About This Book

After a severe illness, Helen Keller is left blind and deaf. Her parents are devastated and eventually hire Anne Sullivan, a teacher from a school for the blind, to help her live in the world among other sighted and hearing children. But Anne Sullivan must tame the wild and rebellious Helen before she can begin the long process of helping her to understand her surroundings. At last and seemingly against all odds, Anne's tenacity pays off, Helen has a profound breakthrough, which leads Helen to write later in life about that moment when "my heart began to sing!"

Readers exposed to the remarkable life of Helen Keller for the very first time will find this version of her inspiring story easy to read. Being a first Hello Reader! book, it tells Helen's story using basic words to reinforce phonics and sight vocabulary. First-level Hello Reader! books offer punch-out flash cards and six additional pages of skill-building activities. Although simply told for new readers, Helen's story never comes off as boring or trivial. Appealing, full-color illustrations accompany the text, which is preceded with a note to parents written by an educational consultant who outlines effective ways to read to and with children. A sign-language alphabet included on the book's final page will help young readers further identify with book's remarkable subject.