Review of Rise! From Caged Bird to Poet of the People, Maya Angelou

I was recently given an opportunity to review a book  for Multicultural Children’s Book Day. I was gifted the book by publisher  Lee and Low Books Inc.  The book is titled 'Rise : From Caged Bird to Poet of the People, Maya Angelou' and is authored by Bethany Hegedus and illustrated by Tonya Engel. 

Maya Angelou and her inspirational quotes have always intrigued me from my childhood. While I was familiar with a lot of the motivational messages she had for the world, this beautiful book opened my eyes to many more aspects of Ms. Angelou's difficult life.

From the first page itself, Bethany's writing strikes a chord with the subtle emotions of children dealing with hunger, an uncertain future and kindness from strangers. The next few pages cover difficult topics like racial tensions and being uprooted again to a new home, abuse, violence and sadness. While these are difficult topics for children to comprehend, they are the truth... and the reality with which countless children across the world deal with. Ms. Engel's illustrations capture your imagination and are filled with emotion.  

And finally Maya's life takes a turn... with the entry of books and the written word. The story takes an uplifting tone and I was captivated by Maya's rise. Despite struggles she takes step after step towards hope and a better tomorrow. Maya embarks on an exciting career in performing arts. There we see another aspect of her resilience as a single mom. And finally her life as an aspiring writer .. something every author including myself can totally relate to. Finally the book beautifully describes how Maya's activism and writing inspires the future generations to come as her words keep rising. 

While we bask in the comforts of happy picture books, it is important for kids to also be introduced to difficult topics and Ms. Hegedus does this with finesse and empathy. It was a teaching moment for me as well, as an adult. Many times we set goals and don't follow through... and then we hear of an inspirational story that inspires us all .. to Rise Again. Thank-you Bethany Hegedus and Low and Lee books for this opportunity to review this most wonderful book.    

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2020 (1/31/20) is in its 7th year! This non-profit children’s literacy initiative was founded by Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen; two diverse book-loving moms who saw a need to shine the spotlight on all of the multicultural books and authors on the market while also working to get those book into the hands of young readers and educators.  Seven years in, MCBD’s mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves continues.MCBD 2020  is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board
Super PlatinumMake A Way Media/ Deirdre “DeeDee” Cummings, PlatinumLanguage Lizard, Pack-N-Go Girls, GoldAudrey Press, Lerner Publishing Group, KidLit TV, ABDO BOOKS : A Family of Educational Publishers, PragmaticMom & Sumo Jo, Candlewick Press,Silver Author Charlotte Riggle, Capstone Publishing, Guba Publishing, Melissa Munro Boyd & B is for Breathe,BronzeAuthor Carole P. Roman, Snowflake Stories/Jill Barletti, Vivian Kirkfield & Making Their Voices Heard. Barnes Brothers Books,  TimTimTom, Wisdom Tales Press, Lee & Low Books,  Charlesbridge Publishing, Barefoot Books Talegari Tales
Author Sponsor Link CloudJerry Craft, A.R. Bey and Adventures in Boogieland, Eugina Chu & Brandon goes to Beijing, Kenneth Braswell & Fathers Incorporated, Maritza M. Mejia & Luz del mes_Mejia, Kathleen Burkinshaw & The Last Cherry Blossom, SISSY GOES TINY by Rebecca Flansburg and B.A. Norrgard, Josh Funk and HOW TO CODE A ROLLERCOASTER, Maya/Neel Adventures with Culture Groove,  Lauren Ranalli, The Little Green Monster: Cancer Magic! By Dr. Sharon Chappell, Phe Lang and Me On The Page, Afsaneh Moradian and Jamie is Jamie, Valerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, TUMBLE CREEK PRESS, Nancy Tupper Ling, Author Gwen Jackson, Angeliki Pedersen & The Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm Tree, Author Kimberly Gordon Biddle, BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 by Mia Wenjen, Susan Schaefer Bernardo & Illustrator Courtenay Fletcher (Founders of Inner Flower Child Books), Ann Morris & Do It Again!/¡Otra Vez!, Janet Balletta and Mermaids on a Mission to Save the Ocean, Evelyn Sanchez-Toledo & Bruna Bailando por el Mundo\ Dancing Around the World, Shoumi Sen & From The Toddler Diaries, Sarah Jamila Stevenson, Tonya Duncan and the Sophie Washington Book Series, Teresa Robeson  & The Queen of Physics, Nadishka Aloysius and Roo The Little Red TukTuk, Girlfriends Book Club Baltimore & Stories by the Girlfriends Book Club, Finding My Way Books, Diana Huang & Intrepids, Five Enchanted Mermaids, Elizabeth Godley and Ribbon’s Traveling Castle, Anna Olswanger and Greenhorn, Danielle Wallace & My Big Brother Troy, Jocelyn Francisco and Little Yellow Jeepney, Mariana Llanos & Kutu, the Tiny Inca Princess/La Ñusta Diminuta, Sara Arnold & The Big Buna Bash, Roddie Simmons & Race 2 Rio, DuEwa Frazier & Alice’s Musical Debut, Veronica Appleton & the Journey to Appleville book series Green Kids Club, Inc.We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.Co-Hosts and Global Co-HostsA Crafty Arab, Afsaneh Moradian, Agatha Rodi Books, All Done Monkey, Barefoot Mommy, Bethany Edward & Biracial Bookworms, Michelle Goetzl & Books My Kids Read, Crafty Moms Share, Colours of Us, Discovering the World Through My Son’s Eyes, Educators Spin on it, Shauna Hibbitts-creator of eNannylink, Growing Book by Book, Here Wee Read, Joel Leonidas & Descendant of Poseidon Reads {Philippines}, Imagination Soup, Kid World Citizen, Kristi’s Book Nook, The Logonauts, Mama Smiles, Miss Panda Chinese, Multicultural Kid Blogs, Serge Smagarinsky {Australia}, Shoumi Sen, Jennifer Brunk & Spanish Playground, Katie Meadows and Youth Lit Reviews FREE RESOURCES from Multicultural Children’s Book DayFree Multicultural Books for Teachers Our New FREE Teacher Classroom Physical and Developmental Challenges Kit http://ow.ly/kcbZ30p3QWzFree Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians, and EducatorsFree Understanding Developmental & Physical Challenges Classroom KitTWITTER PARTY! Register here!
Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.