-true. I do not like them and hope you don't ever have to read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
Review: Maya Angelou's autobiographical narrative, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, was a major eye-opener for me, a high school sophomore. It frankly depicts her life as a southern, black child. The story begins as she is sent, at the age of four, to live with her strict and very religious grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas. After she leaves to go live with her mother in St. Louis, she bluntly describes the events in which she was molested and raped by her mother's live-in boyfriend when she was eight. The novel continues to include all of the important events in her early life such as: her move back to Stamps, the move to California, the beginning of World War II, and giving birth to her son at age sixteen. Throughout the novel she constantly compares herself to her brother, whom she considers beautiful. The book mentions many popular novels including The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Jane Eyre and also the authors Edgar Allan Poe and William Shakespeare. I enjoyed this book because it made me apprciate my life as a middle-class, white girl.
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Summary: Undersatndings of the book " I Know Why The Caged Bird Sing
Review: My understandings of the book are that she was a little girl when her parents send her to her grandmother's house at Stamps Arkansas at the age fo four where shegrew up being molested because of raciscm, and all the things that she went throughout with out a desire , were so terrible like for example her unlove from her father what i mean is that her father made a difference between her brother Bailey and her, when they first met again.Then her pregnancy an undesire pregnancy, she just decided to bed with a guy just to find out if she realy was a lesbian or not.
Rating: 
Summary: The early years of Maya Angelou
Review: "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," by Maya Angelou, is the first volume in this author's extraordinary series of autobiographical narratives. "I Know..." begins with her childhood and takes us into her young womanhood. This book has, since its publication, become a beloved contemporary classic of African-American literature.After their parents' separation, young Marguerite (her given name) and her brother, Bailey, are sent to live with their strong-willed grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas, deep in the segregated South. Angelou also describes her time spent with her other grandmother in St. Louis, as well as her young adulthood in San Francisco. The overall time period of the book overlaps that of World War II. "I Know..." offers important insights into the world of racial segregation, and painfully records the toll taken by racism in its various forms. Also powerful and important is Angelou's recollection of surviving a brutal sexual assault when she was a child. Angelou recalls vividly the authors who made an impact on her during her childhood and young adulthood: James Weldon Johnson, Edgar Allan Poe, William Shakespeare, and others. The book concludes with her sexual awakening as a young woman. "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" is an American classic which has lost none of its power in the 30 years since it first appeared. Angelou's prose is direct and personal, and marked with passages of wit and beauty. For scholars of African-American literature, women's studies, or literary autobiography, this is an essential volume.
Rating:
Summary: I know why the caged bird sings
Review: I wonder if this book credits poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar who wrote the poem titled "Sympathy" which contains the phrase "I know why the caged bird sings". For those who have not read the poem that Maya Angelou refers to I would highly recommend it.
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Summary: Parents Beware
Review: Although the writing in this book is wonderful, parents of high school students need to be aware that Ms. Angelou is raped at age 8 and has very graphically described it. .... That's why I'm writing, so you will know that despite the good there is in this book, it is certainly for a mature audience.
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Summary: An Experience
Review: I've never been so moved by a book. But Mayas description of her grade school graduation in Arkansa in 1940 is so well and eloquently recounted and is to me the most moving chapter in the book; for it marks a turning point which also brings about an appreciation of the suffering of her race. The Black Pride Movement (If there is still one)can draw inspiration from this book.
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Summary: Maya's Eyes
Review: This book is incredible! It represents a part of the author's life that she feels is her growing process. Maya Angelou, a tenderhearted, merciful, insecure black girl in a white world, explains her daily struggles and lessons that she must go through. The part that held my attention the most would have to be when Maya was raped. After moving to St. Louis with her mother, Maya and her brother, Bailey Jr., were in heaven. They couldn't be happier. Maya's mother was dating a man by the name of Mr. Freeman. During those times everyone had to help out, so Mr. Freeman watched the children during the day while their mother was at work. When no one else was around, Mr. Freeman started sexually abusing Maya. At first she didn't know what to think. She just thought it was a way to show his love. Eventually, after she was raped, she figured out that what Mr. Freeman was doing was not right. Because Maya liked it the first time, thinking it was his sign of affection, she felt guilty and believed it to be her fault. This was the cause of many of her social problems later in life. Many people can relate to the various situations she endures, and if they cannot, they still feel a sort of bond. From this book an involved reader could learn about life conscious topics they perhaps did not know before, such as racism, rape, blending families, a dysfunctional home, etc. The readers have a clear view of the world through Maya's eyes. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about life.
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Summary: change and growth is good
Review: After reading this novel, I have decided that Maya is a very strong person, and she has made me realize that all of life is just passing time. Everyone goes through various stages, and the older a person lives to be, the more they have to look foward too. Maya also reminded me to motivate myself. Her strong character is well represented by the end of this book, and today she is widely recognized as an important figure to black womanhood. I recommend for everyone to read it, just for the experience, cause living life is about experiencing things.
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Summary: Maya- a woman of change
Review: This classical story depicts Maya throughout her youth, and it shows how tough it was for a black girl to grow up in the South. By reading this novel, I developed a tremendous respect for Angelou's work, and she has involuntarily encouraged me to keep trying to learn more about myself and the world.
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