Chapter 7 Summary

As soon as she could fingerspell some words, Helen began learning to read, using slips of cardboard with words printed in raised letters. At first, she would attach the correct words to objects and spell out sentences about them, such as "doll is on bed," or "girl is in wardrobe." She would play like this for hours.

The first book Helen read from was "Reader for Beginners." Like any child learning to read, she started out just finding words she knew. It was like a game of hide-and-seek, and each word she found thrilled her.

Helen did not have formal lessons yet, so all of her learning felt like play. Most of her reading and studying happened outdoors, where Helen kept learning more about the world around her. She and her teacher often walked to Keller's Landing by the Tennessee River. Though she...