I Am Scout: The Biography of Harper Lee |  | Author: Charles J. Shields
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Category: Book
List Price: $18.95
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Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 106463
Media: Hardcover
Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 256
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6.1 x 1
ISBN: 0805083340
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780805083347
ASIN: 0805083340
Publication Date: April 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| • | ISBN13: 9780805083347 | | • | Condition: NEW | | • | Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. |
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Product Description
To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the most widely read novels in American literature. It’s also a perennial favorite in highschool English classrooms across the nation. 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. 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. Charles J. 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. Anyone who has enjoyed To Kill a Mockingbird will appreciate this glimpse into the life of its fascinating author.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 9
 "I Am Scout": A companion piece to "To Kill a Mockingbird" May 20, 2008
B. Crabtree (Flower Mound, Texas)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
As an educator who teachers "To Kill a Mockingbird", I have read both "Mockingbird" and "I Am Scout". "Mockingbird" is an excellent read and offers good background material for the teaching of Harper Lee's novel. "I Am Scout", on the other hand, is an excellent book for young people; as the author intended it to be. Mr. Shields, the author of both biographies, was kind enough to meet with and speak to my students recently. He spent the day speaking to four classes of Pre-AP, AP, Journalism, and Creative Writing students who had all read "To Kill a Mockingbird". Students were extremely interested in what Mr. Shields had to say about both books and about the writing process, and, he gratiously answered any and all questions. We were very honored to hear him speak.
To better ready our students for the AP English exam, we at FMHS are trying in incorporate more non-fiction into the curriculum. I feel that my students will greatly benefit from using "I Am Scout" as a companion piece to "To Kill a Mockingbird". What better way to incorporate an interesting non-fiction read for young adults than with "I Am Scout"!
Great Service October 26, 2009
Christina Grazer
The description was very accurate and I recieved the book in a very timely fashion. Thank you!!!
Wonderful! June 28, 2009
lawliss (New Hampshire)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I first read To Kill a Mockingbird in ninth grade and it has influenced me for my entire life, especially the character of Atticus Finch. And, not surprisingly, To Kill a Mockingbird is still one of the most widely read books of all time (I continue to read it at least once every six months or so!). But I never knew a whole lot about Harper Lee, the author, because she never wrote any other novels and was a complete recluse. So I was totally excited to see this book when I was browsing through the library.
Surprisingly, this book was in the young adult section and was, perhaps, one of the most serious, most well-written of the young adult biographies that I have ever read. Now, that doesn't mean that it's written for adults or that teens and young adults won't get it or that they'll be bored by it. Absolutely not! While there isn't any fluff or sensationalistic reporting about Nelle Harper Lee's life, it's still a magnificent and well written, entertaining book about a wonderful, brilliant woman! He also doesn't sugar coat things - like how Ms. Lee's mother was so mentally ill, that she tried to kill Harper when Harper was 2 or Truman Capote's sexuality. I learned new things in this book too - I didn't know that Truman Capote and Harper Lee were so close or that Harper Lee had helped Truman Capote with his book - In Cold Blood.
I loved how the author was able to fully sketch Harper Lee's life in ten short chapters, chapters that show us the striking parallels between the author's life and To Kill a Mockingbird. This is totally worth the read!
Solid, respectable biography for young adults May 1, 2008
Sarah Miller (Michigan)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
This could very well be the most serious children's biography I've ever read. Saying that probably runs the risk of making I Am Scout sound stuffy, but that's not what I mean at all. Charles J. Shields does not write down to kids. Period. I Am Scout bears every hallmark of a solid, respectable biography for any audience: no fluff, no sensationalism, no invented conversations for entertainment's sake, and no dodging of sensitive issues -- like Truman Capote's sexuality, for example, or Lee's mother's mental illness. Matter of fact, now I'm extra curious to read the adult version of this bio, to see just how and where he trimmed it down for young'uns. (I've read In Cold Blood, so I'm particularly hoping for more on Lee's role in how that work came to be.)
In essence, the parallels between Harper Lee's life and her characters' are striking, and her response to fame and fandom made me cheer. Learning about Harper Lee from Charles Shields made me want to read To Kill a Mockingbird all over again, and that, my friends, is the sign of a good piece of non-fiction. Plus, I can't help loving a guy who writes non-fiction for kids that includes a heap of endnotes.
The only potential downside to this biography is that it's a bit context-bound. Shields seems to write with the assumption that his readers are already familiar with To Kill a Mockingbird. But seriously, if you weren't familiar with To Kill a Mockingbird in the first place, why on earth would you be reading a bio on Harper Lee?
I Am Scout June 9, 2008
T. Burt (Denton, TX)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This biography of Harper Lee is the younger readers' guide to this great writer by the same author who wrote the more thorough (and adult) Mockingbird. Both offer exclusive glimpses into the reclusive author's past. It's neat that Shield offers two versions for different ages.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 9
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