Helen Keller
Reviewed by Debbie Booth-Johnson

This short novel is part of a series of 21 biographies offered by Scholastic books. It tells a compelling story in an easily accessible way. The language and sentence structures are appropriate for beginning readers without being condescending. It is 90 pages long and the print size is easy to manage. There are simple illustrations throughout the book and, at the end, three period photos of Helen Keller and Ann Sullivan, her teacher. The Braille alphabet is also printed on the cardboard cover at the back of the book. Students enjoyed experiencing how it feels.

Helen Keller’s story is a timeless classic that is well received by adult literacy students. Her life story is both inspirational and endearing. Although it is difficult to imagine the blindness or deafness that Helen endured, students have experienced their own communication difficulties using reading and writing. Part of the appeal of this novel may be that students recognize what she was able to achieve against all the odds. They also appreciate the essential role of Ann Sullivan as her teacher. As one student said, “I felt so happy about Helen because she worked so hard to learn and finally was successful.” To me the most touching part of the story is when Helen realizes that everything can be named, including emotions, and that she can learn to use those names to communicate her needs and desires.

Helen Keller was exceptionally intelligent and was driven to learn as much as she could as fast as humanly possible. Eventually she attended Radcliffe College. During her mainstream education, few special concessions were made for Helen’s disabilities. She did not expect to be treated differently because of her blindness and deafness. After college, she went on to become an inspirational speaker and a powerful advocate for people with disabilities.

Helen Keller is an excellent choice for beginning students who are looking for the challenge of reading a longer story.

To see an actual sample page of this resource please refer to the PDF