Helen Keller: Her Life in Pictures

by George Sullivan

Book Overview

Rare photographs and informative text tell the story of Helen Keller's life from the iconic moment at the pump through her career as goodwill delegate to the world.

The fascinating life of one of the most popular historical figures is told through images -- most rarely, if ever, seen -- from the American Foundation for the Blind and The Perkins School for the Blind. The images trace Keller's life from birth, to childhood with Annie Sullivan...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0439918154
• ISBN13: 9780439918152
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Scholastic
• Length: 80 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.2" x 10.2"
• Age Range: 7 to 10 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 5

Customer Reviews

Helen Keller Picture Bio

Bought this as a gift for a niece and she loved it. Has great real life photos for any HK fans.

A Wonderful Experience

This book was a wonderful view and history of Helen Keller's life. The cast of a production of "Miracle Worker"gave it as a gift to our director, and we all enjoyed looking at the book before giving it away. It brought to life the characters we were playing on stage.

Excellent photographic non-fiction

As the title suggests, this book is very much about the pictures. A number of them are uncommon, and a fair handful of those were new to me. (Woo-hoo!) The book is well designed with nifty Braille motifs throughout, and the reproduction of the photos is very high quality. The text, in the form of long captions, is rather basic, both in terms of style and content. The captions are interesting and Sullivan did point out a few little-known facts - that Helen's eyes were removed and replaced with glass ones, for example - but in my typically nerdy way, I found myself wishing that the photos had all been dated. Overall, it's a lovely book to look at, and will probably work equally well as either an introduction to or a supplement for those with a prior knowledge of Helen Keller. I'm pleased to add it to my personal collection, and I'm awfully persnickety. (For those in search of a good traditional children's biography of Helen Keller, I'd recommend starting with Sullivan's previous work, Helen Keller (In Their Own Words).)

Book Review: Helen Keller - Her Life in Pictures

In my eyes, most biographies fall into one of two camps. There are biographies (such as the recent and outstanding Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow) that seek to tackle their subject from a unique angle. This is a technique that I am all in favor of - inventiveness is a good thing, yes? Then you have your biographies that set out to plainly and tastefully bring forth the extraordinary accomplishments of a person. In my opinion, this style can be just as difficult to pull off successfully. "Helen Keller: Her Life in Pictures" falls into the latter category. A richly visual work about a woman who triumphed despite being robbed of her hearing and sight. The story of Helen Keller's life is well known. Born in 1880 in Alabama, Keller lost her sense of sight and hearing as a two year old. With the help of her teacher, Annie Sullivan, Helen learned to communicate with others. In the words of the author, "Helen Keller holds a special place among American heroes. No one else is quite like her. She could not hear. She could not see. When she spoke, she could barely be understood. Yet she learned to live and express her thoughts and feelings in a world of sight and sound." The book is subtitled "Her Life in Pictures" for very good reason. Nearly every page contains a photograph that provides additional insight into Keller's life. The accompanying words are straightforward, allowing access to a wide range of readers. Well done all around. A quality nonfiction selection.

A more intimate portrait of Keller and her worl

Plenty of books - even picturebooks - have captured Helen Keller's life; but this one comes with a twist - it's her life in pictures. Black and white photos of Keller and her family and friends pack in a different, visual approach to her biography. Most of her books pepper in some photos: by having this picturebook based on images, kids receive a more intimate portrait of Keller and her world and will find her life and achievements easier to digest.