Gwynne Spencer (Children's Literature)
Annie Sullivan, Helen Keller's teacher and lifelong friend, tells her own story for middle grade to high school readers in this fictionalized autobiography. Each chapter begins with an excerpt from Sullivan's letters to Sophia Hopkins, a mentor and friend (as well as housemother) from Perkins Institute for the Blind. Annie was sent to serve the Keller family after her own heroic journey from Tewksbury orphanage to Perkins, half blind most of the time. While the story will be familiar to anyone who has seen The Miracle Worker with Patty Duke and Ann Bancroft, the details of Sullivan's first teaching job, counter pointed by details from her personal history--being sent to the almshouse, the ensuing loss of a brother, her blindness, her trepidation hidden carefully from the Kellers about not being able to help Helen at all--will ring true. The courage and determination of a young woman triumphs in the face of family reluctance and interference, which made her efforts to teach Helen Keller the “true meaning” behind the fingerspelled words very difficult. Annie's emphasis on civilized behavior despite disability is remarkable in our own “anything goes” world where comportment has fallen into the world of archaic concepts. The author's afterword is perhaps the heart of the book--telling the story concisely about how twenty-year-old Sullivan broke through Helen's shell in a month and for the next fifty years accompanied her on the incredible journey into the wider world. Eleven photographs and an extensive bibliography, including books, articles, films, and videos plus online resources, will help readers continue inquiry if they desire. A two-page chronology of events is also included. The cover includes the Braille rendition of the title and subtitle. 2007, Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon and Schuster, $16.99. Ages 10 to 12.

Karen Leggett (Children's Literature)
How am I to teach Helen what language is, when words themselves have no scent, taste, or texture?” Anne Sullivan worries constantly about how she will teach Helen Keller and whether she can. This novel is a rare glimpse into the thoughts and emotions that Sullivan--Miss Spitfire--might have had as she approached the challenge that would earn her the name “miracle worker.” Written as a first person account, this journal-style novel tells us about Sullivan’s abusive father, the close relationship she had with her invalid brother Jimmie, and the horrible years they spent together in a poorhouse. There are frequent flashbacks to the events of her childhood, which is often confusing, but they do help explain Sullivan’s yearning for Helen’s affection, and especially her touch. It seems to take a very long time for the novel to reach the familiar point of Helen’s “sudden” understanding of words and their meaning, and there are many pages of anger and struggle. Yet overall this is an innovative way to approach an alternative view of the Helen Keller story. 2007, Simon & Schuster, $16.99. Ages 10 up.

CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices 2008)
Sarah Miller’s arresting debut novel will deeply satisfy readers who already know about Helen Keller and her teacher, Annie Sullivan, but it will be no less exceptional to those who come to the enthralling story without prior knowledge. Miller takes the title of her marvelously well-researched novel from the nickname given to Annie Sullivan while she was a student at the Perkins School for the Blind in Massachusetts. It’s a name Sullivan quickly realizes fits young Helen, whom she has agreed to teach. Helen is a wild child. Her family gives in to her every whim in order to minimize her volatile tantrums. She is clearly bright, but can this girl who can’t hear, see, or speak really learn? Even as she struggles with that question, Annie knows that the first thing she must do is teach Helen to control herself, and to respect Annie’s own authority. But to do so means battling not only Helen, but the will of a family that can’t bear to see the little girl upset. In Miller’s affecting, first-person narrative Annie Sullivan describes four transformative weeks of frustration, pain, sorrow, anger, determination, tenderness, and joy. Each chapter opens with a an excerpt from the letters Sullivan was writing to one of her teachers back at Perkins during that time, and Miller weaves those brief lines and phrases into a richly textured tapestry of storytelling. CCBC Category: Fiction for Children. 2007, Atheneum, 208 pages, $16.99. Age 10 and older.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2007 (Vol. 75, No. 11))
Why is the story of Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan so enthralling? Is it that they found success in the seemingly impossible struggle shared at some level by all young people: to articulate one's true thoughts and feelings? If so, then debut author Miller nails her audience with this fictionalized account of the first few weeks of Helen and Annie's acquaintance, leading up to the breakthrough scene at the water pump. Details drawn from Annie's letters and Helen's autobiography are fleshed out engagingly in the first-person voice of Miller's imagined Annie, the young "spitfire" who overcomes obstacles no matter the power of the adults in her life. Acknowledging the presumption of writing someone else's story, Miller provides resources to allow the reader to seek out more. Should young readers bother with fiction in this case, when so much biographical material is available? It's hard to argue with Miller, as she sticks so close to the documented story while giving readers a good dose of the melodrama that makes it so appealing, a craving for more and the direction to find it. (author's note, photographs, chronology, bibliography) 2007, Atheneum, 240p, $16.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 9 to 14. © 2007 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Janis Flint-Ferguson (KLIATT Review, July 2007 (Vol. 41, No. 4))
This novel retells the events that took place when Annie Sullivan arrived in Alabama from Massachusetts to teach deaf, blind Helen Keller. While it covers much of the same storyline as the play The Miracle Worker, it is also an accessible narrative for YA readers who are unfamiliar with the story of Helen Keller and the remarkable events that led her to become a celebrity in her day. Annie Sullivan is responsible for many of Helen’s accomplishments. Despite her own poor eyesight, Annie works tirelessly with young Helen trying to help Helen learn language. But Helen has been treated more like a pet than a child and responds violently at times. Relying on the methods of Dr. Howe of the Perkins Institute for the Blind, Annie finally gets the Kellers to allow her to live in a small cottage on the estate, makes Helen dependent on her, and then uses that dependency in teachable moments. She is supported in her efforts by Helen’s aunt, as Helen’s own parents are unable to provide the discipline Helen needs to learn manners and to discover how to communicate. Amazing her family, Helen learns both and goes on to college, with Annie at her side. Readers will appreciate Annie’s devotion to her pupil and how her tenacity makes a difference in the young girl’s life. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: JS--Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2007, Simon & Schuster, 240p., $16.99. Ages 12 to 18.

Kaylia Thomas (Library Media Connection, November/December 2007)
With many different books about Helen Keller, this fictionalized account is a refreshing new look told from Annie Sullivan's point of view. Readers will learn more about the teacher, Annie Sullivan, and why she took on such a task to teach Helen Keller. It is a moving story about her life and the time that she spent at the Keller house. This book is a complement to any Helen Keller book so that readers can learn more about these remarkable women and how Annie herself struggled with illness and isolation. The author did an excellent job with historical research and detail. Recommended. 2007, Atheneum (Simon & Schuster), 240pp., $16.99 hc. Ages 12 up.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2008)
Miller uses letters written by Annie Sullivan as the basis for this fictional account. Narrator Annie describes the difficult early relationship between herself and her student, Helen Keller. Miller's writing is respectful without sugarcoating the subject. End matter, including an afterword and period photographs, help differentiate between fiction and biography. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2007, Atheneum, 227pp, 16.99. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.

Amy Fiske (VOYA, August 2007 (Vol. 30, No 3))
In this debut novel, Miller departs from the known Keller story, imagining instead the emotional terrain of Keller's teacher, Annie Sullivan. Readers join Annie as she boards a train bound for Alabama and the Kellers. She spends her journey haunted alternately by horrific childhood memories and anxiety-filled visions of her future. Arriving in Alabama half-mad with grief and fear, she finds a family on the brink of collapse, under the control of a blind and deaf, pint-sized, feral tyrant. Not only must she find a way to reach Helen, but she must also convince the Kellers to treat Helen like a real child rather than an afflicted pet. Helen and her family do not go quietly. Readers follow Annie's emotional struggle to teach Helen obedience first, and then letters and words, and finally understanding. Along the way, the two lost individuals discover self-identity, love, and trust. The friendship will last a lifetime. Drawing on historical documentation, Miller crafts a fascinating work of fiction. Her rendering of Annie is based on letters that Annie wrote to a friend while staying with the Kellers. Also lending authenticity is a lengthy list of sources consulted; however, Miller goes well beyond history. She delves into the hearts and minds of her subjects, creating realistic, believable characters. The Kellers's love mingled with despair, Annie's loneliness and her terror of failure, and Helen's frustration and the overwhelming joy of her breakthrough are palpable. Miller brings history to life. VOYA CODES: 4Q 3P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2007, Atheneum/S & S, 240p.; Photos. Biblio. Further Reading. Chronlogy., $16.99. Ages 11 to 15.