Books in Books: A Little Birdie Told Me...

...that it was the 50th anniversary of Harper Lee's classic, To Kill a Mockingbird.  This calls for a re-reading of the novel, perhaps a viewing of the film (starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch) and a short list of books inspired by To Kill a Mockingbird.  These aren't read-alikes.  Rather, they are books which Harper Lee's novel plays a role in the story...and a biography of Harper Lee, which obviously talks about TKAM.

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erksine
As a child with Asperger's Syndrome, Caitlin's relied on her older brother Devon as her protector and her interpreter of the world.  After her brother is killed in a school shooting, Caitlin struggles to connect with her father and truly understand her brother's death. 
Recommended for: Grades 6+



The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney
Frustrated with the administration's unwillingness to deal openly (or at all) with student wrongdoing, Themis Academy's students have formed The Mockingbirds.  As a secret society, The Mockingbirds serve up their own brand of justice, providing a venue for victimized students to have their student perpetrators held accountable for their actions.  In her junior year, Alex is date raped and must decide whether to suffer in silence (as the administration would have her do) or go to the Mockingbirds.

Recommended for: Grade 9+

Also Known as Harper by Ann Haywood Leal

Harper won't let anything - not her father abandoning them, her mother's struggles to find work, or lack of real home for her and her little brother Hemingway - get in the way of winning the school poetry contest.  The only problem is, with mom out searching for employment, someone has to stay home with Hemingway, and you can't win a school contest when you're home babysitting instead of in class.

Recommended for: Grades 3-6

In Search of Mockingbird by Loretta Ellsworth

When aspiring writer Erin learns that her father is planning to remarry she is less than excited.  Unsure about her place in her family and missing a mother she never really knew, she decides to hop on a bus to Monroeville, AL in hopes of meeting Harper Lee, author of her mother's favorite book, To Kill a Mockingbird.  Along the way she meets some interesting characters and discovers things about herself and her family.
Recommended for: Grades 7+


I Am Scout: The Biography of Harper Lee by Charles J. Shields
A young reader's version of Shield's Mockingbird: A Portrait Harper Lee provides a glimpse into the life of  the reclusive author of To Kill A Mockingbird.  Shields takes the reader through her childhood as a tomboy to her days at the University of Alabama and to her adulthood, palling around with Truman Capote.
Recommended for: Anyone who has read To Kill a Mockingbird!




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