Helen Keller: Courage in the Dark

A well-written biography with pretty colored pencil illustrations. Simple sentence and paragraph structure, so could be accessible to earlier readers. Tells Helen's story from birth.Includes a braille guide.

Helen Keller was born a healthy baby girl, but when she was just over a year old she became sick with a very high fever. A few days passed and the fever broke. Although she wasn't sick anymore, the high fever left her unable to hear or see. Becoming blind and deaf turned the once happy child into a wild child. She kicked, scratched, and screamed at her parents. During dinnertime she stuck her hands in others plates. Helen's parents didn't know what to do with her so they sought the help of Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. Mr. Bell suggested they take her to the Perkins Institute for the Blind. There they met Anne Sullivan. When Anne arrived Helen was almost 7 and very unhappy. At first Helen would not listen or obey Anne but with a lot of patience she began to learn. This beautiful story of courage ends with the many accomplishment of Helen Keller.Personal Reaction:I love this story. It teaches kids that even though they may have a disability, that shouldn't keep them from learning and succeeding in anything they would like to do. Classroom Extension1. Have students make their way through an obstacle course blindfolded so they can experience what its like to be blind. 2. Have students write a paragraph about what they think Anne felt like when she was young and unable to hear, see or communicate.

I like this book for three reasons. First, this book opens the minds of it’s readers to something they may have never thought about. Allowing the reader to think about the tough issues that others have overcome, making themselves successful and prosperous through hard work and dedication. For example, when a childhood illness leaves Helen Keller blind and deaf, Helen’s life seems hopeless. But her unconquerable will and the help of a devoted teacher permit Helen to triumph over incredible hardship. The book is based off of a true story which allows the reader to understand that life can be a challenge, but that should only make you work harder to accomplish your goals.Second, the simple writing style is easy for young readers to follow. For instance, “Helen now knew how to express her thoughts. For the first time, she was happy.” The book is done in chapters which allowed the author to place more information in the book without overwhelming the readers. This allowed the reader to remain interested in wanting to finish the story because they would be pulled in by their interest and curiosity of finding out what happens to Helen.Third, the beautiful illustrations keep the reader engaged and add depth to this beautiful biography. The pictures go hand in hand with what is happening in the story providing the reader with a visual to what they are reading. For example, the book starts off describing dinner time with Helen as dysfunctional and messy. On the pages we see Helen screaming and throwing food around the room, with cups spilling over onto the floor. Further along we see her learning how to properly use a fork and spoon. This image corresponds to the part of the text when her teacher Annie are practicing how to hold a spoon.This book's main idea is overcoming differences that put you at a disadvantage. Life will always be challenging and for others it may be more difficult so one must never give up and try their best no matter what their given circumstances are. Where there is a will there is a way. As Helen Keller states, “The best and the most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.”

Helen Keller was blind and deaf. She was not an easy child to deal with because she didn’t know how to express herself so she acted up. Eventually her parent got her a teacher Anne Sullivan. She taught Helen sign language to communicate with the world. She went to college and graduated. I learned a lot about Helen Keller from this book and was very moved how she was taught so many things when her parents never thought she would.In the classroom, I would have my children get in groups of two and blind fold each other and wear ear muffs. Then we would see how it is to be like Helen Keller. I can also have them do research papers on disabilities.

"Helen Keller: Courage In the Dark" tells the story of American author, Helen Keller. Born July 27 1880 in Alabama, Helen began her life as a normal little girl. But when she was 1 years old, she developed a fever that left her deaf and blind. Helen became wild and frustrated because she could not communicate. Her parents did not believe that there was any hope for their child until they met Anne Sullivan. Anne taught Helen how to behave and taught her sign language by moving her fingers to form the letters. From this point on, nothing was impossible for Helen. She graduated from Radcliffe College with honors. She learned German and French, wrote books, and became famous all over the world.Helen Keller defines the phrase “nothing is impossible.” When I first opened this book, I expected to find the same story that had been reproduced several times. But as I read, I realized that this was not your usual condensed Helen Keller story. The book is done in chapters which allowed the author to place more information in the book without overwhelming the readers. The simple writing style is easy for young readers to follow. The beautiful illustrations keep the reader engaged and add depth to this beautiful biography.Possibly, with any grade level, I could teach minilessons on Braille or sign language. Students will then be able to somewhat enter Helen’s world. I could have older children write about a challenge that they had to overcome. They can share their story to the class or to a small group.