Angelou's
Children's Books *
1986
In "Mrs. Flowers: A Moment of Friendship,"
Angelou weaves a children's book about her admira
tion for her grade schoolteacher. Angelou writes in
depth about Mrs. Flowers in "I Know Why the Caged
Bird Sings/' including about how the woman helped
her to come out of her shell. The book is illustrated by
Etienne Delessert.
1993
Shadows on the wall
Noises down the hall
Life doesn 't frighten me
at all
Bad dogs barking loud
Big ghosts in a cloud
Life doesn 't frighten me
at all.
That is the first stanza of
Maya Angelou's classic
poem, "Life Doesn't
Frighten Me at All." The
poem was turned into a pop
uiar kias book, teatunng illustrations Dy world
renowned artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
1994
In "My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and
Me," Angelou tells a charming tale of a South African
girl and how she is influenced by the grand artistic tra
dition of her people. The full-color book features pho
tographic illustrations by Margaret Courtney-Clarke.
1996
N.
In "Kofi and His Magic,"
Angelou creates another clas
sic of youth literature. The
story focuses on Kofi, a West
African boy who uses his
"magic" (his imagination) to
take many memorable jour
neys. The book's color photo
graphs are by Margaret
Courtney-Clarke.
2004
Angelou began publish
ing a series of books for
young adults called "Maya's
World." Illustrated by Lizzy
Rockwell, the books feature
young characters from
around the world. Some of
the titles of the books in the
series are: "Angelina of
Italy," "Mikale of Hawaii"
and "Renee Marie of
20 Fran" "
Photo courtesy of Rev. Churn/Mt Zion
Dr. Angelou sits among the group of Mt. Zion Baptist Church youngsters.
My Favorite
Dr. Angelou Moment
Pastor Churn
Dr. Angelou came to
church to go over a project
with me. We met in the
church's library, however; the
mellifluous voices of the chil
dren in summer camp could
be heard. 1 noticed that Dr.
Angelou seemed anxious to
conclude the meeting. As
soon as the meeting ended,
she had business with those
children.
She is drawn ineluctably by her mother's heart
to students and especially children. The children
shared with her their love for rap music and the
names of their favorite songs and artists. She
shared with them
the historical roots Reflections from
of their music and r., . , o *.!???
?be poet* who laid Frlends & Neighbors ,
the foundation for
their beloved rap. It was priceless and precious to 1
hear the scholar/ actor/director/writer/dancer/poly
glot/humanitarian rap with those children.
This was a majestic, magical moment when a
master teacher, who knew how to make learning 1
fun and meaningful, introduced our children to the
power and beauty of the spoken and written word.
This was a holy, scared moment between students '
and teacher, mentor and disciples. In this hollowed
:ime, love, learning and legacy were inscribed in
he very hearts of our children. No press recorded
his awesome moment, but it was indeed recorded
n the tender, eager minds of the next generation of
hinkers, writers and scholars. This is the Dr. Maya
\ngelou I have come to know and love. Our world
is a better place because of her 80 years of loving,
ifting and leading us all into a world of mutual
espect.
Th^Rev. Dr. Serenus T. Churn Sr., is the pastor
ind CEO of Mount Zion Baptist Church of
Winston-Salem. Maya Angelou attends the church
md Churn is her longtime pastor.