The first of seven autobiographical works, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is Angelou’s most famous and critically acclaimed book. The story spans much of her childhood, following young Maya and her older brother as they bounce from their parents’ home to their grandmother’s and back again. Throughout the memoir, Angelou struggles not only with feelings of chronic displacement but also her experiences with racism, molestation and rape. Nominated for the National Book Award and named one of the All-TIME Best 100 Non-Fiction works (by this writer), Caged Bird was a revolutionary account of what it meant to be young, female and black in America. (Non-Fiction, Adult)