There simply is no other to compare.Approximately 30,000,000 copies have been sold to date. Years after my first read of To Kill a Mockingbird, it still remains my #1 all-time favorite book. If you're picking up this book in the hopes that you'll find out more about the woman who penned To Kill a Mockingbird then I'm afraid you'll be dissatisfied with the outcome. She wrote one of the most influential novels of the 20th century and then seemed to adopt the life of a recluse.

It is well known fact that Harper Lee is not in the habit of giving interviews and even when she does they are short and impersonal affairs. I have to give Shields credit where credit is due because he certainly did his research as best as he could with the resources that he had available to him. What I got instead were anecdotes from former classmates who admitted they weren't even close to Lee.

I expected to get an in-depth story about an author that seemed to be synonymous with civil liberty and the South. Therefore, when I heard praise for a young adult biography on this esteemed author I knew it had to be added to my wish list right away (it's been on my Amazon wish list since the fall of 2011). I've been curious about Harper Lee for a while now as her name (and novel) are such a big deal for my home state of Alabama (and the world if I'm being honest). This is precisely what happened with I Am Scout. This isn't the case 100% of the time (thank goodness!) but the few times it happens it is SUCH a bummer. Sometimes it's best not to start a book with a high sense of anticipation because you may be setting yourself up for disappointment. I Am Scout is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year. Anyone who has enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird will appreciate this glimpse into the life of its fascinating author. Shields is the author of the New York Times bestseller Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee, which he has adapted here for younger readers.What emerges in this riveting portrait is the story of an unconventional, high-spirited woman who drew on her love of writing and her Southern home to create a book that continues to speak to new generations of readers. Lee's life is as rich as her fiction, from her girlhood as a rebellious tomboy to her days at the University of Alabama and early years as a struggling writer in New York City.Ĭharles J. Yet onetime author Harper Lee is a mysterious figure who leads a very private life in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama, refusing to give interviews or talk about the novel that made her a household name. It's also a perennial favorite in highschool English classrooms across the nation. To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most widely read novels in American literature.

I Am Scout by Charles J. Shields