- beautiful telling of the life of Helen Keller, a blind and deaf girl who lived from 1880 to 1968, whose life was transformed by the dedication of teacher Anne Sullivan
- convo: difficult situations depicted in first few chapters (see thoughts below)
- language: x2 stupid, x1 freak
Type: biographical chapter book
Ages: 10-16
Author: Lorena A. Hickok
This was an incredible read-aloud for my children. We adored the story, though some parts–especially in the beginning–were hard to stomach. Helen lived in silent darkness. She didn’t know language nor obedience and became difficult to care for as she grew older and bigger. Her parents dearly loved her, and you can feel this love through their struggle to help Helen.
Enter Anne Sullivan. This young teacher had dealt with vision problems herself and, in short, was able to create unique ways to reach Helen’s mind. She worked constantly with Helen, but breakthroughs didn’t happen right away. In the above-mentioned difficult moments, Anne is said to slap Helen to teach her obedience; however, in my opinion, it is done with so much care and loving purposes. It doesn’t say where she is slapped–might have simply been on the hand that was doing the action. At another time, Teacher has to gently tie Helen’s hands behind her back to help her stop biting her nails. It was done well and the scene is brief. Lastly, there is an instance when Teacher “boxed” her ears to get her attention.
Unbeknownst to Helen, she was becoming very famous. Helen’s parents and Teacher did a great job at keeping that from her for a long time. Many well-known names are mentioned in this book, because she would meet with famous people while not knowing they were famous–names such as John Greenleaf Whittier, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, and many presidents of the United States.
After breaking through to her mind and beautiful growth happening, Helen had some really neat experiences, such as a circus scene your kids are sure to love.
The writing was thoughtful and well-designed for a read-aloud. Hickok’s story opened my children’s eyes and made for rich conversations. Overall, I happily recommend it!