One Book, One Denver 2009
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
| Place a hold on To Kill a Mockingbird now! | Reader's Guide |
About the Book |
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Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus -- three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman. Though her story explores big themes, Harper Lee chooses to tell it through the eyes of a child. The result is a tough and tender novel of race, class, justice, and the pain of growing up. Like the slow-moving occupants of her fictional town, Lee takes her time getting to the heart of her tale; we first meet the Finches the summer before Scout's first year at school. She, her brother, and Dill Harris, a boy who spends the summers with his aunt in Maycomb, while away the hours reenacting scenes from Dracula and plotting ways to get a peek at the town bogeyman, Boo Radley. At first the circumstances surrounding the alleged rape of Mayella Ewell, the daughter of a drunk and violent white farmer, barely penetrate the children's consciousness. Then Atticus is called on to defend the accused, Tom Robinson, and soon Scout and Jem find themselves caught up in events beyond their understanding. During the trial, the town exhibits its ugly side, but Lee offers plenty of counterbalance as well -- in the struggle of an elderly woman to overcome her morphine habit before she dies; in the heroism of Atticus Finch, standing up for what he knows is right; and finally in Scout's hard-won understanding that most people are essentially kind "when you really see them." By turns funny, wise, and heartbreaking, To Kill a Mockingbird is one classic that continues to speak to new generations and deserves to be reread often. Other Media Types |
About the Author |
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| Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28, 1926 in Monroeville Alabama, which produced two world-renowned authors in the same generation. Harper Lee was the grade school classmate of the young Truman Capote, with whom she maintained a friendship well into adulthood. (In 1966 Capote dedicated In Cold Blood to her). The youngest of four children of Amasa Coleman Lee and Frances Finch Lee, Harper attended Huntingdon College 1944-45, studied law at University of Alabama 1945-49, and spent a year at Oxford University. In the 1950s she moved to New York City where, after working briefly as an airline reservation clerk, she decided to focus exclusively on her writing. She moved into a cold-water flat and began writing To Kill a Mockingbird. In 1957 she submitted the manuscript to the J. B. Lippincott Company and was told that her novel read too much like a series of loosely connected short stories. She spent the next two and a half years revising the book and in 1960 it was published to widespread acclaim, winning the Pulitzer Prize and thousands of devoted readers. More on Harper Lee may be found in the Library's book databases. |
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We are pleased to welcome Dr. Arthur Jones, founder and co-chair of the Spirituals Project and Senior Clinical Professor of Psychology at the University of Denver as guest host of three discussions of To Kill a Mockingbird. Bring your thoughts and opinions to exchange with each other and this innovative thinker and community leader. These special events are presented by Colorado Humanities and Center for the Book, and are noted below. |
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| Central Library Gates Conference Room, Level 5 Tuesday, September 29, 6 - 7 p.m. Thursday, October 15, 12 noon - 1 p.m. Colorado Humanities Discussion with Art Jones. Athmar Park Branch Library - Teens Only Saturday, October 3, 11 a.m. - 12 noon Bear Valley Branch Library Thursday, October 8, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library Saturday, September 19, 10 - 11 a.m. Byers Branch Library Saturday, October 3, 10 - 11 a.m. Decker Branch Library Saturday, October 3, 3 - 4 p.m. Eugene Field Branch Library Thursday, September 24, 7 - 8 p.m. Ford-Warren Branch Library Wednesday, Sept. 16, 5 - 6 p.m. Hadley Branch Library Wednesday, September 23, 12 noon - 1 p.m. Hampden Branch Library - Spanish Wednesday, October 21, 5 - 6 p.m. |
Montbello Branch Library Wednesday, September 30, 12 noon - 1 p.m. Park Hill Branch Library Saturday, October 10, 2 - 3 p.m. Colorado Humanities Discussion with Art Jones Pauline Robinson Branch Library Saturday, September 5, 12 noon - 1 p.m. Ross-Barnum Branch Library - Spanish Saturday, October 10, 1 - 2 p.m. Ross-Broadway Branch Library Tuesday, September 1, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Ross-University Hills Branch Library Thursday, October 1, 6 - 7 p.m. Schlessman Family Branch Library Thursday, October 8, 2 - 3 p.m. Colorado Humanities Discussion with Art Jones Smiley Branch Library Wednesday, October 7, 7 - 8 p.m. Virginia Village Branch Library Wednesday, October 14, 6:30 - 7:45 p.m. Westwood Branch Library Monday, September 14, 2 - 3 p.m. |
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Never Kill a Mockingbird – This Year’s Café Nuba Slam Book Club in a Bag One Book, One Denver for Teens. One Book, One Denver Around Denver FILM: CRAFTING: To Felt a Mockingbird FOOD: WRITING: Writing Your First Novel with William Haywood Henderson LISTEN: Radio Drama Other Helpful Resources
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Updated: September 03, 2009
