* “In a bold but rewarding gambit, Neri imagines the childhood friendship of Harper Lee and Truman Capote, sprinkling in bits of To Kill a Mockingbird and foreshadowing such adult events as their collaborative work on In Cold Blood—yet still making it entirely Neri’s own…. The children’s symbiotic relationship holds center stage. Neri doesn’t shy away from their attributes: Nelle can be a bully and Tru is seen as a “sissy.” But their ability to play to each other’s strengths compensate for any real or perceived weaknesses as they rope others into their fantastic plans. As Neri puts it, ‘They made for a perfect pair of misfits. . . . And that was okay.’ Readers will find it more than okay.” —Booklist, STARRED review * "The charming and elegantly written novel doesn't shy away from issues of mental illness, abandoned children, and racism, but they are woven neatly into the fabric of the characters' lives in the tiny Southern town. An engaging portrait of two children's world before they became famous." —Kirkus, STARRED review "[Tru & Nelle] reads like a classic. Although the middle-grade readers the book is intended for may not be familiar with the work of Capote and Lee, they will be touched by their resilience in the face of dark family and societal situations." —San Francisco Book Review "... this fictional account of the childhood bond between Harper Lee and Truman Capote will entertain readers on its own merits, but it also serves as a love letter to two cultural icons..." —Horn Book Magazine "This story is heartwarming, funny, and beautifully crafted; readers will be sucked in from the very first chapter. " —School Library Journal "If you've ever wanted to run through the backyards of dusty old Maycomb, Alabama, in search of high adventure and mystery, just like Scout, Dill, and Jem, then this is your chance. It's all here! Greg Neri has recreated the childhoods of Harper Lee, Truman Capote, and Jennings Carter— the real-life models for the kids in To Kill a Mockingbird— and spun new adventures for them. You'll join these three friends as they really lived, and help them figure out a case that has the whole town baffled. I hope you're up for some fun!"— Charles J. Shields, author of Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee "Tru & Nelle is a wonderfully imaginative re-creation of the childhoods of two great American writers, but even more, it is a novel that affirms the mysterious and glorious ways that friendship reaches across boundaries of all sorts to claim unexpected kinship."--Gary D. Schmidt, author of Newbery Honor books Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy and The Wednesday Wars “Tru & Nelle is G. Neri’s gloriously realized return to the world of To Kill a Mockingbird. This fictional take on the childhood friendship of Harper Lee and Truman Capote is both funny and deeply poignant—an utterly charming mystery-adventure that is part Huck Finn, part Anne of Green Gables and part Scooby Doo. It just might become a timeless classic itself.” - Margaret Stohl, #1 New York Times and International bestselling co-author of the BEAUTIFUL CREATURES novels —

A biographical look at Truman Capote's childhood in Monroeville, Alabama from tape-recorded reminiscences of his cousin Jennings Faulk Carter.

Craft gorgeous works of art from strips of rolled paper! Paper Monograms provides step-by-step instructions to form every letter of the alphabet, along with the most popular quilled shapes, following the designs of prominent quilling artists. The kit is designed for beginners and comes complete with a rolling tool, ready-to-go paper strips in multiple colors, and a thorough guidebook. The delicate yet vibrant artwork created by quilling, or paper filigree, has taken over art sites like Pinterest and Etsy. Large monogram letters are a favorite project for quillers. By placing quilled shapes onto the provided predesigned templates, you, too, can create gorgeously quilled letters. The intricately rolled and spiraled paper brings the alphabet to life! Accent your home with your initials or make the ultimate personalized gift for a friend or new baby. Paper Monograms has everything you need to get started, so you will have frame-ready works of quilled art in no time. This Kit Includes: Quilling roller tool 320 Pre-cut paper strips (16 colors) Designed letter templates (26) Full-color instruction book

Two years after choosing his mother in a Christmas-season custody hearing, Truman Capote runs away to spend Christmas in Monroeville, Alabama, with best friend, Nelle Harper Lee, who gives him courage to stay true to himself.

The inspiring true story of Harper Lee, the girl who grew up to write To Kill a Mockingbird, from Bethany Hegedus and Erin McGuire. Perfect for fans of The Right Word and I Dissent. This nonfiction picture book is an excellent choice to share during homeschooling, in particular for children ages 4 to 6. It's a fun way to learn to read and as a supplement for activity books for children. Nelle Harper Lee grew up in the rocky red soil of Monroeville, Alabama. From the get-go she was a spitfire. Unlike most girls at that time and place, Nelle preferred overalls to dresses and climbing trees to tea parties. Nelle loved to watch her daddy try cases in the courtroom. And she and her best friend, Tru, devoured books and wrote stories of their own. More than anything Nelle loved words. This love eventually took her all the way to New York City, where she dreamed of becoming a writer. Any chance she had, Nelle sat at her typewriter, writing, revising, and chasing her dream. Nelle wouldn't give up--not until she discovered the right story, the one she was born to tell. Finally, that story came to her, and Nelle, inspired by her childhood, penned To Kill a Mockingbird. A groundbreaking book about small-town injustice that has sold over forty million copies, Nelle's novel resonated with readers the world over, who, through reading, learned what it was like to climb into someone else's skin and walk around in it. --School Library Journal

Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time From the Modern Library’s new set of beautifully repackaged hardcover classics by Truman Capote—also available are Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Other Voices, Other Rooms (in one volume), Portraits and Observations, and The Complete Stories Truman Capote’s masterpiece, In Cold Blood, created a sensation when it was first published, serially, in The New Yorker in 1965. The intensively researched, atmospheric narrative of the lives of the Clutter family of Holcomb, Kansas, and of the two men, Richard Eugene Hickock and Perry Edward Smith, who brutally killed them on the night of November 15, 1959, is the seminal work of the “new journalism.” Perry Smith is one of the great dark characters of American literature, full of contradictory emotions. “I thought he was a very nice gentleman,” he says of Herb Clutter. “Soft-spoken. I thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat.” Told in chapters that alternate between the Clutter household and the approach of Smith and Hickock in their black Chevrolet, then between the investigation of the case and the killers’ flight, Capote’s account is so detailed that the reader comes to feel almost like a participant in the events.

“This sequel [to Tru & Nelle] stands on its own. The writing is gorgeous—not one false stroke. Neri's uneasy peer into a piece of Americana squeezes dribs of hope from precious blood. Totally brilliant. Bravo!” —Rita Williams-Garcia, 3-time Coretta Scott King Award-Winner and Newbery honoree for One Crazy Summer ? "An absorbing story of true friends in troubled times." —Kirkus, starred review "As in Neri’s first book about the real-life Truman Capote and Harper Lee, middle grade readers will laugh, cry, and be surprised by the many unlikely situations these preteens seem to find for themselves and their families." –School Library Journal —