Mockingbird (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters/People edit see section history

• Catain: A little girl who is trying to survive her brother's death and life without a mother.
• Caitlin Ann Smith: A 10-year-old girl with Asperger's Syndrome who largely narrates the events of this novel.
• Harold Smith: Father. Helps Caitlin find closure.
• Mrs. Brooks: Caitlin's counselor
• Michael: Kindergartener who becomes Caitlin's friend.
• Devon Smith: Deceased brother who was a big help to Caitlin when he was alive. He helped her deal with her Aspergers. Devon was one three victims of a middle school shooting.
• Mrs. Brook: The school counselor who is trying to help Caitlin deal with her condition as well as the death of her older brother, Devon, in a local school shooting.
• Michael Schneider: Caitlin's first real friend, a first grader at her school. She meets him when she is arranged to go to the fifth grade recess and the first grade one. His mother was killed in the same school shooting as Devon.
• Caitlin's father: An emotionally distraught single parent dealing not only with the recent death of his popular and talented son, but also with the special needs of his other child, Caitlin, who suffers from Asperger's Syndrome.
• Charlie Walters: The Art teacher at Virginia Dare Middle School where the shooting occurred.
• Josh: A school bully who makes Caitlin nervous every time he is around.
• Emma: A fellow 5th grade classmate who eventually works to help Caitlin make friends in her 5th grade class. She is also mean to her at times.
• Miss Harper: Principal of James Madisin Elementary School
• Caitlin Smith: Smart, sensitive, confused, happy, determined, has Asperger's syndrome, sees everything in black and white.
• Caitlin: Caitlin is a very thoughtful character who thinks about what is going on in her life. She changes so much through the book and learns to cope with her Asperger's symptoms while dealing with the loss of her brother.
• William H.: Autistic boy in the other fifth grade class.
• Mr. Mason: Add a description of this character.
• Rachel Lockwood
• Brianna: Girl in fifth grade.
• Jolee
• Lowe
• Laura
• Devon: Caitlin's brother, working on Eagle Scout project, killed in a school shooting
• Mia
• Dad
• Bruce
• Aunt Jolee
• Mrs. Roberta L. Schneider
• Mrs. Robbins
• Mr. Walters
• Shane

Quotes edit see section history

• “But there is something wrong with his smile. I stare into his eyes. Maybe what's wrong is his eyes. They don't look happy like the photos of happy eyes Mrs. Brook has shown me. Maybe his smile is not big enough to push his eyes up at the corners like happy eyes are supposed to be. "Something's wrong," I tell him.”

  Caitlin

• “She has put an X (Mrs. Johnson, Caitlin's teacher) over the H in Heart and written a lowercase h. It doesn't look right that way. I'm sure she's wrong about the special words and capital letters even though she's a teacher. How can any word be more special than Heart?”

  Caitlin

• “"I don't like the word soon because you don't know when it's going to sneak up on you and turn into NOW."”

  Caitlin

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• It’s wrong to shoot someone who is innocent and was never going to hurt you in the first place.

  Highlighted by 27 Kindle customers

• Black and white is easier to understand. All that color is too confusing.

  Highlighted by 27 Kindle customers

• What’s great about books is that the stuff inside doesn’t change. People say you can’t judge a book by its cover but that’s not true because it says right on the cover what’s inside. And no matter how many times you read that book the words and pictures don’t change. You can open and close books a million times and they stay the same. They look the same. They say the same words. The charts and pictures are the same colors. Books are not like people. Books are safe.

  Highlighted by 26 Kindle customers

• inside someone’s head, really understanding that person, so many misunderstandings and problems can be avoided—misunderstandings and problems that can lead to mounting frustration and, sometimes, even violence.

  Highlighted by 21 Kindle customers

• I guess the evil school shooters didn’t listen in English class because they did not Get the meaning of that book at all.

  Highlighted by 21 Kindle customers

• Not too close to my Personal Space because I’ll use my words to tell her to back off if she gets too close.

  Highlighted by 20 Kindle customers

• I still feel like a Fake Item Box that Mario is going to run over any minute now.

  Highlighted by 19 Kindle customers

• I do spend all my time considering everything. I just don’t always Get It.

  Highlighted by 19 Kindle customers

• You shouldn’t smile when you do something bad because a smile is supposed to mean you’re being nice. I wish people would follow the Facial Expressions Chart like they’re supposed to.

  Highlighted by 17 Kindle customers

• I don’t like the word soon because you don’t know when it’s going to sneak up on you and turn into NOW. Or maybe it’ll be the kind of soon that never happens. Like when I asked Dad and Devon when the chest would be finished. They said soon.

  Highlighted by 10 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• James Maidison Elementary School: Caitlin's School
• Virginia Dare Middle School: The school Devon was attending when he and two others were shot and killed.
• Heart
• Like Devon

Organizations edit see section history

• Boy Scouts of America: Devon was working on an Eagle Scout project (a hand-made oak chest) at the time of his death.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• Empathy: Describe this term.
• Finesse: doing something tactfully and skillfully while dealing with a difficlut situation
• Closure: the state of experiencing an emotional conclusion to a difficult life event such as the death of a loved one.
• Superflous
• Asperger's Syndrome
• Autism
• TRM: That Reminds Me or Tantrum Rage Meltdown

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• To really understand a person, you need to 'walk in their shoes.': By experiencing life from another person's point of view, you will better understand why they are the way they are.
• Death: Describe this theme.
• Closure: Thoughout the book, Caitlin, her father, and her community struggle with what closure means and how to find it.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Kathryn Erskine (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• National Book Award
• Georgia Children's Book Award (Finalist, 2011-12: Chapter Book)
• Golden Kite Award (2011: Fiction, Honor)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PZ7.E7388Moc 2010
• Dewey: <Fic>

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Add a note to help parents select a book for a child.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Children's Books › People & Places › Social Issues › Special Needs
• Books › Children's Books › People & Places › Social Issues › Death & Dying
• Books › Children's Books › People & Places › Family Life › Parents
• Books › Teens › Social Issues

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Teachers Pay Teachers: Mockingbird by K. Erskine: Novel Unit Planning Guide

Movie Connections edit see section history

• To Kill a Mockingbird (IMDb): While this movie is NOT based on this book NOR is is this book based on this movie, the movie, "To Kill a Mockingbird," is cited several times in this book, and knowledge of the movie adds a great deal to understanding Caitlin's perspective throughout the book.

More Books Like This edit see section history

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history