graphics by goldtrout

Break out the ham, grits, and pecan pie.

Don your prettiest orange and white.

It’s time to waltz around the Tennessee ballroom, because THE book I’ve been dying to read ever since I first heard about it back in 2007, is finally out today!! Let’s hear it for our favorite Knoxville girl, Kerry Madden, on the official release of Harper Lee (Up Close) (Viking, 2009)!!

        
          HARPER LEE (UP CLOSE) by Kerry Madden,
          (Viking, 2009), Ages 12+, 224 pp.

*cartwheels* *backflips* *wild cheering and moonpie munching*

I absolutely adore Kerry’s writing. You probably know her Maggie Valley trilogy: Gentle’s Holler, Louisiana’s Song, and Jessie’s Mountain — all written in beautiful, lyrical prose that sings of family life in the hills of Appalachia with so much heart and passion. Now she’s written a biography of Harper Lee, whose book, To Kill a Mockingbird, is probably my favorite novel of all time. *swoons*

As Kerry mentions in her book’s Foreword, Harper Lee (who goes by her first name, "Nelle"), is a fiercely private individual, who doesn’t believe in biographies of those still living. Her sometimes reply to interview requests is, "Hell no." Undaunted, Kerry respectfully undertook the challenge of unearthing details about Nelle’s life by visiting Monroeville, Alabama, several times to dig through courthouse archives and interview friends, colleagues, and town residents. 

           
 
Aside from its powerful and enduring message of truth, justice and tolerance, To Kill a Mockingbird has always resonated with Kerry on a very personal level. Growing up as the daughter of a football coach in the South and Midwest meant that she often moved from place to place. "Each time I reread the book or showed my own children the film, I found home all over again. I could roam the streets of Harper Lee’s ‘Maycomb’ and hear the voices of Jem and Scout and Dill calling to each other. I had a cousin just like sniveling cousin Francis. I beat up a boy like Cecil Jacobs."

So far, it looks like Kerry’s created a real winner — Harper Lee (Up Close) recently received a starred review from Kirkus: 

A narrative both well paced and richly detailed-even reproducing two of Lee’s stories for her college literary magazine and excerpting a recent letter to O magazine, not included in Charles Shields’s excellent I Am Scout (2008)-this biography will appeal to fans of the novel and to newcomers. Readers will find a fascinating portrait of an independent young woman stubbornly going her own way to become the one thing she wanted to be: a writer. Extensive source notes and an excellent bibliography round out this superb biography, one of the best in the Up Close series.

To Kill a Mockingbird has sold over 30 million copies to date, and is standard reading in English classes across the country. A biography written especially for young people about the woman who wrote this beloved classic will prove invaluable in countless ways. Thank you, Kerry, for all your work in completing this book. Today, we congratulate you on a stunning accomplishment. Bravo!!

Before I run out to purchase my copy (as you should, too), let’s slurp deep (with great feeling and gusto), some of this celebration soup prepared especially in Kerry’s honor:

Today’s Special: Nelle Harper Lee Green Pea (one bowl to last a lifetime). 

And, there’s nothing like a little MoonPie ala Madden:

photo by lla

For more about Kerry and her books, visit her official website and Live Journal blog, Mountain Mist.

She posted the book’s Foreword on her blog recently, and it can be found here, along with this post and this one, detailing more about her research trips to Monroeville, Alabama.

Check out this review by Julie M. Prince at YA (and Kids) Book Central.

Okay now, run out to your local indie, or click through to your fave online bookseller and order Harper Lee (Up Close)!!

More Soup of the Day posts here.

*Photo of Nelle Harper Lee from Johnny Quixote’s photostream.