To Kill a Mockingbird facts for kids
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First edition cover – late printing
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| Author | Harper Lee |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Southern Gothic, Bildungsroman |
| Published | July 11, 1960 |
| Publisher | J. B. Lippincott & Co. |
| Pages | 281 |
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To Kill a Mockingbird is a famous American novel by Harper Lee. It came out in 1960. The book was very popular and won the Pulitzer Prize. A movie based on the book was made in 1962, starring Gregory Peck. The movie also won three Academy Awards.
Harper Lee based the story and its characters on her own family and neighbors. She also used events that happened near her hometown in 1936. This was when she was about 10 years old.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a Southern Gothic novel. It is also a bildungsroman, which means it's a story where the main character grows and learns. Its main ideas are about unfair treatment and innocence. Lee also writes about bravery, kindness, and gender roles in the American South. Many schools teach this book to help students learn about being patient and fair.
The story takes place during the Great Depression in the 1930s. It tells the story of a young girl named Jean Louise Finch, who everyone calls "Scout." She lives with her older brother, Jeremy Atticus Finch, known as "Jem." They live in the Southern United States with their father, Atticus Finch, who is a lawyer. In the story, Atticus defends a black man, Tom Robinson. Tom has been wrongly accused of a serious crime against a white woman.
About the Author and Book
Harper Lee was born in 1926. She grew up in Monroeville, Alabama, a town in the South. She became good friends with Truman Capote, who later became a famous writer. Lee studied law at the University of Alabama. While in college, she wrote for student magazines. She often wrote about unfair treatment based on race.
In 1950, Lee moved to New York City. She worked as a clerk for an airline. During this time, she started writing stories about people from her hometown. In 1957, she showed her writing to a literary agent. An editor at J. B. Lippincott & Co. told her to stop working and focus on writing. Her friends even gave her money so she could write for a year. Lee spent two and a half years writing To Kill a Mockingbird.
What Happens in the Story
The book follows Jem and Scout, two siblings living in the 1930s. They live in a small Southern town. Their father, Atticus, is a lawyer. He is hired to defend a black man who is accused of a serious crime against a white woman. The children watch the town and the trial change and grow.
Atticus loses the trial. Tom Robinson, the man who was accused, is sadly killed while trying to escape. The whole town reacts strongly to this. Some people are angry, some are pleased, and others don't seem to care. But for Jem and Scout, it is a time for them to grow up. They have to face the harsh realities of unfair treatment.
The story takes place over three years. It is set in the made-up town of Maycomb, Alabama. The story is told by Jean Louise "Scout" Finch. She is six years old when the story begins. She lives with her older brother Jeremy "Jem" and their father Atticus. Their mother died when Scout was very young.
Jem and Scout become friends with a boy named Charles Baker Harris. Everyone calls him Dill. He visits Maycomb to stay with his aunt in the summer. The children are very curious about their neighbors, the Radleys. Few people have seen the Radley family members for many years. The children imagine what Boo Radley looks like. They wonder why he hides in his house and how to make him come out.
After two summers, Scout and Jem find small presents in a tree outside the Radley place. Boo often shows kindness to the children. Later, he even meets Scout while protecting her. This happens when a man named Bob Ewell tries to hurt her and Jem.
Sequel
Images for kids
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Harper Lee and President George W. Bush at the November 5, 2007, ceremony awarding Lee the Presidential Medal of Freedom for To Kill a Mockingbird
See also
In Spanish: Matar un ruiseñor para niños
