Fifty Years On: To Kill a Mockingbird

The author Harper Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird fifty years ago, and the book -- now a classic -- was published on July 11, 1960. The book, still read by Hillwood upper-graders, became a bestseller and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1962.

On NPR, you can read more about the book's history. You can also read excerpts from the novel, as well as watch movie clips from the 1962 Academy Award-winning film based on the book.

Do you have a story about or a review highlighting To Kill a Mockingbird? How does the story strike people today, all these years later? What does it mean to you? Did your parents read the book when they were kids?

Post a comment or write a post.

Masterpiece Comics

Assignment: Lance
What would happen if Garfield the Cat met Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus? Or if Beavis and Butt-head were left waiting for Godot? It's hard to imagine. Fortunately, comic-book artist R. Sikoryak has mashed up classical works of literature with comic strips. He writes Masterpiece Comics, but there are other artists and writers who have done this.

In this assignment, consider some past work through this link or this one from the magazine Time Out! New York. Remember to credit whatever source you use (NPR or Time Out! New York) and link to both pages (this page one and this one). Also, do a screen grab of one of the images -- whichever one you like best. You can find more images on Sikoryak's web page, as well as his bio.

In “Dostoyevsky Comics,” Sikoryak has made loner vigilante Bruce Wayne Crime and Punishment’s Raskol (instead of the bat signal, he gets an ax). There's also “Good Ol’ Gregor Brown,” lovable loser Charlie Brown wakes up a cockroach à la Kafka’s The Metamorphosis (Snoopy is the maid).

Link to the Wikipedia page that talks about the real classic for each book. You may use the links ALREADY included on this page to save time.