Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mrs. Flowers | 1986 | Maya Angelou | Buy |
| 2 | Life Doesn’t Frighten Me | 1993 | Maya Angelou | Buy |
| 3 | My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me | 1994 | Maya Angelou | Buy |
| 4 | Kofi and His Magic | 1996 | Maya Angelou | Buy |
Maya Angelou’s picture books brought her writing to younger audiences. Mrs. Flowers (1986) adapted a section from her first autobiography into an illustrated format. Life Doesn’t Frighten Me (1993) paired one of her poems with paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat, creating one of the more unusual picture book collaborations of the 1990s.
My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me (1994) and Kofi and His Magic (1996) are both set in Africa and illustrated with photographs by Margaret Courtney-Clarke. These books reflect Angelou’s connection to Africa, which she wrote about extensively in her autobiographies.