Reviews

Maya's Song by Renée Watson

cre8tivebeauty's review

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inspiring medium-paced

5.0

carolineinthelibrary's review

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5.0

A stunning collection of poems detailing the life of Maya Angelou. I learned a lot about her and thoroughly enjoyed the details this book brought to life in such a graceful prose.

whitneymouse's review

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3.0

**Thank you to Harper Collins in connection with School Library Journal's Picture Book Palooza for the review copy. This in no way affected my opinion**

This was a good biography of Maya Angelou. I'm not super familiar with her work outside of her most popular literature, so it was interesting to learn that she was also a singer and worked that way. I think that this will be of interest to kids who are already sort of into Angelou, but would probably recommend for a slightly older child (maybe 5-7) as the book is written in poetry and may be harder for a smaller children to grasp.

libraryrobin's review

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4.0

The inspirational story of the poet and teacher who rose to international fame from humble beginnings.

eboc2024's review

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5.0

Renée’s love and adoration for Maya is evident…

annebennett1957's review

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5.0

I love this poetic biography of a true American hero. Unfortunately I cannot get a fix on who the targeted audience for the book. The poems seem too complex for young students and the illustrations and book size might turn off a bit older readers.

My review of this and three other books which I recommend to increase your understanding of Black Lives Matter: https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2022/11/reviews-of-three-books-you-should-place.html

missprint_'s review

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4.0

I'm always going to ask why verse because verse biographies are weird but it almost makes sense here. Some of the transitions were abrupt because of the brevity/format and some of the poems were stilted/repetitive but mostly well done. I learned a lot--I didn't know about Angelou's singing at all.

Back matter includes a timeline, author and illustrator notes, no citations/credits which is weird and a problem since there are direct quotes and references to many events and to Angelou's works.

library_kb's review

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

This is a fantastic introduction to Maya Angelou. Watson's poetry conveys a message clearly while paying homage to Angelou's own writings and voice. The artwork is beautiful throughout. Definitely a worthwhile picture book biography to include in library and classroom collections.

clamon's review

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emotional informative inspiring fast-paced

5.0

sara_ndipity's review

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challenging hopeful reflective

5.0

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