She Touched the World: Laura Bridgman, Deaf-Blind Pioneer by Sally Hobart Alexander and Robert Alexander

Fifty years before Helen Keller, there was Laura Bridgman. She lost her hearing, eyesight, and most of her senses of taste and smell, to scarlet fever. An exceptionally bright child, Laura was taken at age seven to the Perkins School for the Blind, where she became the student of Samuel Gridley Howe. She learned to read raised letters (not Braille) and to understand and to "speak" language through finger spelling. Later in her life she was Annie Sullivan's teacher. This excellent biography will lead students to a better understanding of the deaf-blind and their accomplishments. The author herself is blind and somewhat hearing-impaired. Bridgman's story is told in a lively, readable style and is heavily illustrated with photographs and period illustrations. An index, bibliography, notes, and websites are included. Highly recommended for middle school. It can easily be paired with "Helen's Eyes."