Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller

Title: Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller
Author: Joseph Lambert
Major Themes: Graphic Novels, Biographies
Synopsis: The story of how Annie Sullivan was instrumental in helping Helen Keller get to know her world, in graphic novel form.

I’ve been wanting to do several different reading challenges for a while, and finally decided to just start them, and see how far I can get this year. A prompt for one of the challenges was to read a book from a new-to-me genre, and while that stumped me for a while, I realized eventually that the graphic novels genre was one I hadn’t explored yet, so Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller became one of the next books I read. What a great story! I was familiar with Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller’s stories before picking this book up, but I was impressed by how much information was able to be crammed into this 90-something-page book.

Annie Sullivan did not have an easy life growing up. As children, she and her brother lived in the state’s poor house, and eventually, her brother died. Half-blind, Annie stumbled through life until someone helped her get into Perkins Institute, where she was finally able to go to school. She learned a lot in school, and after graduating—with the help of the school director—she was able to land a job with the Keller family. And after meeting Helen, she knew her work was cut out for her! Helen’s life, too, wasn’t easy—and was further complicated by her parent’s inability to know how to help her. This is the story of how she finally became able to communicate with her world, and how Annie Sullivan, a disadvantaged orphan herself, was able to aid Helen in her journey.

This was such a fun read! I picked it up one afternoon while I was waiting for a three-minute job on my computer to finish, and by the time it finished, I was hooked—and ended up finishing the book before getting back to my work! While the art style isn’t my favorite ever, I did love the way it showed Helen’s perspective. The art style used for her panels vs. Annie Sullivan’s panels is markedly different, and I loved being able to visualize her world taking on shape and substance as Annie’s love and persistence gradually broke through to her. I also loved the way Annie’s backstory is told—in little snippets here and there throughout the Annie/Helen story. Then, there are quotations from letters Annie wrote in her early days of working with Helen, as well as examples of some of the first things Helen wrote, all quite fascinating!

I really enjoyed reading Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller. As far as I can remember from other books I’ve read, this tells the history accurately and presents it in a way that is engaging and gripping. After I finished reading the book, my younger sister couldn’t wait to get her hands on it—she wanted to read it, too! If you enjoy graphic novels with a decent amount of depth and a true story, I’d recommend this. It isn’t a long book—only 94 pages or so—but I was impressed by what was packed into those pages, and I’d like to keep an eye out for other books by this author!

WARNING: “Dear God” is used on pg. 15 and “good heavens” is used on pg. 40. There is lying on pg. 15 and 56. Someone dies on pg. 23. There are mentions on pg. 56 and 90 of dead bodies being sold for research and other uses. There are occasional illustrations where characters are fighting each other.

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