Alabama Spitfire: The Story of Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird

Description

Nelle Harper Lee grew up in the rocky red soil of Monroeville, Alabama. From the get-go she was a spitfire. Unlike most girls, Nelle preferred overalls to dresses and climbing trees to tea parties. And along with her neighbor and best friend, Tru, Nelle watched her daddy try cases in the courtroom. But most of all, she loved words. This love of words eventually took her all the way to New York City, where she dreamed of becoming a writer. Any chance she had, Nelle sat at her typewriter, writing, revising and chasing her dream. Nelle wouldn't give up-not until she discovered the right story-the one she was born to tell. Finally, that story came to her. Slowly at first and then in quick spurts. Nelle, inspired by her childhood, penned To Kill a Mockingbird. A groundbreaking book about small town injustice that sold over forty million copies, Nelle's novel resonated with readers the world over, who through reading, learned what it was like to climb into someone else's skin and walk around in it. From Bethany Hegedus and Erin McGuire comes the inspiring true story of Harper Lee, the scrappy tomboy who grew up to be one of the most beloved writers of the 20th century.

Bethany Hegedus is the award-winning author of Hard Work, But It's Worth It, Rise!: From Caged Bird to Poet of the People, Maya Angelou, Truth with a Capital T, and Between Us Baxters and coauthor along with Arun Gandhi of Grandfather Gandhi and Be the Change: A Grandfather Gandhi Story. She owns the Writing Barn, a writing workshop and retreat center in Austin, Texas. Bethany is a former educator who speaks and teaches across the country. You can find her online at www.bethanyhegedus.com and on Twitter @BethanyHegedus. Erin McGuire is an illustrator of picture books and middle grade novels, including Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu, the Nancy Drew Diaries series, and Sleeping Beauty by Cynthia Rylant. When not drawing, she enjoys reading, cooking, and camping. Erin lives in Montreal, Canada, with her husband and two cats. Visit her online at www.emcguire.net.

"The inspirational story of a protagonist who 'carved out a life of her own design.'" - Kirkus Reviews "An affectionate ode to a writer who "carved out a life of her own design,"" - Publishers Weekly "Admirably show[s] Lee's experiences in Alabama and in New York City." - School Library Journal