The Novel mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine Captures the Point of View of a Child with Asperger’s Syndrome
Motivated by her concern after the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007, Kathryn Erskine wrote mockingbird (mok′ ing-bûrd) to examine how families cope after a sudden tragedy. Erksine’s first-person narrator is a ten-year-old girl with Asperger’s syndrome named Caitlin Ann Smith. Caitlin is a talented young artist, but her life is difficult. Caitlin’s mother died of cancer, and her older brother Devon died after a shooting at his high school. The two siblings were very close, and Devin had helped his sister to deal with the complex and confusing world around her. Caitlin’s father is paralyzed by grief after he loses his son, and he has trouble parenting Caitlin. (more…)