A review by crystal_reading
Poetry for Young People: Maya Angelou by Maya Angelou

4.0

Some wonderful poetry in this short book. There is a great biography at the beginning and usually there are introductions before the poems to help give the reader some context. That was sometimes annoying to me, but for a young reader, that may be helpful. I liked that there were definitions for the reader at the bottom of the poem, but the introductions weren't always necessary and could be distracting.

They start the collection out with "Little Girl Speakings" which is a great choice because it has a unique voice and is so rhythmic. Young readers can have fun with it and the next one too "Life Doesn't Frighten Me."

I loved these lines from "Woman Work"

Shine on me, sunshine
Rain on me, rain
Fall softly, dewdrops
And cool my brow again.

I wondered what they would do with "Still I Rise." They left out the whole stanza that begins, "Does my sexiness upset you?" That made me wonder what other changes or omissions might there be. I would like it better if when they left out a section or started a poem in the middle that it would have said "from Still I Rise" rather than just having the title at the top of the page. Readers will believe that they know a poem and they only know part of it. That said, I am still glad to have a collection of her poems in my library.