The Miracle Worker a play by William Gibson

The Miracle Worker by William Gibson is a play about the story of Helen Keller and her teacher, Annie Sullivan. Helen was born in the late 1800s a typical child. As an infant, she suffered from an illness that left her blind and deaf. Helen's family struggled to raise her, but never truly found a way to reach her until they hired Annie Sullivan. Annie had been blind herself, but underwent several surgeries to bring her vision up by about half. At age 20, she was summoned by the Kellers to teach Helen. Helen's family had catered to Helen all her life, so she had no manners and no discipline. Annie worked to change that, but it was tough. She knew she somehow needed to get Helen to understand that each object had a "name", which she dutifully finger-spelled using sign language into Helen's hands each time she encountered something. While Helen learned to finger-spell many words herself, Annie knew she did not connect those gestures to the items they named. That is, until one crazy evening during supper when Helen threw a tantrum, splashing the water out of the pitcher at the table. Annie took Helen and the pitcher to the water pump, and that was when the breakthrough occurred. Suddenly Helen wanted to know the names of everything, including her mother and her teacher.

I already knew the story of Helen Keller before reading this book, but it was eyeopening to read about it! Because this is a play, all of the stage directions and emotions are described for the actors to follow. This made everything easier for me, as the reader, to visualize. Wow - if ever there was a teacher to admire, it's Annie Sullivan. She never gave up, even though she wanted to, even though she was stopped at every turn, even though it seemed hopeless.

T4: A Novel in Verse by Ann Clare LeZotte

T4: A Novel in Verse by Ann Clare LeZotte is the story of Paula Becker, a young German girl who became deaf as a baby after an illness. Paula and her family struggle to learn different ways to communicate, but eventually fall into a routine - even her beloved dof figures out ways to communicate with her! Paula has to go into hiding, however, when Hitler began his campaign for creating the "master race". During the Holocaust, Hitler and the Nazis not only gathered and killed many Jewish people and Gypsies, he also signed a secret order to have doctors kill people living with disabilities. This program was known as T4. Paula had help from Father Josef and escaped the city for various safer places, always moving when the SS came too close to discovering her. At a homeless shelter, Paula meets Poor Kurt, an old man who slept and ate there every night. They decide to go out on their own to help other people who were suffering at the hands of Hitler and the Nazis. All does not go as planned, however, and they end up back at the homeless shelter. When the war ends, Paula returns home to her family and brings Poor Kurt with her. After he cleans up and shaves, Paula sees for the first time that Kurt, who is actually Walther, part Romani or Gypsy, is only 3 years older than she!

WOW! This was a great book! Because this book is written in verse, it is a quick read. I had never heard of the T4 program before and I am shocked and saddened by it. This book did an excellent job of describing Paula's experience and the facts behind Hitler's terrible plan, while keeping it all appropriate for a young audience. I was glad for the happy ending!

Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson

Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson is set in 1971. Frannie is a 6th grader who goes to a school on "the other side of the highway". Almost everyone in the school is African American, and those who aren't are not white. That changes when a new boy arrives - he has long blond hair and claims his name is Jesus. He also claims he isn't white. This throws Frannie's whole 6th grade class into a tizzy! At home, Frannie is dealing with other issues. He brother, Sean, is deaf. This is only a problem when people who can hear tease him or make fun of Frannie. Their mother is pregnant again, after having lost three babies in the past. Everyone is worried about her and the baby. Plus, there is a war going on over in Vietnam. Frannie's class is studying poetry. One of the verses that sticks with Frannie is by Emily Dickenson: "Hope is the thing with feathers..." At first, Frannie doesn't understand what this metaphor means. By the end of her story, she does.

This was a really good book. I enjoyed getting to know Frannie and her family. I also liked Frannie's best friend, Samantha. This story was about so many different things, but it was really based on a simple idea: hope.

Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech

Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech is the sequel to Love That Dog. In Hate That Cat, Jack has moved on to the next grade in school, and his teacher, Ms. Stretchberry has moved up with him! The poetry that Jack writes this year focuses on cats. First, on how much he hates them, but then, when he gets a tiny black kitten for Christmas, his poems change. Jack also struggles with what poetry means. His Uncle Bill doesn't think any of the poems Jack likes or writes are true poetry. Jack, however, thinks a lot about what's in his heart. He thinks about hearing and seeing and feeling the words. This is especially meaningful to Jack's mother, who is deaf and communicates through sign language.

I was SO excited to read this book! I have loved every book I've ever read by Sharon Creech, this one included. It was a quick read because it is written in free verse format. There were parts where I laughed out loud and one part where I was close to tears. Any time I have reactions like those to a book, I know it's a good one. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who likes poetry, anyone who doesn't like poetry, anyone who likes animals, and anyone who doesn't like animals (especially cats!).