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Book Cover for: Helen's Big World: The Life of Helen Keller, Doreen Rappaport

Helen's Big World: The Life of Helen Keller

Doreen Rappaport

This "magnificent account" (New York Times) of Helen Keller's life presents a moving portrait of one of the world's great luminaries.

When Helen was nineteen months old, an illness left her unable to see or speak. She struggled to make herself understood, and often lashed out when she couldn't. With the help of a teacher named Annie Sullivan, she learned to spell words with her fingers, opening her world immeasurably. She soon learned to write and to read Braille, and even to read lips by touch; with Annie by her side, she went to college, and wrote an autobiography that shared her story with the world. She was lauded as a genius and became an advocate for people with disabilities, workers' rights, women's rights, and racial justice.

With her signature style of accessible prose laced with stirring quotes, Doreen Rappaport brings to life Helen Keller's poignant narrative in this addition to the Big Words series of picture book biographies. Acclaimed illustrator Matt Tavares beautifully captures the dynamism and verve of Helen's life and legacy, making Helen's Big World an unforgettable portrait of a woman whose vision for innovation and progress changed America--and the world--forever.

★ "Stirring and awe-inspiring." --The Horn Book
★ "While there are many books available about Helen Keller for this age group, this title offers a unique and beautiful perspective on her life." --School Library Journal
"No child could read this book without imagining herself, as Helen put it, 'in the still, dark world in which I lived.' But it makes Helen's path to self-expression all the more resonant and inspiring." --New York Times
"A worthwhile addition to biography shelves." --Booklist

Don't miss these other titles in the Big Words series!
Ellen Takes Flight: The Life of Astronaut Ellen Ochoa
Ruth Objects: The Life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Wilma's Way Home: The Life of Wilma Mankiller
Abe's Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln
Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
  • Publish Date: May 9th, 2017
  • Pages: 48
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 11.00in - 9.90in - 0.10in - 0.50lb
  • EAN: 9781484749609
  • Recommended age: 06-10
  • Categories: Biography & Autobiography - HistoricalHealth & Daily Living - Physical ImpairmentsDisability

About the Author

Doreen Rappaport has written numerous award-winning books for children, including: Freedom Ship and The School Is Not White, both illustrated by Curtis James; Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., illustrated by Bryan Collier, a Caldecott Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Honor Book, Orbis Pictus Honor Book, and a Jane Addams Children's Book Award winner; Abe's Honest Words: The Life of Abraham Lincoln, illustrated by Kadir Nelson, CCBC Best Book of the Year, and an IRA Teacher's Choice; Eleanor, Quiet No More, illustrated by Gary Kelly; and Jack's Path of Courage, illustrated by Matt Tavares. She lives and writes in upstate New York, and she invites you to visit her online at doreenrappaport.com.
Matt Tavares is the illustrator of several books, including 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, Jack and the Beanstalk, written by E. Nesbit, Iron Hans: A Grimms' Fairy Tale, retold by Stephen Mitchell, Lady Liberty: A Biography, and Jack's Path of Courage, both written by Doreen Rappaport. His books have won several awards, including four Parents' Choice Gold Awards, a Parents' Choice Silver Honor, two Oppenheim Gold Seal Awards, and an International Reading Association Children's Book Award. His illustrations have been exhibited at the Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators, and at the Brandywine River Museum. Matt lives in Maine with his wife and two daughters, and he invites you to visit him online at matttavares.com.

Praise for this book

"Helen's Big World covers the whole span of Helen's life from birth through her many years with Annie and after. Rappaport characteristically uses quotes to extend and heighten the emotion. A timeline at the end helps put important dates in perspective. Though this book focuses more on Helen than on Annie, readers get a more acute awareness of how much Annie sacrificed for Helen, Tavares' illustrations are, per the title, big and bold and often in intense close-up. Stirring and awe-inspiring."--The Horn Book
"While there are many books available about Helen Keller for this age group, this title offers a unique and beautiful perspective on her life." --School Library Journal
"A magisterial account."--Kirkus Reviews
"Appearing beside broad, horizontal illustrations, Rappaport's narrative is spaced out in poetic form. [The] sometimes dramatic illustrations show just how big Helen's world could be, picturing her in a college classroom, in a tree, on a stage, and in a factory with child laborers. The back endpapers illustrate the alphabet of hand signs that Sullivan taught Keller. Readers intrigued by the Braille alphabet can feel the raised red dots on the jacket, which spell out the book's title. A worthwhile addition to biography shelves." --Booklist