In Search of Mockingbird

"[This book] gently breaks new ground for children in removing some of the mystery from what some view as our last remaining obscenity, death. An important offering from a very talented newcomer." --School Library Journal on Loretta Ellsworth's The Shrouding Woman

"[An] intriguing topic, responsible period research, and skillful thematic development make this an accessible and unthreatening introduction to a neglected area of women's history." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books on Loretta Ellsworth's The Shrouding Woman

A runaway seeks Harper Lee for answers

Sometimes the things that need to be discovered aren't so easily found at home. Erin is certain that this is true in her case. A book is all that connects Erin to her mother, who died when she was a baby. But how much can Erin really learn about her mother from a tattered copy of To Kill a Mockingbird? On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, Erin decides it's finally time to find out. And so begins her bus journey from Minnesota to Alabama in search of Harper Lee, the reclusive author of Mockingbird.

In a novel full of quirky characters, strange coincidences, and on-the-road adventures, Loretta Ellsworth deftly traces a unique voyage of self-discovery.