Helen’s Big World: The Life of Helen Keller

Written by Doreen Rappaport
Illustrated by Matt Tavares

Grade:

2-6

ISBN-13:

978-0786808908

Publisher:

Disney, Hyperion (2012)

​Many know the story of Helen Keller, an American child stricken blind, deaf and mute by early childhood disease, but who, with the help of her teacher Anne Sullivan, triumphed over all three challenges. Few have told Keller's story as compellingly as Doreen Rappaport, or made it the visual delight provided by Matt Tavares. Rappaport’s graceful prose draws the reader forward (her text is interspersed with quotes from Keller’s own works.) Tavares’s illustrations make the book sing. The book’s format (almost Big Book in scale) make Helen’s Big World appear a pre-school child’s book. It is not. Because of the content (how Helen learned to read, speak, and write; the nature of her friendship with Anne), it will be cherished by second graders to sixth graders alike. Young readers will be awed by the persistence, and wonder of a child facing a dark and silent world, and the touching resolve of a dedicated teacher. A story of friendship, grit, and human resilience.*Available on Epic!