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This may be the first book cover that actually teaches how to letterspell “A B C” in American Sign Language! (click to enlarge)
Let’s start with unveiling the cover itself. It features alenticular!
And it’s going on press this month! I’m so excited!
Why? Because it all began as a list of words on a spread sheet almost five years ago. Gallaudet University Press lined up a team of illustrators for their upcoming definitive American Sign Language reference (think Merriam-Webster, but for signing), aimed at the pre-school through grade 3 level. It had to be usable for hearing families as well as the deaf and hearing-impaired.
Page 1 from the Dictionary
One of the illustrators already on board was Debbie Tilley. When agent Richard Salzman discovered it was (a) Gallaudet first foray into children’s books and general trade; and (b) they expected Debbie to produce the layouts too, he recommended they contact me to pull it all together for them. It was a dream project for all of us!
392 pages of full color!It looks like a graphic comic, with over 1,000 word entries, fully illustrated. Plus it includes a DVD featuring a rainbow of children signing. There’s also a special feature on forming sentences.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll guide you on the process. It will be like a diary on the making of a children’s reference classic. . .
Spread from pages 238-239 (click to enlarge)
You will witness exclusive behind-the-scenes book making. Stay tuned. That’s why I’ve been away for so long. Been dictionary-ing…
0 Comments on Stop the Presses…and START HERE! as of 1/1/1900
January 21 to 25, 2013: ”NO NAME CALLING WEEK” MYTH OF THE WEEK: ”Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” ЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖ Enslow Publishers, Inc. Enslow Publishing was established in 1976 by Ridley M. Enslow. a veteran of several New York publishing houses. Today, his two sons, Mark and Brian, run it. Located …
As a general rule, unless I am under obligation to SLJ or LT, I don't write reviews of books that I don't like. The work of many committed people goes into the commercial publication of a book, and it would be the height of arrogance to assume that I am the best or only arbiter of good taste and quality. I offer my opinions here for the benefit of myself and those who may not have the time to read as extensively or expansively as I do. That being said, without referencing a particular book, I wish to offer a caveat regarding American Sign Language books for children.
I am very fortunate in that I work with a deaf woman who has been teaching me sign language for over a year. She and I often share books and discussion about deaf culture, ASL, and unrelatedly, our interest in star gazing. (We both loved Wonderstruck.)
Over the past few weeks, I've received numerous new ASL picture books at my branch. These recent additions depict ASL in simplistic drawings. This may make for a cute picture book, but the signs are nearly impossible to decipher and replicate with one's actual hands. Sign language is a fluid language. The required movements are very difficult to duplicate in pictures. If you must rely on printed text and illustrations (which will work fine for most of the ASL alphabet), purchase or borrow books with photographs of hands rather than artistic renderings. A better suggestion, however, if you are seeking to teach ASL, is using one of the many kid-friendly DVDs, or YouTube tutorials. Purchasing books which rely on simple, hand-rendered illustrations of complex signs is, in my opinion, a waste of money. My co-worker did use our new books to teach me something - the signs for "wrong picture." (I already knew the signs for "bad book.")
Thanks! Our neighboring library serves a town with a school for the deaf, so we usually just borrow their stuff, but I'd like to have a few things myself!
I wonder if there is much difference between JSL and ASL. Because my co-worker is orignially from India and often uses older versions of signs that have been swapped out here in the States for more politically correct ones, I've joked with her that I've been learning ISL. It's interesting that JSL is a school requirement in Japan. Does Japan have a higher incidence of deafness, do you suppose?
Every so often I have a student looking for reading ideas that incorporate American Sign Language. I am thrilled to report that the Illinois Service Resource Center has made available ASL Literacy Packets based on seven popular children's books. Each packet includes three literacy activities, a list of vocabulary words in which each word is defined and the sign is described, photographs showing the proper way to make each sign, and all reproducibles needed for the activities. Each packet can be viewed as an e-book or download as a PDF.
Literacy packets are available for the following titles:
A Fine Fine School by Sharon Creech
I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Mary Ann Hoberman
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams
Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook by Michael Garland
A commenter (named, delightfully, Jane Wiley) on my recent Signing Time post asked:
Melissa…have you heard about “Sign Art” the interpretation of music through sign language…
Sign Art is a beautiful way to see a picture… of a song… through the interpretation in sign language…
Several years ago, Scott called me to the TV to watch a clip from a Pearl Jam concert DVD he was watching. “Trust me,” he said. “You’re going to love this.”
As usual, he was right. I stood transfixed as a young ASL interpreter accompanied the band in a performance of “Given to Fly.” Her movements are lovely and captivating, lifting the song itself to a level of beauty I would never have associated with Pearl Jam.
I found the clip on YouTube so you can see for yourselves. (Parents with younguns looking over your shoulders, be aware that Eddie Vedder drops an F-bomb at minute 3:28—with a bit of sign language of his own).
What Rilla’s saying at the end there is “With Alex, Leah, and Hopkins.” Totally unprompted, I swear.
When I watched our Christmas 2005 video the other day, the bit that gave me the biggest pang of nostalgia was watching Wonderboy signing away. He hardly signs at all anymore, now that he talks so much. I’m thrilled with his verbal speech, but I really miss the signing. It’s funny to think back on how much ASL dominated our lives (in a rich and satisfying way) for a couple of years there, and now our use and pursuit of sign language has slipped to the back burner, becoming something of a hobby rather than a daily necessity. Jane still wants to certify as an ASL interpreter someday, and every few months we pull out our materials and learn another chunk of vocabulary and grammar. There are community college courses we might take next year. It’s a beautiful and important language, and I don’t want to let it go, even if our boy doesn’t need rely on it for communication the way he once did.
And of course the Signing Time DVDs remain in great demand with my little people, as the video above attests. With Rilla, we’re seeing all the benefits of sign language we saw with the first three girls—because rudimentary ASL was a part of our baby & toddler life from the get-go, long before we had a Wonderboy or knew he had hearing loss.
Here are some old posts singing the praises of our favorite kiddie DVDs:
What kid-friendly dvds do you (and your friend) recommend? I need to update this section in my library.
Signing Time! is the best DVD series that we have. They're very popular, too. They circulate quite a bit. Thanks for asking.
Thanks! Our neighboring library serves a town with a school for the deaf, so we usually just borrow their stuff, but I'd like to have a few things myself!
Sounds like great advice, thank you so much for sharing. Will also check out the dvd series you noted above.
I wonder if there is much difference between JSL and ASL. Because my co-worker is orignially from India and often uses older versions of signs that have been swapped out here in the States for more politically correct ones, I've joked with her that I've been learning ISL. It's interesting that JSL is a school requirement in Japan. Does Japan have a higher incidence of deafness, do you suppose?