Helen Keller Revisited--An Interview with Deborah Hopkinson and Doreen Rappaport

March 10 - Today's post provided by Mary Ann Scheuer

I have admired Helen Keller since I was a young girl. And so I was thrilled to read both Doreen Rappaport’s and Deborah Hopkinson’s new picture book biographies: Annie and Helen AND Helen's Big World. I especially love the way these two books complement each other, helping young readers get a fuller picture of this remarkable woman.

Annie and Helen

by Deborah Hopkinson

illustrated by Raul Colon

Schwartz & Wade, 2012

available at your local library

Helen’s Big World

by Doreen Rappaport

illustrated by Matt Tavares

Hyperion, 2012

available at your local library

I have invited Doreen and Deborah to each answer questions about their writing process. I so appreciate their thoughtful answers, as we get a glimpse into their journey writing these wonderful books.

Mary Ann Scheuer: What inspired you to write a biography about Helen Keller?

Deborah Hopkinson

Deborah Hopkinson: I was inspired to write about Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller after reading a newspaper article about a newly discovered early photograph of the two together.  I began researching Annie Sullivan first, since she spent part of her childhood in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, where I lived until I was four.  As the story developed, I found myself drawn to the first few months of Annie’s experience teaching Helen.

Doreen Rappaport

Doreen Rappaport: All of my books are about the same thing—empowerment.  Helen Keller’s life is the story of empowerment and possibility, a journey from powerlessness to power, from helplessness into helpfulness, from ignorance to knowledge.  When I have visited schools, children inevitably ask me, “When are you going to do a biography about Helen Keller?”  I realized that kids react emotionally to her struggles and conquering of her extraordinary disabilities. Her life confirms for them that even under the most difficult circumstances people can triumph.  I realized it was time to do a book on her.

MS: It's fascinating that your picture books on Helen Keller take such different approaches. How did you decide to focus and organize your work on Helen Keller? What prompted the way you organized/focused your stories?

Deborah Hopkinson: Although the moment at the water pump is now so well-known, actually it’s what happened in the months after that I found most fascinating.  It seemed natural to use the details in Annie Sullivan’s letters in my story.  I think we forget how young Annie herself was when she first took on this job – she was just twenty-one years old during that spring of 1887.

Annie’s own excitement and Helen’s amazing progress are palpable in her correspondence. Annie herself had a tremendously difficult and traumatic childhood, losing her mother, brother, and, for a time, her sight.  She had just graduated from the Perkins School for the Blind when she traveled to Alabama to take a job teaching Helen in 1887.

The centennial edition of Keller’s The Story of My Life includes Annie Sullivan’s letters to Mrs. Sophie Hopkins, her friend and former house mother at Perkins School for the Blind.  Once I read those, I knew that they would serve as the scaffolding for my book.

Doreen Rappaport: I love how Deborah concentrated on the relationship between Annie and Helen. She gave kids a close-up of great teaching and the equal responsibility of a student to empower him/herself. Of course I included their relationship in my book but as I was reading about her, I realized the scope of her latter accomplishments and thought it important for kids to learn about her adult life and work, and so I decided to cover her life from birth until death.  Helen Keller was controversial; she spoke up for what she believed in even when it was unpopular, and she connected with and promoted causes way beyond her commitment to bettering the life of other disabled people.

MS: What is something surprising that you discovered about Helen Keller during your research?

Deborah Hopkinson: I think I came away with a renewed appreciation of her incredible drive to learn. That she could go from not having language to being able to write a letter in four months is a testament to her dedication and brilliant mind.

Doreen Rappaport: I never knew she starred in a movie, which turned out to be a painful experience for her.  I never knew she was on the vaudeville circuit.  She needed money so she performed. She was criticized for it, but it gave her a sense of independence, and for someone who had to depend on others a lot of the time, this must have felt wonderful.  I found questions and answers from these vaudeville performances and realized she had a wonderful sense of humor. 

MS: What primary source was particularly useful for your research?

Deborah Hopkinson: Without a doubt, Annie’s letters themselves were my inspiration.  We see so clearly her excitement as her pupil blossoms and begins grasping language, making progress every day. 

It’s not very different from a parent exclaiming over the new words his or his toddler is learning.  In fact, we can give some credit to Helen’s little sister, Mildred, as the inspiration for Annie’s methods.  Annie realized that people talk naturally to a toddler, using full sentences, whether the child has learned each word or not.  And that’s exactly what she began to do as she taught Helen.  

Doreen Rappaport: Her many biographies and speeches were all valuable and seeing photographs of her and a clip from a movie that she is in, which you canfind on my website, also made me feel close to her feelings, struggles, and spirit.

MS: How do you try to share this sense of primary sources with children? (photographs, quotes, etc.)

Deborah Hopkinson: The book is actually organized into sections, or mini-chapters around quotations from Annie’s letters.  The story can be read without delving into them, but I think if it is shared with a child by a parent, the adult can point out how, in fact, we are telling two people’s stories here.  It meant almost as much to Annie to be successful as a teacher as it did for Helen to be able to enter this amazing new world of communication and language. 

I’m glad we were able to include those evocative historical photos as well. I am grateful to the staff at Perkins for reading the manuscript and making the available the photos on the endpapers.

Doreen Rappaport: My biography is punctuated with quotes from her autobiographies and letters, etc. because it gives children a chance to hear “her voice”. Including her words reinforces the importance of primary sources.  I also included letters she wrote as a young girl, and my wonderful illustrator, Matt Tavares, reproduced the Braille with its appropriate objects, showing how Helen learned to read Braille. 

Editor's Note:
Mary Ann Scheuer is the librarian at Emerson School, a public elementary K-5 school in Berkeley, CA. She created Great Kid Books, as a site to help parents find books for their children, ages 4 - 14. Mary Ann is also the Cybils Book App award coordinator, and the co-chair of author events at 2013 AASL National Conference. Come say hello on Twitter @MaryAnnScheuer!

Sy Montgomery on Temple Grandin

March 3 - Today's post contributed by Sy Montgomery

To people who know my work, writing TEMPLE GRANDIN-- a biography for young readers of the brilliant autistic woman who designs humane handling facilities for food animals--may have seemed like a major departure from my usual offerings.  

I write for both adults and children, and all of the books I had written—to date there are 17 of them, two more coming out later this year, another next—have been about animals. My work usually involving adventures in swimming with pink dolphins in the Amazon or seeking giant tarantulas in the rainforests French Guiana or trekking into the Altai Mountains of the Gobi in Mongolia searching for snow leopards. Of my kids books, my best known as in the Scientists in the Field Series I developed with a photographer for Houghton Mifflin. The first of these involved Nic and I working in a pit with 18,000 snakes. You get the picture. 

Like most people, I work where I am most happy and comfortable--and that’s among animals. It doesn’t bother me much that this often entails fishing leeches out of my socks and underwear at the end of the day, or that my bed might be invaded by ants or my sleep interrupted by rats running over my head. That suits me much better than a cocktail party. I am much more at home with animals than with most people.

That’s not the only reason I write about animals, of course. I write about animals because I feel their lives matter—much more than much of humanity understands or is willing to admit. I write about animals because I find everything about them—their senses, their powers, their minds –absolutely fascinating. I’ve always been drawn to minds different from my own.   

And this was what had drawn me to Temple Grandin nearly two decades before I would ever imagine writing a book about her. Oliver Sacks, a neuroscientist whose work I have followed with great interest for a long time, wrote a story about this brilliant autistic woman in his periodic column, Neurologist’s Notebook, in The New Yorker in 1993. She was of special interest to me because she was using her unusual mind to help a group most people would rather not think about: the 10 billion animals on American factory farms whose meat, milk and eggs harvest for food. She is famous for designing humane slaughter houses. I’ve been a vegetarian for 30 years—ever since I read ANIMAL LIBERATION by Australian philosopher Peter Singer. But I am well aware that most Americans are not, and I am so grateful somebody is finally doing something to make these creatures’ lives and deaths less horrific and more humane.  

So after that first story in The New Yorker, I kept up with Temple’s career and enjoyed her own excellent books for many years.

Now fast forward to an awards ceremony in 2010. I’m fixing to give a speech (awkward), wearing panty hose and a skirt (REALLY awkward) and sitting with well-dressed editors and higher-ups from my children’s books publisher at a luncheon. It’s there I learn that Temple’s publisher, Harcourt, has merged with Houghton Mifflin. One of the top folks at Houghton, who I like and admire very much, has met Temple. She thinks a kids’ book on Temple would be great and that I should write it.

My beloved editor at Houghton, a good friend I’ve worked with since my first children’s book, published in 1999, sitting at the same table, gasped in horror at the suggestion. She’s a vegetarian like me. A book on a woman who designs slaughterhouses! And for children! What could be more horrible?

But to her shock, I immediately decided to write the book.

This was a perfect book for children, and perfect for me to write. Because here is a book about a famous person who—far more than overcoming a disability—has actually found the gifts of her unusual mind, and is using those gifts to help animals. And kids were the best audience I could hope to reach with this message: that the world needs the gifts of all kinds of minds. That includes the minds of people with autism and other differences labeled disabilities—and the minds of animals.   

I love writing for adults, since you can use more and all kinds of words. But I love writing for kids because that’s how you change the world. Not just because kids are tomorrow’s leaders. Kids are TODAY’S leaders. An educator and researcher from Unity College once told me that 70 percent of the environmental news parents receive comes to them not from newspapers or TV—but from their kids. Children’s choices drive many marketplace and home decisions, from whether to buy an SUV versus a hybrid to whether to recycle. Children’s voices are incredibly powerful. Adults are always mounting letter writing campaigns and creating fund-raisers and attending protests, and these are often ignored. But who can ignore such a thing led by a kid?

Kids call ‘em like they see ‘em. They’re not about to accept the world the way it is because that’s the way it always was. Kids know animals matter, and they are brave enough to speak up for them. Tell an adult about factory farming, and chances are he’ll whine that you’re ruining his enjoyment of his hamburger. Tell a kid and she’ll stop eating hamburgers—and start urging her family and friends to do so as well. Or—and this could change even more lives--start imagining ways to battle the cruelty that plagues the mammals and birds whose flesh, milk and eggs provide our food.

That’s what Temple did. Because of her autism, she could easily imagine the life of a farm animal, or just about any other animal, for that matter. A diagnostic feature of autism is language difficulties. To this day, Temple thinks not in words, but in pictures. Animals don’t think in words, either. And autism gave Temple another window into the minds of animals as well. Another feature of autism is the senses are ratcheted up. A flapping flag or flashing light that most people, lost in the wordy narrative of their consciousness, might not even notice, would completely distract Temple. This also happens with animals. Most people don’t see this. They don’t realize the reason the cow is terrified of entering the barn is someone has left a hat on the post that’s flitting around in the breeze. But Temple sees this instantly.

So I was thrilled to be able to write this story for kids. As I saw it, this would be a book about creativity and about compassion—for people with differences and for animals, for all of animate creation.  There was only one thing I was worried about. Meeting Temple. Not because she has autism. I knew that wouldn’t be a problem at all. What worried me was that she was famous. And while many famous people are humble and kind—E.O. Wilson, the imminent scientist and conservationist, brilliant founder of sociobiology and great author immediately comes to mind here—famous people can also be incredibly self-centered and snotty.

And at the time I was researching this book, Temple’s fame had reached a fever pitch. She had recently been Time magazine’s 100 people who changed the world. A biopic on her, starring Clare Danes as Temple, was being filmed. She’d been honored by everyone from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to the Meat Industry Hall of Fame. She would have certainly had a right to be impressed with herself--and quite unimpressed with me! What if she wouldn’t give me the time I needed? What if this project seemed like such small potatoes she didn’t want to bother with it?

But I shouldn’t have worried. Temple and I hit it off instantly. She is probably the least snobby person I have ever met. She is also extremely upfront, another gift of her autism. She was on the phone with a restaurant chain one day, talking with multimillion dollar clients, and just told them outright there was no way they could honorably buy so-called “bob” veal for their chain. “It’s just hideously disgusting!” she told them forcefully into her cell phone. (That’s the sort of thing I would say at a dinner party, causing my husband to want to dive under the table.) 

I’m nowhere near as brilliant as Temple, but I found to my delight that we are much alike. We both feel most comfortable around animals, and if we can’t be with animals, we like talking about animals. And this is exactly what we did when I flew to meet her where she lives and works in Colorado. We didn’t stop for three days. Except to laugh. I found we share the same sense of humor. She plans to donate her brain to science when she dies…so I bought and mailed her a Jell-o mold in the shape of a human brain. (Jell-o is one of her favorite foods and one of the few she could eat in college.) There’s even a recipe with it to make the Jell-o a lifelike gray color (you use the watermelon  flavor and add canned milk.) She loves the thing!

When our time together was at an end, I told Temple how grateful I was for the time she’d given me. And she told me how glad she was I was writing her story for kids. “You really get it,” she said. And then she gave me a great compliment, which felt to me as warm and loving as a hug. “Sy,” she said, “I think you’re a little autistic yourself.”    

I’m so honored to have been able to write this book about this incredible woman. I’m humbled to have been able to bring the message to kids that people who are different have a great deal to offer. But I think the greatest gift this book has brought me is Temple’s friendship. I’ll treasure it forever. 

Editor's Note:     

Sy Montgomery's list of accolades is as long as that of Temple Grandin's.  You may read about Sy Montgomery's awards, honors and accomplishments on her website's "About Sy" page.

Annie Sullivan: Miss Spitfire

March 4:  Today's post provided by the Fourth Musketeer

Annie Sullivan

When I was a little girl in the 1960's, there were very few biographies for young people of women throughout history.  One of the few women that I remember reading about was Helen Keller, and I even remember my father saying that she had visited his high school in Minneapolis.  Her beloved teacher, Annie Sullivan, was almost equally famous, and has been selected as one of six honorees of the National Women's History Project in 2012, in recognition of her pioneering leadership in education.  After learning of her receiving this honor, I was curious to learn more about Annie Sullivan, and how she has been depicted in books for young people.

Of course Annie Sullivan is featured in all of the many books about Helen Keller, her famous pupil, but there are several excellent books in print that concentrate on Sullivan herself, with several more about to be released later this year.  

An excellent choice in historical fiction about Sullivan is Miss Spitfire:  Reaching Helen Keller, by Sarah Miller (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007).  Told in the first person, this novel brings Annie Sullivan's feisty character and her story to life for today's readers.  This book received a long list of well-deserved accolades, and is a terrific introduction to Annie Sullivan and her famous pupil.

For those readers looking for nonfiction, perhaps for a biographical report, you couldn't do better than Helen's Eyes:  A Photobiography of Annie Sullivan, Helen Keller's Teacher  by Marfe Ferguson Delano (National Geographic Children's Books, 2008).  Abundantly illustrated with period photographs of Sullivan and Sullivan together with her pupil, this handsome volume provides a comprehensive look at Sullivan's often difficult life.

Annie Sullivan came from a completely different sort of background from Helen Keller, who was from a wealthy family.  Sullivan's parents were poor Irish immigrants, and her father was a drunk who beat Annie.  She began to go blind at around five years old from trachoma, and when her mother died, she and her brother were sent to live in the poorhouse, where her brother died soon after.

When Annie was 14, she got a chance to go to a school for blind children, the Perkins Institution for the Blind in Boston.  She didn't fit in well with the other children, most of whom came from affluent or middle-class families, and soon was named "Miss Spitfire" for her sharp tongue and fiery temper. She had a brilliant mind, however, and graduated number one in her class.  She nonetheless wondered how she would earn her living.

When the Perkins headmaster received a letter from a gentleman in Alabama in search of a governess for his deaf and blind daughter, Annie Sullivan took the position, which paid a generous $25 per month.  Her breakthrough teaching methods transformed the Keller's wild, willful child into a lovely young girl who inspired people all over the world.   The biography follows Annie's life up until her death in 1936 at the age of 70, with Helen Keller holding her hand.  The book includes an afterword, a timeline, further resources, source notes, and an index.  

Although there are over 100 children's biographies of Helen Keller that come up from a quick search on Amazon, the choices on Annie Sullivan are much more limited.  However, two new notable books on the subject are due to come out later this year.  I am particularly looking forward to a  new picture book, Annie and Helen, by Deborah Hopkinson and illustrated by Raul Colon (Schwartz & Wade, September, 2012). The publisher notes that the book focuses on the relationship between Helen and her teacher, interspersed with excerpts of Annie's letters home, written as she struggled with her wild pupil; the book features "lyrical text and exquisite art."  Given the quality of prior work of both the author and the illustrator, I am confident this will be a "must have" for school and public library collections.  

Another soon-to-be-published book on Annie Sullivan is Joseph Lambert's Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller which comes out at the end of March from Hyperion Books.  Written by an alumnus of the Center for Cartoon Studies, it's a full-color graphic novel rendition of Annie Sullivan's life; although I haven't had a chance to see the book, it's received a starred review from Booklist, and Kirkus calls the book "a visual stunner."    Sounds like another one for my TBR list!

Editor's Note:  


The Fourth Musketeer, aka Margo Tanenbaum, recently finished her master's in library science and hopes to find a full-time position as a children's librarian.  She lives in Claremont, California, with her family and her miniature poodle.