This One's for Adults

"Talking Hands" by Margalit Fox is a fascinating book for anyone interested in linguistics or how our brains work. It's about a Middle Eastern community where the people have developed their own Sign Language because of frequent hereditary deafness. Even the hearing people who live there use that language in addition to their spoken one. 

The book is popular in style and comfortable to read, but it relates the experiences of scientists studying the local Sign Language as well as insights they're gaining about how our brains work to process language. I found it fascinating.

Money Saver

With the current economic problems many people won't be able to afford trips to amusement parks, movies, and other forms of entertainment. Here's a way to have fun without spending much money; READ! 

While many people enjoy curling up with a good book and little kids love to hear bedtime stories, lots of folks may not realize what a pleasure it can be for a family to share a good book by reading it aloud. Reading can take you anywhere in the world, to fantasy kingdoms, or even allow you to time travel to the past or future. Expensive destinations can't begin to compete with the possibilities, and sharing those wonderful experiences can bring families closer. So, why not try it?

That's Not All, Folks

This blog was not intended to be just book reviews, but there are so many good books out there I keep thinking of just one more I've got to mention. There will be other things mentioned at times, I promise, but here's my honest confession; I'm a bookaholic with no intention of recovering. And I'm probably not the only person guilty of bibliolatry. Perhaps we should form a support group and call it Bookaholics Unanimous.

Another Great Book for Kids

Here's a picture book that appeals to both girls and boys because the protagonist is a feisty girl and the story involves wheels. (I've seldom known a boy who could resist those.)

The book is "Zoom" by Robert Munsch and Michael Martchenko.  It just happens that the girl needs a new electric wheelchair and can choose between various models. She picks the one that goes fastest of all - amazingly fast! 

I like this book partly because her disability isn't the main focus. There's no appeal for sympathy, it's just a fun story. The illustrations are great, too.

A Fun Book

Sometimes it's hard to get kids, especially boys,  interested in reading. Here's a book reluctant readers are likely to enjoy: Running With The Reservoir Pups, by Colin Bateman. It's not at all like the Series of Unfortunate Events books (though it does take place in England,)  but kids who enjoyed that series will probably like this book. And there will be others about the same characters to enjoy.

The ABC System

Someone made a comment asking why I mentioned a performance I'd seen years ago in my last post. I hate to admit it, but the reason is I just found something about the play at the bottom of The Box.  Often when I clean my office and file the papers on my desk there are some that don't fit into any of the usual categories so I just drop them into The Box, but this time it was so full I had to deal with everything in it. 

That reminded me of a method I used as a preschool teacher to get the kids to clean up the room after playtime. I'd sing the Alphabet Song v-e-r-y- s-l-o-w-l-y and if all the toys were put away by the time I got to the end, the kids won, but if I finished the song before they were done cleaning, I'd win. Of course I'd help clean while singing and would win once in a while, but usually the kids would beat me. They didn't get a prize, just the opportunity to feel successful. The same method worked to get my daughter to clean her room - at least sometimes. Maybe if I tried singing that song after filing the papers on my desk I wouldn't be so tempted to finish the job by stuffing whatever was left into The Box. 

Great Show!

The best live performance I ever saw in my life (IMHO) was "Big River." It's a musical version of "Huckleberry Finn" and the 2004 performance I attended in San Francisco was done in both English and American Sign Language. There were a lot of deaf people in the audience and a lot of hearing people, but only a few of us were fluent in both languages. For us it was an incredible opportunity to experience the show - which was great in either language - on both levels. And I couldn't help noticing the parallels between the racial prejudice experienced by Jim and the prejudice deaf people and those with disabilities often experience today. I wish I could see Big River performed like that again.