Mockingbird

In Caitlin's world, everything is black or white. Things are good or bad. Anything in between is confusing. That's the stuff Caitlin's older brother, Devon, has always explained. But now Devon's dead and Dad is no help at all. Caitlin wants to get over it, but as an eleven-year-old girl with Asperger's, she doesn't know how. When she reads the definition of closure, she realizes that is what she needs. In her search for it, Caitlin discovers that not everything is black and white--the world is full of colors--messy and beautiful.

Kathryn Erskine has written a must-read gem, one of the most moving novels of the year.

Praise for MOCKINGBIRD

* Erskine works in powerful imagery throughout. --Publishers Weekly, starred review

* A] fine addition to the recent group of books with autistic narrators. --Booklist, starred review

A strong and complex character study. --Horn Book

This heartbreaking story is delivered in the straightforward, often funny voice of a fifth-grade girl with Asperger's Syndrome. --Kirkus, starred review

This is...a valuable book. --School Library Journal

Fascinating characters. --Los Angeles Times

Author: Kathryn Erskine
Publisher: Philomel Books
Published: 04/15/2010
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 7.10h x 5.70w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9780399252648
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 3.6
Point Value: 5
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 136100 / Mockingbird


Award: National Book Awards - Winner
Award: Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens - Recommended
Award: Virginia Readers Choice Award - Nominee
Award: West Virginia Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: Golden Archer Award - Nominee
Award: William Allen White Childens Book Award - Nominee
Award: Nevada Young Readers' Award - Nominee
Award: Sasquatch Award - Nominee
Award: Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award - Honor Book
Award: Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize - Winner
Award: Kentucky Bluegrass Award - Nominee
Award: Georgia Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: Nene Award - Nominee
Award: Grand Canyon Reader Award - Nominee
Award: Iowa Children's Choice (ICCA) Award - Nominee
Award: South Carolina Childrens, Junior and Young Adult Book Award - Nominee
Award: Massachusetts Children's Book Award - Honor Book
Award: Young Hoosier Book Award - Nominee
Award: Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award - Nominee


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 02/15/2010 pg. 78
Publishers Weekly 03/08/2010 pg. 57
Horn Book Magazine 03/01/2010 pg. 54
Kirkus Review - Children 03/01/2010 pg. 198
School Library Journal 04/01/2010 pg. 154
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 05/01/2010
Voice of Youth Advocates 06/01/2010 - Recommended - Better Than Most
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2010 - Superior,Well Above Average
People Weekly 08/22/2011 pg. 60
BookPage 05/01/2010

About the Author
Kathryn Erskine spent many years as a lawyer before realizing that she'd rather write things that people might actually enjoy reading. She grew up mostly overseas and attended eight different schools, her favorite being the Hogwarts-type castle in Scotland. The faculty, of course, did not consist of wizards, although . . . how did the headmistress know that it was "the wee redhead" who led the campaign to free the mice from the biology lab? Erskine draws on her childhood--and her second childhood through her children--for her stories. She still loves to travel but nowadays most trips tend to be local, such as basketball and tennis courts, occasional emergency room visits, and the natural food store for very healthy organic chocolate with "life saving" flavonoids.