“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corn cribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”
The Book
Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork of honor and injustice in the Deep South—and the heroism of one man in the face of blind and violent hatred. One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than forty million copies worldwide, served as the basis for an enormously popular motion picture, and was voted one of the best novels of the twentieth century by librarians across the country.
The Play
Monroeville presented the first stage adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird in 1991. The Mockingbird Players, a group of amateur actors dedicated to the production, have performed in Israel, England, and Hong Kong, as well as several venues in the United States. In 2014, Harper Lee formed the Mockingbird Company to insure the play would continue in Monroeville under her direction.
For Educators
Harper Collins has created a new teaching guide designed to show you how To Kill a Mockingbird can help you and your students meet the Common Core State Standards. We hope the guide enriches your students' appreciation for Harper Lee's book, and inspires them to seek out other important works of American literature.