Helen Keller's best friend Belle

Holly Barry

Book - 2013

Shares details about Helen Keller's early life, including her love for animals and her special relationship with a devoted Irish Setter named Belle, who was a faithful companion to Helen throughout her younger years.

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jE/Barry, Holly
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Subjects
Genres
Picture books
Published
Chicago, Illinois : Albert Whitman & Company 2013.
Language
English
Main Author
Holly Barry (-)
Other Authors
Jennifer Thermes (illustrator)
Physical Description
1 volume, unpaged : color illustrations ; 23 x 28 cm
ISBN
9780807531983
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Centering primarily on Helen Keller's early years, this picture-book biography provides an accessible introduction point: Helen's special friendship with her Irish setter Belle. Born in Alabama in 1880, Helen lost her sight and hearing following a childhood illness. Though unable to communicate, she found solace with her pet dogs, especially Belle, her companion when Helen meets teacher Anne Sullivan in 1887. This shows Belle with Helen during their lessons, as she learns finger spelling and then braille. Helen and Anne then go to Boston, where Helen learns to speak; when they return home, Helen is able to call for Belle, and the two are happily reunited. A short, simple text and watercolor illustrations, accented with lively and poignant touches, convey Keller's experiences and joy as the world progressively opens up to her. Endnotes, in denser, lengthier prose, highlight aspects of Keller's adult life, accomplishments, and lifelong affection for dogs. Intriguing and inspiring, this will make readers want to learn more about Helen Keller. Endpaper illustrations depict the sign language alphabet.--Rosenfeld, Shelle Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review

PreS-Gr 2-Keller was a lifelong dog lover. When an illness at a young age left her blind and deaf, and feeling alone and afraid, she found solace in the family pets. Belle, an Irish setter, became her closest companionas she struggled to communicate and discovered the world around her through her lessons with Anne Sullivan. Examples of Sullivan's teachings are supported by individual placards representing each letter/sign in the words Helen learned. As her world opened up, the warm illustrations become suffused with light. The complete alphabet in Braille is inserted in the middle of the narrative and displayed on the endpapers in sign language. This brief introduction to Keller's early life concludes with a note on her love of dogs and a brief biography of her later years. A pleasant companion to David A. Adler's A Picture Book of Helen Keller (Holiday House, 1990).-Janet Weber, Tigard Public Library, OR (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review

This simple biography covers the landmarks in Keller's life: her childhood illness, the arrival of Anne Sullivan, and the moment at the water pump. But it also emphasizes Helen's love for dogs and implies that a particular reward for her learning to speak was verbal communication with her favorite dog, Belle. Lightly drawn illustrations in soft colors complete the warm narrative. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Helen Keller's life is summarized for younger children in this attractively illustrated biography that uses Keller's love for dogs as a unifying thematic thread. The story focuses on Keller's childhood, summarizing her early life in rural Alabama and the arrival in 1887 of her teacher, Anne Sullivan. Keller's favorite dog, an Irish setter named Belle, is beside Keller as she learns from her teacher how to communicate with finger spelling. Teacher and student travel to Boston together, where Keller begins to learn how to speak, and she is able to call her dog to her when they return home to Alabama. This portion of the book is structured in a traditional picture-book format, using limited text and large-format illustrations that will work well for reading aloud to young children. The final few pages shift to more complex text describing additional dogs owned by Keller throughout her life as well as a summary of her college education, lecture tours and philanthropic work in her later years. This dual structure makes the book suitable both for young children and for older children looking for biographical information for school reports. While Helen Keller's love of dogs isn't an integral part of her personal biography, it's an interesting hook to draw children into the story of this fascinating, inspirational woman. (Picture book/biography. 4-10)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.