SO MUCH MORE TO HELEN

Helen Keller’s life and achievements are recounted in rhyme.

Most people know the story of Keller learning the word water, but many don’t know about the life of activism she led after that. Pincus tells us about all the things Keller was—deaf-blind, yes, but also an author, activist, friend, and dog lover, among many other things. The didactic and earnest text is accompanied by chunky, colorful illustrations that offer more details for readers to find. Younger children can stick to the sometimes-awkward couplets (rhyming Helen with retellin’), while those who want to know more can read the explanatory paragraphs (rendered in a small font) on each page, and those who are really curious can read the additional information at the back of the book. It is difficult to bring a fresh perspective to Keller’s story, and the effort made here surpasses many others. In the backmatter, Pincus refers to Keller’s being a member of the Socialist Party, and there is an attempt to acknowledge the elephant in the room of Keller’s belief in eugenics (described too gently as “some theories now disregarded”). However, her friendship with Alexander Graham Bell (who argued that deaf people shouldn’t marry each other for fear of passing on deafness) is presented without comment, and her method of communication is described as “signing,” which is only technically true and implies a closer relationship to Deaf culture than she had. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A better-than-most addition to the Helen Keller children’s book canon.