Customer Reviews

Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller

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Authors that try to tackle any aspect of Helen Keller's life in a children's literary format are simultaneously blessed and cursed. On the one hand, talk about God's gift to authors. The emotional ups and downs of Helen's tale, the (dare I say) hope of her life, I mean she's a great historical character. Loads more interesting to a nine-year-old than your average everyday biographical figures. So there's that. On the other hand, none of this is a secret. As a result, my library's Helen Keller section of biographies is rivaled only by Martin Luther King Jr. So when I saw that someone had done a middle grade work of fiction regarding Helen and Annie Sullivan's early days, I hardly gave it a thought. Why read what we already know? I mean, if everyone knows a series of facts about someone, can there be any worthwhile reason to read yet ANOTHER story about her life and trials? The answer, as it happens, is yes. Debut author Sarah Miller shows us that even the most familiar story can become edge-of-your-seat gripping when the writing's cool and collected.

There's a reason this book is called "Miss Spitfire". Turns out, that was the nickname bestowed on Annie Sullivan when she attended the Perkins Institute for the Blind. Irish, alone in the world, half-blind, and with guts galore, Ms. Sullivan is terrified at the prospect of her very first job. She's being sent to work with one Helen Keller, a blind, deaf child. The hope is to work a "miracle" on her and teach her to bridge the gap between signing and the use of words. The task turns out to be more than she gambled for, however, when it appears that Helen has had the run of her household for years. Uncivilized, uncouth, and unrepentant, her wishy-washy parents have failed to discipline, thereby allowing Helen to always get what she wants. If Annie didn't see Helen coming, though, you can be darn certain that Helen didn't see Annie either. Now the battle between the two firebrands has begun and it's time to see whether or not the stubbornness of a child who has always had her way can compete with the stubbornness of a woman as tough and smart as Annie Sullivan.

The reason the Helen Keller story works is because Helen is hell on earth. She's not the angelic creature just waiting for a helping hand. No dewy-eyed, saintly personality-challenged naïf she. She's not Little Eva or Little Nell. No she was, to use my grandmother's phrase, a pistol. So for a book like this to work you need to really feel for Annie Sullivan. When Helen cracks her in the jaw with a hardheaded doll, you have to want to strangle the child with your own bare hands and not just Annie's. As an author, Miller's smart enough to know how to tease out the dramatic elements of this tale. Seeing Ms. Sullivan's background, you are all the more impressed at her restraint around Helen. Considering that the girl has enough crafty qualities to try the patience of a saint, and considering that Ms. Sullivan's own father was abusive, you would think such tendency towards violence might easily pass down from father to daughter. Instead, the opposite is true. She does not hit because she knows what it is like to be on the receiving end of a blow. I was very taken with the moral in this story that rules and order breed love. It is Annie's restraint and discipline that in the end manages to tease out that love.

Annie's loneliness and need almost becomes their own characters in this book. Right from the start we learn that "The loneliness in my heart is an old acquaintance." Yet Miller plays Annie as increasingly desperate for human affection. She constantly looks for love from Helen, even though the child has little to no interest in forming any kind of a relationship at first. And when a baby gives Annie a kiss (lunging at her, as the text says, "like a lecher"), the woman says that, "Warmth ripples down to my toes," and that she is "Woozy with pleasure." The writing here, as you can see, is good.

Technically I should probably have a copy of The Miracle Worker in front of me for reference. It would allow me to note whether or not the emotional beats in both the play and Helen's story are identical or not. Then again, maybe it's better this way. It's clear that "Miss Spitfire" is a story of Helen's teacher, not just Helen herself. I'm sure that if Miller had wanted to she could have written the book from Helen's point of view, but as far as I can tell that way lays only tears. Seeing Annie's past allows us to note how much she and her young pupil have in common. It's a clever motif. So clever, in fact, that I feel certain that the kids who read this story will have little difficulty getting inside of the mind of an adult. Sometimes there's a disconnect between the protagonist and the reader, particularly in children's novels, if the hero is fully grown. Here I have no qualms.

The book is meticulously referenced, much to my relief. There's an author's note, photographs of the characters and locations, books for further reading, a plethora of websites and videos to visit for further info, a timeline, and even a list of sources (print and online). Better still, Miller knows enough to point out the elements of her tale that jar with the narrative. At one point Annie sing-signs the words to the song "Bessie's Song to Her Doll", because they fit the situation so well. In her Author's Note, Miller is quick to point out that the poem was written some years later by Lewis Carroll and could not have been used as it is here. It just happens to fit the book well.

I did have some questions here and there. As I've said, you get the feeling that Miller was a stickler for historical accuracy. So much so that there is no cleaning up of the real Annie's references to the "little negro boy" who worked in the house. So it was interesting to me that at no point does Annie go about wearing dark glasses ala Anne Bancroft. I assume that this was a theatrical flourish in the stage production of Helen's story that didn't accurately occur at this point in time. I did wish for a mention of it somewhere in the book, though.

And I had some other confusions elsewhere. Miller's book never really clarifies how Annie got out of the almshouse and into the Perkins school for the blind. How was her way paid? We see a brief encounter between her and a man in charge of Perkins, but there's never a full explanation of how that led to her acceptance into the school. I had hoped that maybe the author's note in the back would offer some background, but the only mention of the incident is a cryptic sentence reading, "Annie enters Perkins Institutions for the Blind" without any attention paid to the "hows" behind the sentence.

For me, the book is summarized nicely in the real life quote taken from Anne Sullivan's letters to a Ms. Sophia Hopkins, appearing at the beginning of Chapter Six. "The greatest problem I shall have to solve is how to discipline and control her without breaking her spirit." In the solution we find the heart of the novel. I've read very little historical fiction this year that stayed with me. I like to think that Ms. Miller's book is one of the few worth keeping close at hand. A really enjoyable story.

Teachers strive to inspire their students to do their best, to expand their horizons, and to challenge themselves. Annie Sullivan's life was one challenge after another, and her first teaching charge was no exception. Helen Keller was blind, deaf, and completely wild when Annie first came into her life. Little did either of them know then that they would have a breakthrough within weeks of Annie's arrival, and that they would remain friends for the rest of Annie's life.

MISS SPITFIRE: Reaching Helen Keller by Sarah Miller covers approximately the first month of Annie's work with Helen. Each chapter notes the date and contains a line or two from an actual letter written by Annie at that time. Annie narrates the story in first person as she comes to know Helen and her family. She speaks up when Helen's parents treat their daughter too gently, all the while wishing her own parents had been there for her. Meeting Helen's older brothers brings up both fond and sad memories of her beloved brother Jimmy. Annie begins teaching Helen to spell by tracing letters in her palm and insisting that Helen spell out what she does and what she wants.

Sarah Miller's debut shows a great deal of compassion. You can tell that the author has done her research, and that she wanted to stay true to the real events in Annie's life. The relationship between Annie and Helen was rocky at the start, and though Miller handles it with care, she never idealizes it nor sensationalizes it. She isn't afraid to show Annie physically struggling with her wild student, who bruised her teacher with her tiny yet powerful fists.

The novel is fueled by truth, determination, and introspection. This is not only about teaching Helen how to spell "doll" or "water," but about reaching her. Annie wanted Helen to really know what she was spelling - to honestly communicate - to fully understand.

Recommended for ages 8 and up - for all ages, really.

I'm an eleven year old boy. I really liked this book. I thought this story was very interesting. I liked the way it was written from Annie Sullivan's point of view.


As the mother of the reviewer, I was pleased when my son spontaneously relayed a fact that he had learned from the book while eating dinner one evening. He enjoyed reading the book and I am pleased that he learned something at the same time.

I've always been a HUGE Annie Sullivan fan so it was a no brainer that I was going to be reading this one. It took me all of a day to read because I simply couldn't put it down! The amazing thing is that my 12 year old brother who doesn't even like to read the back of the cereal box picked this up and was telling my parents all week the facts he was learning from this book!

I'm sold on any book that can get a reluctant reader that hooked.

Well done!

As a blind individual, I have always been drawn to Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan. Their relationship was complicated and consisted of many emotions: mainly pain, triumph, and, ultimately, love. Author Sarah Miller has expertly composed a vibrant symphony of words to depict the growing relationship between these individuals. "Miss Spitfire" spans the time period from March to April, 1887 and chronicles the brutal struggle the twenty-year-old Annie encountered when she tried to demolish the barrier of silence that had imprisoned Helen for for years. Told from Annie's perspective, this book is haunting and truly poetic. Annie endured abuse and unspeakable pain as a child as the result of the loss of her younger brother, and the reader glimpses Annie's craving for affection and love. I was particularly struck by the utter loneliness Annie encountered within her life. I learned so much about Annie's difficult childhood, which is in striking contrast to Helen's overindulged existance. The most memorable scene to me takes place at the dining table as Annie watches Helen greedily snatch tidbits from everyone's plate. Annie remembers meals at the Tewksbury asylum during this meal, and we see how Helen's parents coddling nature has turned the little girl into a trapped wild animal. We as readers are made to realize that a balance must be reached: love without discipline is little more than cruelty. It is up to Annie to find this balance as she seeks to unlock Helen's mind and teach her language.

I particularly liked that the Keller family was portrayed as overprotective yet ultimately strong. Each family member is empathetically portrayed. They are all willing to yield their daughter to someone who can help her. Helen's Aunt Eveline was portrayed particularly well.

Annie's feelings of insecurity, desperation, and determination are truly palpable and emotionally jarring to the reader. Helen is also beautifully brought to life, and the reader is struck by how truly alike these two individuals were. They were both trapped in prisons of insecurity and isolation. Only through Annie's perseverance and Helen's continued struggling could they both be set free.

This book will stay in your mind long after you complete it. Please give the novel a chance. God bless you all.

I love this book! When I first read it, I was reminded of reading the play, The Miracle Worker. Ms. Miller has written a wonderful book for children about Annie Sullivan, the teacher who helped Helen Keller connect to the world. I have shared the book with my students and other teachers. Some of my students have commented that they never knew about Annie Sullivan, and how important she was to Helen's education.

"My heart is singing for joy this morning."
-Anne Sullivan to Sophia Hopkins, March 1887

So begins one of the chapters in Sarah Miller's debut novel Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller, and her quote from Annie Sullivan describes just how I felt when I finished this magical book.

Last spring, I issued an invitation to authors of historical fiction, to send me information about their books for a presentation I'm doing this fall at the New York State Reading Association Conference. I heard from wonderful writers -- some whose works I knew and some who were new to me. But one title REALLY caught my eye: Miss Spitfire by Sarah Miller. First, it got my attention because the titles of our books are so similar(Mine is called SPITFIRE). When I opened it up to start reading, it got my attention in another way -- a sweep-you-away-in-the-story kind of way.

Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller tells the story of Annie Sullivan, the young woman who battled beliefs of the time and fought with every ounce of energy she had to give Helen Keller the gift of language. Sarah Miller tells the story in Annie's voice -- and tells it with a passion that speaks to the depth of her research and her pure love for this historical figure. Miss Spitfire not only tells the story we see in The Miracle Worker -- the story of Annie's time with Helen -- but also plunges into Annie Sullivan's past, and in doing so, provides a deeper understanding of the commitment and determination that led to her success.

The portrayals of Annie's emotional, psychological, and physical struggles with Helen were so vivid that I found myself reading with my brow furrowed in determined solidarity with Annie as she plunked Helen back into her seat at the dining room table for the tenth time. Truly, Annie had to be a spitfire to survive this monumental challenge when she was little more than a girl herself.

The minor characters in this novel sparkle, too. One of my favorite scenes brought Helen together for a lesson with the Kellers' servant boy Percy. I felt like I was about to burst with pride right along with Annie when Helen began to turn from a student into a teacher, helping Percy with some of the letters. Mr. & Mrs. Keller, too, are painted with a tremendous depth of understanding. It would have been easy to portray Helen's parents as one-dimensional characters who got in the way of Annie's work, but instead, Sarah Miller helps us to see their complexity and feel some of their anguish at having a beautiful, broken child.

Early in the book, Annie tells Helen's mother why her lessons are so vital to Helen.

"Words, Mrs. Keller, words bridge the gap between two minds. Words are a miracle."

Indeed, they are. And Miss Spitfire will have you believing in that miracle all over again.

well written. two thumbs up! loved how it put you through the eyes of miss annie. very infomative. love her ideas of needing to learn how to obey. also i liked seeing her background. i would recommend this book.

It's been a long time since I've read anything about Helen Keller or seen 'The Miracle Worker'. I saw this novel on someone else's 'to read list' and thought it sounded interesting. It was a quick, easy and enjoyable read.

Sarah Miller realistically captures the frustration and the loneliness that Annie Sullivan faced during the early period of her teaching Helen, I found Annie Sullivan fascinating. The whole book had me wondering what would have happened to Helen Keller if Annie Sullivan hadn't been so tough or hadn't had such a great need to connect with Helen.

The targeted audience is young readers but this is an enjoyable read for adults as well, with the only disappointment being the brevity of the book.

Twenty-year-old, half-blind, fiery tempered Annie Sullivan is on her way to Tuscumbia, Alabama to teach six-year-old Helen Keller, who has been deaf, blind, and mute from the young age of 19 months. After she arrives in Tuscumbia, Annie meets Helen's kindly, but desperate mother, Kate Keller.

After Annie's first encounter with her obstinate little pupil, she is unsure whether she can breakthrough to Helen. After her first lesson, Helen does not seem to understand that d-o-l-l means the word "doll." Kate seems disappointed, but Annie assures her that it is natural for her daughter not to relize the meaning yet, though Annie feels a bit the same as Kate.

Next, Annie wants to teach Helen obedience. Because her parents can't stand to punish her, Helen has remained a tyrant for almost five years. Annie is sure that with a firm hand, she can teach her student how to behave. But her first attemp comes to an abrupt halt after Helen knocks out on of Annie's teeth. Only pain keeps her from continuing the lesson.

Now Annie is intent on breaking Helen's appalling table manners. First, she muster enough courage to discpline Helen in front of her employers. After along battle over teaching her pupil to eat from her own plate with a spoon, and fold her own napkin, Annie breaks down.

Annie is sure that it is useless for to teach Helen language or anything else under the Kellers' spectical eyes. She asks that Kellers if she and Helen can live somewhere else with. The Kellers consent to letting the pair live in the small garden house where Helen was born. After a few weeks, Annie manages to teach Helen manners, but not that everytime she spells something to Helen that it is the name of an object, tought, or idea. Annie is disappointed when the Kellers insist on having their daughter back, but she has no choice.

After the two go back to the main house, Helen begins to act up. Annie knows that she must discipline Helen, but she is afraid that it might get her fired. When she does try to punish Helen, Helen's father, Captain Keller, does not agree with her methods. Annie is infuriated, and explodes in rage. Luckily, Helen's doting aunt, Ev, convinces Annie to stay, and Annie does.

Annie is still trying to break into Helen's silent night, but she is afraid that she is not experienced enough to do the job. Will Annie breakthrough to Helen, or will she become a failure, and Helen live an empty life? Buy the book and read it, and you will find the word that changed world history.

The cover also has the title in Braille. It's really neat, because it is embossed enough for you to be able to feel it!

I also suggest this book:

The Miracle Worker ~ by William Gibson

And this movie:

The Miracle Worker ~ with Annie Bancroft and Patty Duke