Deborah Hopkinson

Award Winning Author of Fiction & Nonfiction for Children & Teens

Annie and Helen

Annie and Helen

What is this book about?

Author Deb­o­rah Hop­kin­son and illus­tra­tor Raúl Colón present the sto­ry of Helen Keller in a fresh and orig­i­nal way that is per­fect for young chil­dren. Focus­ing on the rela­tion­ship between Helen and her teacher, Annie Sul­li­van, the book is inter­spersed with excerpts of Annie’s let­ters home, writ­ten as she strug­gled with her angry, wild pupil. But slow­ly, with devo­tion and deter­mi­na­tion, Annie teach­es Helen fin­ger spelling and braille, let­ters, and sen­tences. As Helen comes to under­stand lan­guage and starts to com­mu­ni­cate, she con­nects for the first time with her fam­i­ly and the world around her. The lyri­cal text and exquis­ite art will make this fas­ci­nat­ing sto­ry a favorite with young read­ers. Chil­dren will also enjoy learn­ing the Braille alpha­bet, which is embossed on the back cov­er of the jacket.

Awards and Accolades

  • Ore­gon Book Award final­ist 2013

Reviews

“… What is breath­tak­ing­ly shown here, through accu­rate, cross-hatched water­col­or paint­ings; excerpts from Sullivan’s cor­re­spon­dence to her for­mer teacher; and con­cise and poet­ic lan­guage, is the woman’s patience and belief in the intel­li­gence of her stu­dent to grasp the con­cepts of lan­guage … elu­ci­dat­ing the bril­liant process of edu­cat­ing the deaf and blind pio­neered by Annie Sul­li­van.” (School Library Jour­nal)

Annie and Helen

author, Deb­o­rah Hop­kin­son
illus­tra­tor, Raúl Colón
Schwartz & Wade / Drag­on­fly Books
ages 4 and up, 2012
ISBN 978–1984851925

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