My First Book of Sign

March 1, 1987
PreS-Gr 3 -Arranged alphabetically and looking like an ABC book, this is both appealing and useful. Baker presents 150 nouns and verbs common to young children by showing the written word, a picture of the object it represents, and a child signing the word. An index and an alphabetical list of explanations of the way to form the sign are also included. The letter to parents, explaining the purpose and use of the book, loses some of its impact by being at the end instead of at the beginning of the book. Illustrations are brightly colored and have an even mixture of boys and girls of various racial backgrounds, some with hearing aids, some without. Some are a bit confusing because the chubby fingers are not always clearly distinguished from the thumb, but the descriptions in back help with clarification. Printed on glossy paper in a large format, this book is a good addition to sign language collections for children. Nancy A. Gifford, Schenectady County Public Library, N.Y.