A Notes from the
Windowsill annotated bibliography by Wendy E. Betts.
Copyright 2005, 2006, 2007
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Last Updated 11/15/07
Note: This bibliography includes both books intended primarily for signing with hearing children (baby signs) and books intended for hearing-impaired children. They use various forms of sign, including American Sign Language and Signed English. I will indicate which language is used whenever possible.
My First Baby Signs by Linda Acredolo.
HarperFestival, 2002 (0-060-09074-X) $6.99 board
One of the most attractive signing books, this title is notable for
actually showing children performing the signs. Eleven basic
signs, such as "dog," "baby" and "book" are illustrated with a photo
of a cute child performing the sign, as well as examples of the sign's
meaning. It's far more understandable and memorable than the drawings
found in most signing books, and
appealing for children to look at as well. My only quibble is that
I wish they had
found a more ethnically diverse group of children. (9 months-2)
Baby Signs for Mealtimes by Linda Acredolo. HarperFestival,
2002 (0-06-009073-1) $6.99 board
A companion to My First Baby Signs, with useful signs relating to food and eating. Both books were written by the authors of the book Baby Signs and promote signing as a way of helping babies and toddlers ease frustration around communication and learn language. Keep in mind that "baby signs" are not necessarily actual ASL signs; they're intended to be easy for babies to use. (9 months-2)
Also available: Baby Signs for Bedtime; Baby Signs for
Animals
Animal Signs by Debby Slier. Photographed by various. Kendall
Green, 1995 (1-56368-049-1) $6.95 board
This book features everyday color photographs of familiar animals in
their natural habitats. Small inset drawings indicate how to make the
ASL sign for that animal. The drawings can be a bit confusing and
will probably be most comprehensible to readers who already have a
little familiarity with sign langusage. (9 months-2)
Word Signs by Debby Slier. Photographed by various. Kendall
Green, 1995 (1-56368-048-3) $6.95 board
Similar to Animal Signs (see above) but even more confusing. I
would only recommend this for someone who already knows ASL.
(9 months-2)
Happy Birthday! by Angela Bednarczyk and Janet Weinstock.
Photographed by various. Star Bright, 1997 (1-887734-05-8) $4.95
board
Signs for favorite things like balloons, gifts and ice cream make this
book appealing. Colored photographs show what's being signed, while
inset drawings indicate how to make the sign. I found the insets,
which include written instructions, to be quite clear, despite the
fairly small size of the book. (9 months-3)
Opposites by Angela Bednarczyk and Janet Weinstock.
Photographed by various. Star Bright, 1997 (1-887734-06-6) $4.95
board
In the same format as Happy Birthday! (see above), this
features various opposites and includes a cute, diverse cast of
toddlers demonstrating concepts like sad/happy and awake/asleep.
Adults who want to sign with babies will find this a
good place to start. (9 months-3)
Baby's First Signs by Kim Votry and Curt Waller. Kendall
Green, 2001 (1-56368-114-5) $6.95 board
Like My First Baby Signs, this book shows a child performing
signs, although illustrated rather than photographed. In each picture,
a little boy uses ASL as he interacts with his family and everyday
objects. Inset drawings reinforce how to make the motions shown by
the boy. I like the format, but don't find the muted colors or
slot-featured characters very attractive. (9 months -2)
Also available: More Baby's First Signs by Kim Votry and Curt
Waller. Kendall Green, 2001 (1-56368-115-3) $6.95
Let's Sign! by Kelly Ault. Illustrated by Leo Landry.
Houghton Mifflin, 2005 (0-618-50774-4) $17.00
For parents who would rather learn ASL signs than "baby signs," this
is a cute "baby's guide to communicating with grown-ups," featuring
pen & ink and watercolor drawings of round cheeked, smiling babies.
Three little stories cover around fifty ASL signs for mealtime, playtime
and bedtime; each two-page spread has one page of story and one page
that illustrates acommpanying signs, along with instructions. (6
months-2)
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Harry Bornstein and Karen Luczak
Saulnier. Illustrated by Annie Launsford. Sign drawings by Jan
Skrobisz. Kendall Green, (1-56368-057-2) $18.95
A standard version of "The Three Bears" is accompanied by drawings
showing how to tell the story in Signed English. (Using one sign per
word and the same grammatical construction as English.) The
large illustrations are fairly pedestrian but give a lot of facial
expression to the
characters. A nice touch is that the sign drawings change to reflect
which character is speaking. This is a fairly long story, so will
take some practice for inexperienced signers. (2-5)
The Night Before Christmas adapted by Harry Bornstein and Karen
Luczak Saulnier from "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement C. Moore.
Illustrated by Steve Marchesi. Sign drawings by Jan Skrobisz.
Kendall Green, 1994 (1-56368-020-3) $18.95
Another familiar work in signed English. This is described as an
adaptation, but I could find only one difference between it and the
original, the substituion of "as" for "ere." The sign drawings change
from the narrator to Santa, to make it easier for the signer to
remember who's speaking. Richly colored and
textured paintings make this book more eye-catching than most others
of its kind. (3-7)
Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose by Harry Bornstein and Karen
L. Saulnier. Illustrated by Patricia Peters. Line drawings by Linda
C. Tom. Kendall Green, 1992 (0-930323-99-8) $18.95
Old-fashioned looking paintings illustrate several familiar nursery
rhymes, while drawings of a mother-gooish looking woman show how to
sign the rhymes in Signed English. Since the rhymes are fairly short,
this can be used even by inexperienced signers, with practice. It can
be enjoyed by hearing babies, but its main purpose is to help
hard-of-hearing and language delayed children learn English. (2-4)
Sesame Street Sign Language ABC by Linda Bove. illustrated by
Tom Cooke. Photographed by Anita and Steve Shevett. Random House,
1985 (0-394-87516-8)
Linda Bove, a deaf cast member of "Sesame Street," here demonstrates sign language with help from the muppets. Each page features a photo of Linda demonstrating a letter of the alphabet, more photos of her signing associated words or phrases, plus a drawing of Sesame Street muppet characters acting them out. (The book doesn't say, but the phrases appear to be in Signed English, rather than ASL.) I find the random use of either sentences or words potentially confusing--for example, Oo is accompanied by "Do no feed the octupus," while Pp is "parrot," "piano" and "pirate--but the familiar, friendly characters will undoubtedly appeal to young children (at least those who watch television.) (2-4)
Handtalk by Remy Charlip and Mary Beth Miller. Illustrated by
Remy Charlip. Photographed by George Ancona. Macmillan, 1974
(0-02-718130-8) OP
I was disappointed when I saw this book was illustrated with photographs, because I so love Charlip's adorable illustrations in books like Sleepytime Rhyme. But these photos are well worth looking at, despite the dated, '70's look of the participants.
Handtalk is an alphabet book that uses two forms of sign language, finger spelling and signs. For each letter, we see a hand forming the letter, hands forming a word that begins with that letter--A=Angel--and for the main part of the spread, a person demonstrating the sign for that same word, in the most appropriate way possible. The woman demonstrating "angel" is decidedly angelic; several pages later we see a devilish D. There are lots of clever touches, like a page with a hand covered in peanut butter opposite a page with a hand covered in jelly: "When you close these pages these hands make the sign for sandwich." Perhaps most interesting of all is the way camera techniques and finger drawings on glass have been used to demonstrate motion when signing--far more effective than the little drawings with arrows most books use. A fascinating book. * (4 & up)
Handtalk Birthday by Remy Charlip and Mary Beth Miller. Photographed by George Ancona. Macmillan, 1987 (0-02-718080-8) OP
This follow-up to Handtalk (see above) is not as innovative,
but still fun. Mary Beth Miller, who also co-wrote and was featured
in Handtalk, and was an original member of the National
Theatre for the Deaf, stars as a deaf women being treated to a
surprise birthday party. (The book opens
with her being awoken by a light flashing as a doorbell.) Her friends
all make her guess, in sign, what her presents can be. At the end of
the party, she wishes to fly as she blows out her candles, and begins
to float above her friends, still signing away. Again, camera tricks
are used to show the motion of the signs, and the cheerful, diverse
cast of characters make an appealing show; I particularly like the
spread which shows them all signing "Happy Birthday," with eight
different hands finger-spelling "Mary Beth." (4 & up)
Handsigns illustrated by Kathleen Fain. Chronicle, 1993
(0-8118-0310-4); (0-8118-1196-4) $7.95 pb
This unusual book not only teaches the standard alphabet, but the
American
Manual Alphabet--in which letters are represented by "handsigns"--as
well.
Each textless page includes a vibrantly colored picture of one or more
animals, with a small inset box demonstrating a handsign. An
introduction
at the beginning explains the history and purpose of finger spelling,
while
a glossary at the end relates facts about the depicted animals. Yet
something seems missing in this book. The softly shaded illustrations
are
attractive but sedate, and they don't relate in any meaningful way to
the
handsigns; nothing about them really excites the reader to want to
learn to
sign. This may limit the book's usefulness, and its appeal to older
readers. A much more appealing book is The Handmade Alphabet.
(See below.) (2-6)
My Signing Book of Numbers written and illustrated by Patricia
Gillen. Kendall Green, 1988 (0-930323-37-8) $19.95
As a group of identically smiling children interact with different
objects, they sign the numbers of the objects, from 1-20, then by tens
to 100, then 1000 (leaves) and 1 million (stars.) A section at the
end of the book gives more information more about signing; it's rather
odd to read that facial expression is very important in ASL, when so
little of it is displayed in these by-the-number drawings.
I like the inclusiveness of the pictures--they're the first I've
seen that thought to show some characters wearing hearing aids--but
overall, this book isn't very visually interesting or appealing. (2-5)
Where's Spot? written and illustrated by Eric Hill. Putnam, 1987 (0-399-21478-X) OP
The first book in the Spot series is accompanied by small drawings
showing the story in Signed English. This is a fun, pull-flap story,
in which the big dog Sally looks all around for little Spot, finding
other goofy animals everywhere she looks. The sign instructions are
fairly clear, but the book is best used by someone already familiar
with sign. (1-3)
My First Book of Sign Language illustrated by Joan Holub.
Troll, 1996; Scholastic, 2004 (0-4396-3582-9) $3.50 pb
Using an alphabetical format, this wordless book shows kids in various
familiar situations, then demonstrates useful signs. For "B," along
with the finger sign for the letter, we see a boy playing with his baby
brother: at the bottom of the page we learn the signs for baby, bed
and boy. The cheerful, unsophisticated illustrations aim for diversity
and inclusion, showing a child with glasses and another in a wheelchair
(though oddly, no hearing aids.) Children may need a little initial help
to understand how to make signs, particularly those that
move, but most should be able to use the book on their own. (5-10)
The Handmade Alphabet illustrated by Laura Rankin. Dial, 1991;
Puffin, 1996 (0-14-055876-4) $4.99 pb
Concept and execution are perfectly blended in this memorable look at the American Sign Language manual alphabet, which shows beautifully drawn hands interacting with appropriate objects while they form the position of each letter: translucent, rainbow-edged bubbles float past the hand demonstrating B, a fragile cup dangles from the thumb of the hand forming C. The most fascinating image might be the E, being slowly erased by a pencil... or maybe the dragonfly delicately perching on D... or the J which swipes a little jam as it moves through the air... or the skeletal vision of X...
Perhaps it's because the basic idea seems so simple that this end
product is somehow so astonishing. The graceful elegance of the
finely drawn pictures, the imaginative placement of the objects,
and the beautiful natural variations of the hands--black and
white, old and young--all add up to an incredible visual
statement, showing that hand communication, like vocal
communication, is more than just the formation of words. Whether
or not you have any interest in the manual alphabet, this is a
book too special to miss. * (4 & up)
Winnie-the-Pooh's ABC, American Sign Language Edition illustrated
by Ernest H. Shepard. Dutton, 2001 (0-525-46714-9) $10.99
Identical to the regular edition, but with signs and sign instructions
added, this is a cheerful alphabet book that Winnie-the-Pooh fans will
enjoy, with pictures by the original illustrator of Milne's books. Many
elements from the Pooh books are included: E is for Eeyore
(quite complicated to sign!) and T for Tigger; N is for North Pole and
S is for the stairs that Christopher Robin drags Pooh down. These
aren't necessarily the most useful words to learn to sign, but the
attractve and familiar pictures make this book very welcome. (3-6)
My Toy Book illustrated by Ann Silver. Kendall Green, 1987
(0-913580-22-8) $9.95 pb
This mostly textless book offers drawings of a boy and girl making Signed
English signs for various toys. Described only with visuals, the signs
can be difficult to interpret, and the pictures of the freckled-faced
children aren't particularly attractive. There is no index. With so
many more visually appealing books available, I would only recommend
this book to fill a specific need. (2-5)
Simple Signs written and illustrated by Cindy Wheeler.
Penguin, 1995; Puffin, 1997 (0-140-55673-7) $5.99 pb
An author's note at the beginning of this book tells how Wheeler used
ASL to communicate with her son, who was born with Down Syndrome. It's
a good reminder of how many reasons there can be to sign with babies
and young children, even when hearing isn't an issue. This is a nice
basic text, with signs used for animals, people and mealtimes. Each page
has a simple watercolor illustrations for the word on one half, and a
drawing
of the sign on the other. I like how much space is alloted to
demonstrate the sign, along with written hints that make them easier
to understand and remember. (1-4)
More Simple Signs written and illustrated by Cindy Wheeler.
Penguin, 1998 (0-670-87477-9) OP
Like the title says, this is more of the same. This book includes
more action words like "jump" and "swing," basic colors and useful
phrases like "yes," "no," "please" and "thank you." (1-4)
Signing is Fun written and illustrated by Mickey Flodin.
Perigee, 1995 (0-399-52173-9) $9 pb
Kids who are motivated to learn sign language will find this small
book a useful basic handbook, with thoroughly illustrated and explained
signs. Whether the two games included--"match the sports signs" and
"guess the wild
animals"--actually makes signing more fun willl depend on the
reader. The book includes about 150 signs and a numbers of phrases using
ASL in English sentence format. (6-12)
Sign Language for Kids by Lora Heller. Sterling, 2004
(1-4207-0672-3) $14.95
Almost entirely photographs, this attractive book shows various
adolescent kids performing ASL signs in useful categories like
favorite foods, musical instruments, clothing and feelings.
Different colored lettering, pages, and t-shirts on the kids all
contribute to a bright yet easy-on-the-eyes format. Each sign is also
well described. An excellent choice for this age level. (7-14)
Actions
These useful books in the "Talking Hands" series are
trilingual: the text is in English and Spanish, as well as
American Sign Language. Each word is illustrated with a colored
photograph--sometimes kids, sometimes adults-- and a line drawing of
a child demonstrating the sign;
thorough descriptions in English and Spanish of how to perform each sign
are also included. Actions focuses on movements kids make:
"fall/caer," "clap/aplaudir," "dig/excavar." "At Play" gives the
signs for sports and sport-related terms. Although these books have
that distinctive published-for-institutions look, the photos are
lively enough to make them pleasant to look at, as well as functional.
(5-10)