Young Helen Keller: Woman of Courage

by Julie Durrell

Designed especially for beginning readers, First-Start Biographies trace the childhood years of famous men and women who overcame obstacles and achieved greatness. Illustrated in full color.

Genres: Biography, Childrens, Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Kira Riccio · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. (None)
2. Kindergarten-Grade 2
3. “Young Helen Keller” is a story about Helen Keller’s life. It starts out when she was born, how she got sick, and how her teacher Annie Sullivan helped teach her.
4. I like this book because it includes many facts from Helen Keller’s life and explains them in a simple way for children. It includes important dates like her birthday and day of her death. There is an index in the back for important information.
5. This book can be used to teach about historical figures and how to explain hearing loss.

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is a VERY brief, short and simple story about Helen Keller. I did not like the first page on how it began her story. I felt like the story at the beginning would have been stronger if it started with the facts where she was born and so forth instead of starting out that she couldn't see or hear. It wasn't until she was two years that she got sick and the illness left her deaf and blind. The story doesn't say that until after a few pages in so I felt like the beginning was just off and disorganized.

[Patricia Copeland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: biography, grades K-1
This is a very basic biography of Helen Keller, but it does a good job for what it is. I really like how it showed the damage treating Helen as "special" and not treating her the same as other kids did to her. I also like how it showed the importance of a good teacher on Helen's life. I think this is a good book to introduce students to Helen Keller.

[Emma Vargo · Rating 3 out of 5]

K-2nd
A good book about disabilities and an inspiring read about overcoming obstacles. Very interesting for students to learn about.

[Brittany Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helen Keller wasn't born deaf or blind, in fact, she was born perfectly healthy. However, when she turned two she contracted a terrible disease that was nearly fatal. This is when Helen became both blind and deaf. Because she could not hear, she also could not speak. This made it very hard for her to communicate what she needed or how she felt. Therefore, she acted out by bringing harm to others. Her parents became very frustrated and took her to see Dr. Alexander Graham Bell because he worked with educating deaf children. He connected the Keller family to Annie Sullivan who then began to teach Helen. The book concludes by recounting the later life and successes of Helen Keller.

I loved this book. I thought that it was both easy to read and very informative. I think that this is a great read for children interested in history.

I think that this could be used in a classroom when discussing: famous historical figures, historical heroines, biographies, deaf/blindness, or success stories. This book is so versatile that it works well in all of these different categories.

[zabarj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title: Young Helen Keller: Woman of Courage
Author: Anne Benjamin
First Start Series
Interest Level: K - 2
Grade Level Equivalent: 3.5
Lexile® measure: 490L
DRA: 28
Guided Reading: L
Genre/Theme
* Biography
* Series
Topics:
* Compassion and Honesty
* Courage and Honor
* Disabilities
* Language Arts
* School Life

Summary: Helen Keller had a difficult life when she was young; she was unable to speak, hear, or talk. But after meeting Annie Sullivan, Helen learned and worked hard to help other deaf and blind people.

Review: A great biography for emergent readers. There are excellent water color illustrations that support text vocabulary and comprehension. Readers are provided with factual information about Helen Keller without plot or story. It sticks mainly to the facts and explains Helen's difficulties in life through appropriate vocabulary and explanations.

[Megan Rowland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a biography on Helen Keller. The biography is written just for children and the illustrations are, too. During social studies, students learn all about Helen Keller and this would be a good book to introduce her.

[Dinga · Rating 5 out of 5]

COOL because Helen Keller did amazing things