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Table of Contents
About The Book
Maya Angelou loves words. She whispers, “caterpillar green,” just to paint the color in her mind. Her tongue played with “pandemonium” to enjoy its rhythm. She sings the Negro national anthem and recites the poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar. Words whirl and stories spin in Maya’s head and off her lips, helping her escape her troubled, segregated world and soothe her soul.
Then, suddenly, eight-year-old Maya stops talking. She believes her words hurt somebody and now only deems them safe to share with her brother. Her family does what they can even as they get worried and frustrated, but it isn’t until years later that someone opens Maya back up.
Mrs. Bertha Flowers, one of the most important citizens of Stamps, Arkansas, invites Maya to her home and talks to her about language and communication and reads to her from Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities. Maya is transported by the power and singularity of Mrs. Flower’s voice…and finally moved to inspire the world with her own.
About The Illustrator
Noa Denmon is a Pittsburgh-based artist and illustrator who has worked with clients such as The New York Times and The Washington Post. She is interested in movement and patterns, and she is heavily influenced by the industrial landscape of Pittsburgh and how it contributes to her identity. Much of her artwork is decades-based; she was heavily inspired by Diana Ross, Cher, and David Bowie. Today, she works to bring these bright colors and patterns into stories uplifting the underrepresented; she hopes to create work that displays humanity and all its differences.
Product Details
- Publisher: Aladdin (January 7, 2025)
- Length: 40 pages
- ISBN13: 9781481449281
- Ages: 4 - 8
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Raves and Reviews
"Denmon’s elegantly constructed, earth-toned digital art supports this engaging story...Uplifting narrative and images demonstrate how pain can be healed through love and literary expression."
– Kirkus Reviews
"Denmon’s gossamer drawings of formerly caged birds foretell the figure’s literary journey, leading to a fanciful spread in which Angelou flies, floats, and glides along a sun-drenched tableau of words."
– Publishers Weekly
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High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): Maya Angelou Finds Her Voice Fixed Layout eBook 9781481449281
- Author Photo (jpg): Connie Roop Jake Burrow(0.1 MB)
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- Author Photo (jpg): Peter Roop Jake Burrow(0.1 MB)
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