Monday, September 30, 2013

Essential Baby Sign Language, Teresa R. Simpson

Essential Baby Sign Language: the most important 75 signs you can teach your baby, Teresa R. Simpson.
ISBN: 9781440560842
Read Sept 23, 2013

Slim volume with a brief and encouraging intro, a glossary of ASL letters of the alphabet, and a useful "troubleshooting" section at the end, is mostly comprised of clear b&w photographs of MOST of the 75 signs which are introduced here.

The signs are obviously selected to be of interest to a baby - milk, diaper, mommy, daddy, sister, brother, cat, dog, fish, airplane... Some interesting choices are on offer: we get options for cup, drink, milk, water, and juice.  We also get "pain" and "angry" which I don't see offered much, but are important for the baby's self-expression.  I would have liked to see a few options for zoo animals, as those are often highly interesting to babies, and maybe a few specific toy/encounter choices: ball, truck, blocks, swing, but overall these are obviously useful selections.

I did NOT like that there were several signs which didn't get photographs to illustrate - the directions for them are as clear as possible, but text instructing movement always has potential to be misinterpreted.  

Baby-signing is becoming mainstream, and it's a good thing, in my opinion.  This is an overall excellent choice for someone ready to try it out.

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