Review by Booklist Review
This kid-friendly guide to American Sign Language (ASL) provides an enjoyable and accessible introduction to the language's fundamentals. It begins with succinct instructions, an alphabet chart that includes a note about finger spelling being acceptable when a sign is not known, and proceeds through a range of everyday words and signs (feelings, colors, shapes, and so forth). Each double-page spread contains six to eight examples of words for each category, clear visual and textual information to illustrate the meaning of the words, and how to sign or finger spell them. Facial expressions and body language are key in ASL, and the cute cartoon figures of children demonstrating the signs all face the reader directly and depict the appropriate actions. Thus, readers will learn that the sign for broken includes moving fists up and away from each other while showing dismay on one's face. At more than 100 pages, this is approachable for young readers but still significant enough to be of help to anyone.--Chaudhri, Amina Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 4-In six thematic chapters, Clay introduces basic American Sign Language (ASL) vocabulary relating to everyday life and surroundings, people and places, the calendar, and conversations. Computer-generated cartoon children demonstrate the signs, accompanied by photos of objects and captions that often confuse by describing only the movement without clarifying other aspects, such as handshape. Oversimplification is a problem throughout. It is never mentioned, for example, that ASL is mainly used in the United States and Canada, thus reinforcing misconceptions about its universality. The critical grammatical role of nonmanual signals goes completely unmentioned-the section on questions, where a raised or lowered eyebrow is key to meaning, fails to address it at all, and the introduction asserts simply that "People use facial expressions when they sign. They smile when signing good news. They frown when signing sad news." More troublingly, some of the signs, such as "fruit," "vegetable," and "math," are depicted misleadingly or incorrectly. Look to Penny Warner's Learn to Sign the Fun Way! (Three Rivers, 2001) or Lora Heller's Sign Language for Kids (Sterling, 2004) instead.-Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
