"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" is a touching autobiography by Maya Angelou. In the blurb on the back cover, it describes a story of a young girl who was raped and has to deal with it for the rest of her life. There is a small part of the story that is about that, but the whole book is not based around that topic. Many people have challenged this book and want it to be banned, probably because of the two rape scenes, but otherwise the book addresses common and in my opinion, age-appropriate issues. These issues include hard-to-ignore and realistic problems like abandonment and racism. This book should not be banned in middle school libraries.
I don't think this book should be banned because it is a classic and everyone can learn something from it. It has two rape scenes which may be extreme or triggering to some kids, but the blurb does say the book has rape in it, and it should be an expectation for middle-school age kids to know what they can handle in a book.
This book also includes realistic issues like racism and abandonment- issues many kids are exposed to or have to deal with. IKWCBS gives kids dealing with these problems in their life something to relate to.
In conclusion, IKWCBS should not be banned because it is a classic that can help kids deal with real-life issues.
we didnt have to do this right
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