Availability: Online and in select stores
Publisher: www.silverdolphinbooks.com
Cost: $14.95
Rating:

There’s a multitude of “learn to sign” books, videos, and classes out there. Where to start? Most of the books that I’ve seen fail to have a coherent concept, drown you in “filler”, or have illustrations that are hard to follow. Enter “Amazing Baby: A First Guide to Baby Signing”. Zero filler, all content, and simplicity in and of itself.

CONTENT & ORGANIZATION

Finally, a book on sign language that doesn’t have page upon page of information quoting studies, trying to convince you to start signing with your baby, and basically taking up space. “Baby Signing” has one page covering “how and why” which are each covered in a single paragraph of large easy to follow text that doesn’t drown you in the details. The Amazing Baby(AB) series seems to recognize that parents buying a book on signing with their child are already sold on the topic and want to get down with the nitty gritty.

After the “how” and “why” page, this book goes directly into the table of contents which lists 4 starter signs, 8 instructional signs, 4 family signs, 4 clothing signs, 5 indoor signs, 5 mealtime signs, 5 evening signs, 8 outdoor signs, 5 animal signs, and 7 advanced signs. The table of contents is color-coded and takes up two pages. The text is large and easy to read and makes it easy to quickly find the sign you’re interested in teaching your baby.

Next is “What we will do!” a quick two-page guide to what the different sections contain and how the signs chosen for inclusion in the book relate to the most common objects in a young child’s environment, and how they are also linked to the first speech sounds and most common “first words spoken”. It is obvious that the intent of this AB book is to supplement English and not act as a replacement or as a second language. Starter signs relate to basic needs such as hunger, instructional signs allow you to extend your communication to ask “what’s this” or “look at that!’, family signs identify family members, indoor signs helps with common indoor items and clothing, mealtime signs have items related to food such as food items and “teeth” and “spoon”. Evening signs relate to bedtime, outdoor signs help the child describe the things they see outdoors such as “sun” and “rain”, animal signs include common pets and “duck”- one of baby’s favorite animals to feed, advanced signs cover topics such as toilet training and adjectives like “hot” and “cold”. Pretty simple, no? Yet, imagine what your child can do with such a vocabulary. It’s much more linguistically advanced and accurate than crying and pointing (Not to mention infinitely less frustrating for both baby and parent).

Next comes two pages of “How you will do it!” which talks about how to introduce your baby to the signs so that they make sense. “Try to have each object on hand as it is introduced, such as milk , food, or a book. You could also point to pictures in a book. Begin your signing when you know your child will be most responsive“. Common-sense, simple, and it takes the guess work out of the whole process. It covers topics such as reinforcement, encouragement, and how to turn the learning of these simple signs into a game that your baby will find engaging and will want to repeat. It also tells you that at first the signs will be inaccurate and to be patient and encourage all attempts. Good reminders to have for those among us that are results oriented and perfectionists!

With this wonderfully minimalistic introductory content out of the way, we jump right into the signs. You’ll notice that each of the sections have filing folder style color-coded tabs that are clearly printed with the section name which simplifies the process of finding the sign should you need to remind yourself how it is done, or quickly locate a new sign that you want to introduce your child to.

Breastfeeding moms will be happy to know that “Milk” comes with two signs- one for “breastfeed” and one for “bottle”. I nearly squealed with glee when I saw this. It’s great that the book includes both methods for feeding, and that the “bottle” sign for milk also applies to sippy cups.

Each page covers only one sign with multiple photographs showing each step of the sign, and with sections of descriptive text for each photograph. Having only one sign per page makes it easy to focus on the sign and the instructions. Even better, each sign shows a picture of a child signing the same sign. This makes it easy to see how the sign that is so clear on the adult’s hands is slightly less so on your child’s hands, and it becomes easier to recognize the word that they may be trying to say.

The book ends with a quick note on how baby signs fall away naturally when the child realizes that they can be understood through spoken word alone, but how it can still be a valuable communication tool for toddlers that are tired and frustrated and want to reinforce the message they are trying to communicate.

There is a two-page index for quickly locating words which is handy but probably unnecessary considering the wonderful organization that went into this book.

QUALITY

This book is bound with a heavy cardboard cover that is very difficult to bend or break, and is spiral bound for ease of laying the book flat while you practice a sign or show the pictures to your child. The spiral binding is metal “Double O” binding with black plastic coating. Double-O binding is harder to crush, harder to rip pages out of, and is very durable. When the book is closed the binding is not exposed. The decision to bind this book in this way was an excellent choice.

The pages themselves are a medium-weight glossy paper, and the print job is excellent with clear type and images and vibrant colors. Overall, this book is very well produced and seems to be very durable.

IMAGERY

The AB series of books has a consistent look that involves bright primary and secondary colors and simple clip-art style graphics with black and white photography of children and adults. It is a unique style that works really well. The quality of the photographs is really rather good. The subjects are cropped in a way that allows you to see the signs fully without additional distracting detail, the children are all well dressed and well groomed, and the signs are clearly visible. The photographs are neither dark and contrasty nor are they blown out and overly bright. The graphic choices and colors throughout have a consistent feeling that complements the photographs without distracting from the content.

EDUCATIONAL/ENTERTAINMENT VALUE

Many of the signs in this book are the same signs used by speakers of American Sign Language (ASL) which is a full and complex language. This gives the book great educational value as an early introduction to a second language. Some signs are simplified or perhaps part of a regional dialect, such as the sign for “what”, “apple”, “water” “bath”, “flower”, “cat”, “dog”, “duck”, toilet and “spoon”.

The section on “pain” is particularly useful as it shows the spatial aspect of ASL where a single sign for “pain” can turn into headache, toothache, tummy ache depending on where the sign (and pain) is located. “pain” signed at the ear for “earache” is particularly valuable.

CONCLUSION

If you’re looking for a book on introducing sign language to your baby and your family, this book is an excellent primer. If you already know some sign language and are looking for a guide on teaching your baby, this book can still be helpful but you might want one with more parent-oriented introductory material and less of a focus on the vocabulary itself. As a former speaker of American Sign Language I found this book to be an excellent resource with its slightly simplified “kid” version of signs, the short guide on how to introduce your baby to sign language, and the excellent choice of starter vocabulary. This book will not overwhelm you with details or too much information but instead will focus on providing your child with a starter vocabulary that will allow them to communicate most of their needs and that can be expanded and built upon.