I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

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Author(s)

Maya Angelou

Publisher

Bantam Doubleday Dell

Genre(s)

Poetry

Age Range

12+

Release Date

May 01, 1983

ISBN

0553279378

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A phenomenal #1 bestseller that has appeared on the New York Times bestseller list for nearly three years, this memoir traces Maya Angelou's childhood in a small, rural community during the 1930s. Filled with images and recollections that point to the dignity and courage of black men and women, Angelou paints a sometimes disquieting, but always affecting picture of the people—and the times—that touched her life.

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Horrifyingly truthful

June 26, 2005 (Updated: June 06, 2026)

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Reader reviewed by Emily

My English class read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings our sophomore year of high school, which I think was an appropriate level for the book. Based on the author's childhood and young adulthood, Maya Angelou's novel illustrates the life of an African American girl in the pre-civil rights American south. Filled with heart-wrenching anecdotes about discrimination, fear, and confusion, and dotted with the occasional happy ending, Angelou's tale successfully paints a picture of the horrid combination of puberty and racism. It's an eye-opening novel that won't leave you smiling, but is worth reading all the more so as a result.

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