Parents need to know that To Kill a Mockingbird examines racism through the eyes of children Jem and Scout Finch in Great Depression-era Alabama, when a black man goes on trial for the rape of a white woman. There's some intense material in this Pulitzer Prize winner, first published in 1960: a drunk breaks Jem's arm and is killed with a knife. The children are stalked, and Atticus and his children face down a lynch mob in the middle of the night. But this is a true American classic and one of our most eloquent appeals for tolerance and justice. Lee accurately portrays both sides of this divided Southern society, and readers may be inspired to read more about the history of the time. Families may want to check out the 1962 film version.
