In 1886 Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone and champion of education for deaf people, met an extraordinary six-year-old--a deaf, dumb and blind girl named Helen Keller. Out of that first encounter grew a 36-year friendship and a mutual support system that helped each to pursue the causes of dignity and education for people who are deaf and blind. Quoting generously from Keller's diaries and letters, St. George ( The Brooklyn Bridge ; Mason and Dixon's Line of Fire ) succeeds in conveying the intimacy shared by this pair. Readers will be fascinated at how two great people could also be such simple and loving friends. But St. George also outlines their lives during the course of the friendship, and this biographical information can't help but leave the impression that one short book cannot begin to cover the breadth of two such vibrant personalities. Still, this is a useful supplementary reference for young biography buffs. Ages 8-12. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

In 1886, six-year-old Helen Keller sat on Alexander Graham Bell's knee and played with his watch. Thus began a friendship that lasted until Bell's death in 1922, with Bell an enthusiastic supporter of all that Keller attempted. She dedicated The Story of My Life ``To Alexander Graham Bell, WHO has taught the deaf to speak and enabled the listening ear to hear speech from the Atlantic to the Rockies''; in later years, Bell even agreed to appear in a movie of Helen's life, though in the end he wasn't needed. Experienced author St. George has done considerable research into the correspondence and relationship between the two, as well as into their separate lives; in her narrative, Helen comes alive more effectively than Bell, who remains a somewhat distant icon. Helen's astonishing story is still poignant--a bright, impetuous, loving girl finding her way through the walls of blindness and deafness. Bell is portrayed as a somewhat pompous enigma, a compulsive inventor who wasn't particularly impressed with the telephone and who went to Nova Scotia to fly kites. Strange friends? De gustibus.... An interesting angle on both lives. Bibliography; 31 b&w photos not seen. (Nonfiction. 10+)

Gr 5-7-- St. George writes of the affectionate relationship between Alexander Graham Bell and Helen Keller. Despite Bell's fame as inventor of the telephone, his consuming lifelong interest was in helping those who were deaf, including his mother and wife. The author includes plenty of background about the two, covering their lives and many accomplishments in addition to providing the details of their friendship, from their first meeting when Keller was six, through the many encounters and letters until Bell's death. The tone is admiring of both people, but never overly so. A lively style and plenty of quotes from each person's writing and letters show the feelings and thoughts behind the friendship. Black-and-white photographs show scenes from both of their lives as well as of their times together. The author gives young readers added insight to both Keller's and Bell's lives; their story would be a good addition to libraries where books about the two are popular. --Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MO (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Alexander Graham Bell's enduring interest in teaching and promoting speech for the deaf, along with his whole-hearted respect and support of Helen Keller, were unquestionably key forces in shaping Keller's achievements. St. George develops an admiring but judicious account of this fortuitous relationship. The insightful examination of the lives of the two mythic figures in the light of their friendship reveals the fullness of their humanity. Bib. From HORN BOOK 1992, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.