The title of Maya Angelou’s Autobiography, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (1970), is a quotation from the 1899 poem “Sympathy” by African American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, which concludes with these lines:
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,
When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings–
I know why the caged bird sings!
(the seagull reader, by Joesph Kelly)
My mom and I are in to reading Newbery Metal award winning novels. Yesterday, I read The Tale of Despereaux : Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread.
Simply marvellous! Top notch! It’s great when read out loud. Try it and you’ll like it.
Book Quotations:
“Reader, you must know that an interesting fate (sometimes involving rats, sometimes not) awaits almost everyone, mouse or man, who does not conform.” p. 25
“This is the danger of loving: No matter how powerful you are, no matter how many kingdoms you rule, you cannot stop those you love from dying.” p.119
“Can you imagine it? Can you imagine your father selling you for a tablecloth, a hen and a handful of cigarettes? Close your eyes please, and consider it for just a moment.” p. 127
“Reader, nothing is sweeter in this sad world than the sound of someone you love calling your name.” p. 258