Alabama Spitfire

ALABAMA SPITFIRE: the Story of Harper Lee and to Kill a Mockingbird by Bethany Hegedus is a picture book biography that would be useful for middle school students doing a book report on TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.

Take this writing sample: "Nelle Harper Lee entered this world on April 28, 1926. From the get-go she was a spitfire." She didn't feel the need to be ladylike, as Southern girls were expected to be. 

   

Indeed, Harper Lee’s independence streak is instructional for us all. How many people can afford to do one big book and apparently have enough money to live on for life?

In Harper's case, she made money from the paperback editions of her book, because it was on school reading lists.

However, her will stipulated that no more paperbacks were to be published. Perhaps there was no one left to inherit.

An Effective Use of Quotes

I admire Doreen Rappaport's use of quotes in her picture book biography, Jack's Path of Courage: the Life of John F. Kennedy.  

 Here's a line of text: "Jack's mother read to her children every night;" Underneath that was a direct quote from Jack's mother: "He always read more than any of the others."

The book includes quotes from Jack's father and Jack himself.

Rather than a slice of life approach this book starts with his childhood and ends with his death. In this case, it is appropriate. Students might be asked the date of his death and the information is right at hand.