Helen's Eyes: A Photobiography of Annie Sullivan, Helen Keller's Teacher (Photobiographies)

great accounting about a great person; she was extraordinary, despite a terrible childhood.

I purchased this for our school library. This story is well-known, but this book did a good job of giving it a new look.

I love the quality and good taste of National Geographic publications, so imagine my dismay when, upon perusing this magazine bio for juveniles, I saw so many of those beautiful historic photographs reproduced on a shiny silver-backed paper. It cheapened the entire effect of those lovely antique photographs and robbed them of their original black and white or sepia-toned appeal. Moreover, it made it hard to see the details of those pictures, or indeed the pictures themselves, which is a dismal setback for the youngsters reading this biography. This is so unlike the usual sublime quality of National Geographic (I subscribe to their wonderful History magazine) with their glossy pages and magnificent, lushly colored photography, and accurate reproduction of antique photos and historic illustrations or paintings. Instead this biographic magazine turned out to resemble the chintzy sort of pop-culture books around circa 1970, with that sleazy sort of shiny one-toned printing of old photographs, which obscures all original detail. Not at all up to the excellent standards of National Geographic publishing. I hope someday this edition is re-issued with properly reproduced photography so young people won't be cheated of accuracy.

Very detailed and full of quotes and real pictures. My students were engrossed in it for their biography project. Great source!

One of the best books on Hellen Keller. Recommended as non-fiction by a teacher.

Great book that adds photo's to the details of Annie Sulivans life.

Got it. Love it.

The love between Helen Keller and her T-E-A-C-H-E-R, Annie Sullivan, was one that would transcend the bounds of the usual student/teacher relationship and last a lifetime. In this stunning photobiography, the caption, in the words of Annie Sullivan, beneath the one of the first photographs (the one depicted on the U.S. postage stamp), says it all:"I know that the education of this child will be the distinguishing event of my life, if I have the brains and perseverance to accomplish it."Annie Sullivan's own struggles with blindness when she was a mere five years old. The serious diagnosis of contagious trachoma would plague her throughout her lifetime, causing her much pain and distress. Her struggles continued when her mother later died and her father simply up and left the family. With the death of her beloved brother Jimmie, Annie claimed that she "longed desperately to die" and that she believed that "very few children and even been so completely left alone and I was." She may have been alone, but she was strong and resilient, so much so that she would not only pull herself out of the depths of despair and darkness, but also her most famous student, Helen Keller.If the reader has read Helen Keller's, Story of My Life, much of the text will seem familiar, but for most the sweeping gallery of photographs of Annie and Helen will surprise and thrill the senses. In the back of the book there is a chronology and lists of additional resources, including many interesting web sites. For the curious, the braille on the frontispiece is in second grade braille (not embossed) and says "HELEN'S EYES A Photobiography of Annie Sullivan Helen Keller's Teacher by Marfé Ferguson Delano" It is repeated three times. This gorgeous book is one everyone one will want in their personal library to be read time and time again! I loved it.