Kirkus Reviews

A scrappy young white girl from tiny Monroeville, Alabama, grows up to write the American classic To Kill a Mockingbird.Hegedus tells the story of how Nelle Harper Lee became a writer, choosing illustrative moments from her life: watching her lawyer father try cases in court, learning to read by sitting on her father's lap as he read the newspaper, observing racial relations in the town, becoming friends with Truman Capote and writing stories together, editing the college newspaper, and going to New York City, where a Christmas gift of money from friends gave her the time to finally write a novel. It's tricky business to write about an author of a novel young readers haven't encountered yet. Young readers may be content with the inspirational story of a protagonist who "carved out a life of her own design," but only older readers who have read the novel can appreciate scenes related to it. It complicates matters further when quotations from the novel are folded in without context and sentences carry more weight than many young readers will be ready for: "The red soil of Monroeville, Alabama, is as rocky as the state's past" and "Nelle shunned the ‘pink penitentiary' of girlhood." Still, this is clearly a labor of love, and teachers of To Kill a Mockingbird might read it aloud for the glimpses it offers into the origins of the novel.A well-intentioned effort that might not connect with its intended audience. (author's note) (Picture book/biography. 6-10)

Horn Book (Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

This picture book biography does justice to the spunky, independent writer of To Kill a Mockingbird. Hegedus develops Lee's character and shares the author's childhood influences (including her small-town lawyer father and her friend Truman Capote) who helped shape her groundbreaking novel. Unfortunately, the digital illustrations cheapen the presentation, giving it a cartoonlike look. Websites. Bib.

ALA Booklist (Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2017)

Most young readers won't be familiar with To Kill a Mockingbird, but they'll know what it's like to be a child who has dreams and frustrations, who reads and conspires with friends. So the story of Harper Lee and her Alabama childhood, her friendship with young Truman Capote, and her curiosity and unsettled feelings about the differences between people will draw them in. Because the story is grounded in Lee's childhood, kids will happily follow her into adulthood with her quest for success as well as her inability to handle the fame that accompanies it. Hegedus' narrative is especially well structured. The text is short enough to ensure children don't lose interest, but it's packed with information about Lee while it weaves in threads about the racial practices of the era that inspired her book. The Photoshop illustrations are not as successful. Though the digital art has a spunky feel that represents Lee, it is not balanced by much warmth. Still, a fine choice for picture-book biography shelves, with the author's note addin dimension.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Before she was Harper Lee, she was Nelle, a child growing up during the Great Depression in Monroeville, Ala. In one early scene, Hegedus recounts how Nelle, aware of injustice at a young age, defended a boy on the playground: -Dressed in white linen suits, with a high-pitched voice, Tru was an easy target for bullies.- The friends parted ways as children but reunited as adults in New York City (Tru is, of course, Truman Capote). McGuire-s cinematic cartoons call to mind scenes from the To Kill a Mockingbird film-with her chestnut bob and overalls, Nelle readily resembles Mary Badham-s Scout. It-s an affectionate ode to a writer who -carved out a life of her own design,- as Hegedus eloquently puts it. Ages 4-8. Author-s agent: Alexandra Penfold, Upstart Crow Literary. Illlustrator-s agent: Susan Cohen, Writers House. (Jan.)

School Library Journal (Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2018)

K-Gr 2 Nelle Harper Lee discovered the power of words at a very young age: "Words had weight. Words held meaning." Growing up in her small Alabama town, Lee subverted traditional gender expectations and enjoyed reading, writing and watching her attorney father work. When a boy named Truman Capote, who grew up to become a famous author in his own right, temporarily moved into the house next door, the two became fast friends and spent time in her tree house creating stories on a typewriter her father gave them. Hegedus's picture book biography tells how Lee wrote a still much beloved novel by basing her main character, Atticus Finch, on her father and using people from her childhood as a source for other characters. Digital illustrations, created using Adobe Photoshop, admirably show Lee's experiences in Alabama and in New York City. A variety of visual perspectives and faces that portray emotions add much to this informational book of a prominent U.S. author. VERDICT Consider for picture book biography collections, especially where there is interest in To Kill a Mockingbird . Maryann H. Owen, Oak Creek Public Library, WI