She Touched the World: Laura Bridgman, Deaf-Blind Pioneer | 
 enlarge | Authors: Sally Hobart Alexander, Robert Alexander
Publisher: Clarion Books
Category: Book
List Price: $18.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 175848
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 112
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 10.1 x 8.3 x 0.6
ISBN: 0618852999
Dewey Decimal Number: 362.41092
EAN: 9780618852994
ASIN: 0618852999
Publication Date: February 18, 2008
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Condition: Unmarked, Brand New, Gift Quality, Guaranteed
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
When she was just two years old, Laura Bridgman lost her sight, her hearing, and most of her senses of smell and taste. At the time, no one believed a child with such severe disabilities could be taught to communicate, much less lead a full and productive life. But then a progressive doctor, who had just opened the country's first school for the blind in Boston, took her in. Laura learned to communicate, read, and write?and eventually even to teach. By the age of 12, she was world famous.
Audiences flocked to see her, and she was loved and admired by children everywhere. This fascinating and moving biography shows how Laura Bridgman paved the way for future generations of children with disabilities, making possible important advances in the way they would be educated. As a blind person with some hearing loss, Sally Hobart Alexander lends a unique and intimate perspective to this inspiring
account. At last, the story of Laura Bridgman can find its long-deserved place alongside those of Louis Braille and Helen Keller.
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| Customer Reviews:
An utterly fascinating and inspirational true-life story April 4, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Written for young adults and teenagers, She Touched the World: Laura Bridgman, Deaf-Blind Pioneer is the biographical story of Laura Bridgman (1829-1889), the first deaf-blind American child to receive a significant education in the English language, fifty years before the more famous Hellen Keller. With the help of a doctor, determined to find a way to help this intelligent, curious young girl communicate with the world despite the limitations of her own body, she became a teacher and an inspiration to others - and when Helen Keller's mother learned about Bridgman's achievements, she knew that her own daughter could be helped. An utterly fascinating and inspirational true-life story, illustrated with a handful of black-and-white photographs. Highly recommended especially for high school and public library collections.
Laura Bridgman gets her due! March 13, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is so good I'm going to quote the introduction in full:
"If you had lived in 1841, the name Laura Bridgman would have echoed through your home, your school, your neighborhood. It would have rung out in the streets of Boston, in the halls of Congress, and across the ocean to England and Europe and beyond. By the time Laura Bridgman was twelve years old, she was that famous.
"Like all children, you would have loved and admired her. You would have named your favorite doll after her....And then you would have poked out the doll's eyes."
I just love that.
You may not have heard of her (unless perhaps you've recently read a book I'm rather fond of called Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller!) but without Laura Bridgman, there would have been no Helen Keller. Laura's education began to change the way the world saw disability, and it's a delight to see her getting the attention she deserves.
This is biography at its best - snappy, accurate writing with just the right amount of context. There are no imaginings or dramatizations here to sully the facts, yet the text is lively and engaging. Matter of fact, it didn't make a difference that I've already read and/or own most of the authors' sources on Laura; the information still felt fresh.
Oh, and did I mention that one of the authors is herself blind and hearing impaired? Yeah. The lady knows of what she speaks.
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