A Picture Book of Helen Keller

Picture Book Biography

by David A. Adler, John Wallner (Illustrator), Alexandra Wallner (Illustrator)

A brief biography of the woman who overcame her handicaps of being both blind and deaf.

Genres: Biography, Picture Books, History, Nonfiction, Childrens, Disability, American History

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

David Abraham Adler is an American children's author. He was born in New York City, New York in 1947. He graduated from Queens College in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in economics and education. For the next nine years, he worked as a mathematics teacher for the New York City Board of Education, while taking classes towards a master's degree in marketing, a degree he was awarded by New York University in 1971. In that same year, a question from his then-three-year-old nephew inspired Adler to write his first story, A Little at a Time, subsequently published by Random House in 1976. Adler's next project, a series of math books, drew on his experience as a math teacher. In 1977, he created his most famous character, Cam Jansen, originally featured in Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Stolen Diamonds, which was published that year.

Adler married psychologist Renee Hamada in 1973, and their first child, Michael, was born in 1977. By that time Adler had taken a break from teaching and, while his wife continued her work, he stayed home, took care of Michael, and began a full-time writing career.

Adler's son, Michael S. Adler, is now the co-author of several books with his father, including A Picture Book of Sam Adams, A Picture Book of John Hancock, and A Picture Book of James and Dolly Madison. Another son, Edward, was the inspiration for Adler's Andy Russell series, with the events described in the series loosely based on adventures the Adler family had with Edward's enthusiasm and his pets.

As of November 2008, Adler has three sons and two grandsons. He lives in Woodmere, New York.

(source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Alyssa]

Alyssa Morres
Picture book

This is a great book that illustrates the life of Helen Keller and how she overcame obstacles in her life in order to achieve a normal everyday life. I find these young adult pictures book interesting in that they take a topic such as someones life and make it so it's easy to understand through the pictures they paint.

[Mckinley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this a bit too superficial.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many children's books about Helen Keller, completely omits her socialism.

[Sara Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. Genre: Junior Book/Biography

2. Summary: Helen Keller was a normal little girl born to loving parents. After falling ill when she was not quite two years old, Helen lost both her ability to see and hear. She struggled through childhood with obstacles of anger, frustration, and loneliness, until she met her tutor Anne Sullivan. Helen Keller overcame and superseded all obstacles placed in front of her, becoming a true role model and innovator for the deaf and blind communities.

3. Critique:
a. One of the greatest strengths of this title is the use of simplistic language to describe very in depth material.

b. In this book, the reader is learning about Helen Keller’s inability to hear or see after becoming ill with a very high fever when she was only one and half years old. Second graders, who learn about Helen Keller, may have a hard time understanding this concept. The simplistic language helps students to comprehend Helen’s struggles. “She turned away from bright lights. She didn’t hear people when they spoke to her” (p. 4).

c. The simplistic language in this story engages young readers and allows them the opportunity to grasp deeper issues on their own level. Helen Keller was a young girl and then woman who struggled and then triumphed through some of the most difficult circumstances. David Adler’s use of language in this book makes the information relatable and easily comprehendible for younger children. “One day Anne and Helen passed a water pump. Anne took Helen’s hand and put it under the water. In Helen’s other hand Anne spelled ‘w-a-t-e-r’. Now Helen understood. Everything has a name” (p. 16).

4. Curriculum Connection: This story would be a great tool for teachers to use as a read-aloud for the introduction to a social studies lesson about Americans who have made substantial contributions. The timeline in the back of the book could be used as a class display during this time, as well. For this lesson, the standard of learning being addressed would be VA SOL 2.11.

[Mrbrudney44 · Rating 4 out of 5]

David A. Adler has written a very informative biography about Helen Keller. Although the book includes many interesting and useful tidbits about Helen, Adler does so in an engaging way and does not bog down the reader with too much dry information. This book is especially suitable for readers who have little to no prior knowledge about Helen Keller. The book is easy to follow and chronicles her life from birth until her death.

The illustrations in the book are colorful and will attract the attention of young readers. The pictures make it easy for young readers to visually follow Helen's life, even if they do not understand all of what is being read. In addition to the illustrations, the text itself lends itself to young readers (2nd-3rd grade) because the vocabulary is accessible for emerging readers. Adler presents Helen Keller's life in terms that are understood by proficient and beginning readers.

The book offers readers a cogent and fascinating tour through Helen Keller's life, featuring information about her quest to learn to communicate and her rise to fame. In addition, the back of the book features a mini timeline in which readers see key points from the book presented in a timeline format, complete with years.

I would use this book as a read-aloud book for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders. This book would serve as a great starting point for a unit about timelines, biographies, or famous Americans (such as Helen Keller). After reading this book aloud to the class, the teacher could discuss the structure of biographies or the structure of timelines. Additionally, the teacher could construct a timeline of Helen Keller's life with the students' help.

[Cheryl Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. Genre: Biography (Junior book)
2. Summary: This inspirational book is a very concise book on Helen Keller's life story. The book is filled with many visual images that help show what certain parts of Helen Keller's life was like.
3. Critique:
(a) Plot
(b) This novel gives readers a complete picture on what Helen Keller's life was like, with vivid descriptions and visuals on almost every page. This book brings into reality the challenges and struggles there are in life, especially when a disability, such as Helen’s, is involved. The author describes the obstacles that she had to overcome in several stages of her life as well as the contributions that she made despite her disabilities.
(c) The author describes Helen’s accomplishments, such as learning braille and writing a novel. The author brings in other characters from Helen Keller’s life to make the story more believable. For instance, Helen’s teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan, receives the acknowledgement in this book for helping Helen learn to speak. The author also includes her challenges towards her relationship with family due to her temper.
4. Curriculum Connection: Teachers can incorporate this book into their lesson to encourage the connection between reading and writing, such as in essay form. In addition, it can be used to practice sequence of events by completing a sequence map.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a biography of Helen Keller's life. The book covers the basics of Helen's life and her contributions to society. The text is simplistic and easy to understand making it an excellent resource to use with younger readers.

Themes: Overcoming extreme adversity, courage, perseverance, disabilities, friendship
Publication: 1990

Classroom uses:

As a teacher of the blind and visually impaired, I would use this in a cultural diversity lesson. After reading the book, I would ask students what things they think might be more difficult to do if they could not see and/or hear. I would also bring in a braille writer and show them how it is used. I would braille each of their names for them to take home. I would bring in samples of large print and braille text books and compare them with their won books. I would dicuss how the differences might affect how long it took to read, storage difficulties because of how big the books are, etc. I would teach some simple sighted guide techniques and have the students pair up together with one person under the blindfold and the other acting as the guide. I would also bring in some of the currently technology to show to the students such as digital readers, etc. Having a teacher of the deaf come in to demonstrate some sign language and discuss difficulties of a hearing loss would complete the lesson.

[Teeny Probst · Rating 2 out of 5]

Summary: This brief biography summarizes and highlights the life of one of the strongest women in our nation’s history, Helen Keller. The book shows how regardless of being deaf and blind, Helen still went on to live a successful and fulfilling life that inspired millions around the word. Overall, this is a great book for young readers who are anxious to be introduced to a chapter picture book and learn interesting people in history.

Author: David A. Adler
Illustrations by: John Wallner

Audience: K-2nd
Genre: biography picture book
Themes: Women in history, deafness, and blindness

Literary Elements: The conflict is man versus society due to Minty taking a stand against the brutul world around her.

Illustrations: John Wallner’s use of bright colors throughout the book portrays the hope that Helen Keller has instilled in millions of people’s hearts.

Usage: : This particular book can be used in a variety of setting in the classroom including independent reading, guided reading, and reading out loud. One could easily introduce this book to children who are progressing on their reading journey and in any first through second grade history class.

[Bre Peoples · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Picture Book of Helen introduces young readers to Helen Keller and how she went through life blind and deaf. This book shows readers how Keller learned to communicate and her typical struggles through her daily life. The book mainly focuses on her younger life and her early frustrations with her disabilities. She is slightly depicted as a frustrated, angry, and maybe even spoiled child. Eventually is shows readers how she finally reached her potential.
I enjoyed this book a lot, even as a young adult it taught me more about Helen Keller that I hadn't known. If it did that for me the I believe children can learn a lot from this book. Helen Keller is an important person in history with the battles she had to overcome and it introduces young readers to her. It teaches them how she overcame her struggles and can inspire them to overcome any that they may have. The illustrations in the book were very bright and will draw readers attention to them along with the story itself.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a girl by the name of Helen Keller. When she was little she suffered from an illness that left her blind and deaf. As a child Helen struggled with obstacles of anger, frustration, and loneliness. Once her teacher Anne Sullivan started working with her Helen was able to conquer some of these obstacles. Anne helped her in so many ways and was really a role model for Helen. This book is great for students who don’t know much about who Helen Keller was. It does not go into a lot of detail but it gives the perfect amount of information to know many of Helens obstacles and achievements. A good activity to do with your students after reading this story is have them see and feel brail. That way they can see what it is like for a blind person to read. This book is good for ages 9-12.

[Brittney Finck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a biography based on Helen Keller. It begins with a brief background of the sickness Helen had when she was only six months old. This is the sickness that left Helen Keller blind and deaf. This is a great biography, I was intrigued and walked away knowing more about Helen Keller than I did when I started. I can only imagine what the students in my class will learn. I would use this biography as a way to boost my classes self-esteem. Helen Keller struggled in her life but made it even without her hearing or sight. This book taught me how much more Helen Keller should be known for, aside from being deaf and blind, and I plan to teach my classes about this remarkable woman.

[Shannon Stinnette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a delightful biography about Helen Keller written for an audience K-2. The illustrations are very detailed and very colorful. The author does a nice job explaining the highlights of her life as well as explaining how Helen often felt as a child. The author provides information about Helen's frustrations and shares information about her mischievous behavior as a child. We learn how she found her teacher Anne Sullivan and other successes in her life.
I think this story can be used in a classroom to teach about biographies as well as teaching about people with disabilities and how they can adapt to life with disabilities.

[Kimberlydaniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genre: Biography Copyright: 1990

One of four picture books (all by the same author David Adler) that I recently recieved from a family friend. She was a teacher for 20 years and said that her students loved these. They are very simple books to read and gives the begining reader a very good start to reading books to gain information (I teach students that we read books for many reasons) My daughter and I read this one together because she had done a project back in 2nd grade on Helen Keller. Great set of books to have in class for students to use as a begining point...

[Carla]

This is a biography about Helen Keller. The book leads you through her life, from being an angry child, to slowly learning how to read and understand words, to graduating college and becoming famous. This would be a good book for kids because it goes through her life with pictures and in a simple way so that they can understand the struggles of handicapped people and understand her life a little better. This could lead to a class discussion about the handicapped and what would be different or hard and how they can help them, even if it's just holding doors open for them and being friendly.

[Gina Erb · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Picture Book of Helen Keller is a very good and insightful book for young children to read. It allows children to have an insight into the life of Helen Keller from when she was born through the time that she got sick and became both blind and deaf and all the struggles she had to face with having a disability while growing up into her adult life. It is also a very inspirational book for young readers. The pictures within the book illustrated by John and Alexandra Wallner are also very captivating to the eyes of the viewer.

[Laniece · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing story about Helen Keller. The book tells about the life of Helen from when she was an infant to her death. The book is very informal and great I didn’t know so much about her. The book is for 3rd through 8th grade. This book is an easy read I would use it for and student that is in a higher grade level and is not up to speed with reading skills. I would read this to all ages though.

[Shelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

An early reader biography for elementary age students K-3. David Adler did a nice job of describing the challenges and frustrations that young Helen Keller went through and the hope Anne Sullivan, her teacher, brought into her life. Keller was such an amazing woman who inspired so many disabled people to realize their life can have meaning and quality. Her story will continue to be inspirational to many, even those who have much smaller hurdles to overcome in life.

[Kynshasa Mcdaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was easy to read. It focused on the life of Helen Keller as a child until death. It could be a useful tool for children to see that even seemingly big set backs can be overcome with determination. A version of a trust game could be used to let the children experience what life could have been like for Helen Keller. One child can lead another child that has their eyes closed or blind folded to help the children understand some things that Heller Keller had to overcome.

[Jane G Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderful introduction to the life, struggles, and triumphs of Helen Keller. Written in a clean, easy-to-grasp style, this is a great book to pick up at the library and read to your kids. Every child should know the name of Helen Keller.

I was less pleased with the art, especially the depiction of the people throughout the book. The colors seem over-saturated and I found myself more drawn to the text than to the paintings...

[T Crockett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does a nice job of providing both facts and some insight into her personality. There's about a paragraph of text on each page. I read this with kids ranging 4-11 in age. They were all interested, but the younger ones were quite intrigued. There have been many discussions about braille and would you rather lose your sight or your hearing and what are our senses etc. since the book, not to mention many requests to reread it.

[Yahya Han · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a real story of success of Helen Keller, who was blind and deaf from an illness. At the very beginning of her illness, she really struggled to do everything, but after her family found a teacher for her, she became a learner. Even if she had never spoken of seen the people, she learned to communicate with the people.

[Deanna Mcdonough]

I enjoyed the biography on Hellen Keller. Hellen Keller was an inspirational leader. She couldn't see or hear. Yet she was able to read and speak eventually. This is a good book for young readers. Their are many picutes and sentences are easy. The book is broken up into chapters just to designate that her life was moving forward.

[Shala Abbott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a real explicit book to be a picture book. You really can learn all that you need to learn about Helen Keller in this book. I could see the love of the teacher through the illustrations. This book would be good for elementary of middle schoolers.

[Hae Sun]

This book is a book about Helen Keller and her life of struggle overcoming her disabilities. I would use this book for female historical figures as well as diversity. Students will learn that diversity does not only come in skin color and ethnicity but also in people's ability.

[Pepa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book could be used in any classroom. The message of overcoming, and the knowledge of the blind and deaf that is given is great.

[Kristy Mcghee · Rating 4 out of 5]

good alternative to chapter book. ms keller can be introduced to younger grades through this book

[Kara Curtin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Important information put into understandable language for kids. No fluff. Biography

[Carol Royce Owen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good basic chronological biography of Helen Keller.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story mesmerized my 2nd graders. Wow! Well written and illsutrated for a younger crowd!

[Kelci Cox-Griswold · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about the life and accomplishments of Helen Keller. It talks about her handicap and how she still learned to do many things.