Customer Reviews

I Am Scout: The Biography of Harper Lee

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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?

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"!

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!

This book is extremely approachable. I read it in less than three hours and was glued to every word. I would not say that all teenagers will be wildly enthusiastic about it in the beginning; however, it is great source for excerpts in connection with To Kill a Mockingbird, which will lead many students to read I Am Scout in its entirety. Harper Lee just wanted to write, and seeing her struggle and passion and love (and sometimes hate) for her craft is inspiring. I was surprised by some of the information in the book, especially some of the details about Harper's relationship with Capote and her inspirations for Mockingbird.

I would absolutely recommend this to younger readers and adults as well. Charles J. Shields has a more advanced level biography of Lee, as well, but for a lighter read, I Am Scout is the way to go.

In ten wonderful chapters, the reader gets an introduction to the ever-so-fascinating author Nelle Harper Lee, author of the phenomenal To Kill A Mockingbird. I AM SCOUT by Charles J. Shields is a must-read for any one who has ever been curious about this novel and novelist. (For those that are wondering, I AM SCOUT is an adapted version of his MOCKINGBIRD. I haven't read Mockingbird. But I Am Scout is just wonderful.)

Well researched, well written, I Am Scout fascinates with every page. Did you know that "Dill" is Truman Capote? Did you realize how influential Lee was in Capote's writing of In Cold Blood? Did you know that she did at one time have plans for a second book? Did you know that Atticus Finch is loosely based on her own father? There are hundreds of I-didn't-know-that facts sprinkled throughout I Am Scout that makes this one so essential to those interested in a behind-the-scenes look at this mysterious writer.

This one is definitely one I'd recommend.

Harper Lee is my favorite living author. I know this was not an authorized bio but I loved it.

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.

You folks are just great! I received this very quickly and was in great shape.

Thanks so much--

K Maes

Although well-researched, accurate, and balanced in the treatment of Harper Lee's life, the young adult adaptation loses much of the prose style of Shields' best-selling biography Mockingbird. Teachers may want to use sections to show how Lee used memories to develop events in her novel. Some students who want to be writers may be interested in this, but I think this will find a small audience.

The description was very accurate and I recieved the book in a very timely fashion. Thank you!!!