Baby Signing Reviews 2004 / 2005

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Baby Signing Explained
 
 

Sign & Sing-Along - illustrated by Annie Kubler

Each board book in this series turns a well known nursery rhyme into an action song by teaching the signs for the main words. The illustrations feature chubby, cheerful babies and toddlers performing the signs with occasional extra detail to hint at their meanings. Fun to learn with small babies and pre-school children, although some of the signs are slightly harder to work out than with the previous two books as there are no textual descriptions.
The Word Pool, September 2005

Signing guide to forty key words. Childlike lovable illustrated characters depict the signs throughout this large board book. A helpful description on hand shapes and movements accompanies each sign. The delightful characters in the [Sign & Sing-Along] books depict the signs to accompany the words to the song.
Under Five – April 2005  

We shared the nursery rhyme books and the first signs with our children aged 2-5 years. Staff pointed out the signs to the children as they went along. We think the signing books are an excellent idea. The children particularly liked the illustrations.
Collingham Gardens Pre-School , Under Five Magazine – April 2005

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, based on the familiar, widely used nursery rhyme. It is beautifully illustrated with pages of children in their nightclothes. The illustrator has introduced different styles, colours and pattern to the nightwear, giving the reader lots of scope for language development. The children all have happy faces and can be viewed using appropriate signs and actions to demonstrate the rhyme. British Sign Language is used for each line of the nursery rhyme.

A charming little book with good child appeal and lots of educational value – a useful aid for quiet time.
Nursery Education – March 2005

For those who would like to give [Baby Signing] a try in the privacy of their own home, ‘My First Signs' is the perfect answer. This is a beautifully illustrated dictionary of over 40 key signs to teach your baby. Not only does it clearly demonstrate the gestures but also uses adorable illustrations that are pleasant to look at. The book is a large glossy board format so it's easy to prop up in front of you and your child. Each picture is accompanied by simple instructions on how to make the sign. The signs are based around British Sign Language as this is the standard sign language used by baby signers; it's important that baby signs can be understood by others. It is felt that children as young as eight months can be taught to sign and the book also suggests teaching a few signs to any additional carers that your child may come into contact with such as a childminder or babysitter, and even older siblings. At just £4.99 this book is not a huge investment and may avoid tempers fraying in those early years.
Harpenden and District NCT Newsletter – Dec 2004

There are lots of ways to learn about baby signing but if you don't want to pay out for a session of lessons then this book is the obvious way forward. ‘My First Signs' from Child's Play is one of the many books on the market which cover the basic signs and getting started. I have to confess that the little one and I are already familiar with some signs picked up from other courses and parents and therefore some of these were reiterated in the book. The book itself is kept to a basic level with simple descriptions of the signs and illustrations to accompany them. It covers over forty first key signs to teach your baby.I found the book easy to use, particularly as it is quite large (and therefore good to locate among the chaos that is our living room). It is also short in length so there is not a great deal of information to take in within the limited time that we all have available to read. “ Reading ”, I hear you cry, “what's that?” This is the helpful thing about the book. I have seen other baby signing books around which look quite in depth and lengthy. This may be helpful once you've established the basic signs but, in the first instance, having something which you can look through in a short space of time to start you off is great. The book acts as a form of dictionary of signs. On each page basic signs such as ‘milk', ‘drink', ‘eat' are shown with an illustration of a child signing the word, together with a description of how to sign the word. At the bottom of each page is a line of helpful guidelines which gives pointers about successful signing.

The key to baby signing, and this is reiterated by the book, is that to achieve some success, you have to be consistent. You should use every opportunity to sign and if others are caring for your child, try and get them to sign as well. As the book says, however, signing should be fun so I hope you enjoy it if you try it.
Claire Oughton, Wokingham and District NCT Newsletter – Nov/Dec 2004

If this book had been available when I looked into the issue [of baby signing] the first time, I would not have hesitated to buy it. I intend to try and use it for baby number two when I consider that he/she is old enough to be able to communicate using signs. The book is produced in a board format so there are no pages to rip. It is bright and colourful, perfect for sitting down and looking through with children. There are excellent illustrations of babies which clearly show them making the action of the sign, but there is also a small written description of the sign in case you are not 100% sure of the action being demonstrated. At the very bottom of the page there is one line which provides a handy hint for the parent, such as only introducing three or four signs to start with and which ones are likely to be most successful. There is no long spiel in it about the background of baby signing, which most of us would happily admit that we don't need to read.

The book is really simple to use, just ten minutes of flicking through the book, reading the hints on starting to sign and then learning the first couple of signs yourself is all it takes.
Eastleigh & District NCT – Autumn 2004

When asked to review a book about baby signing I was filled with trepidation! The usual textbooks (I use the term loosely) are quite uninspiring and mostly aimed at the parent or carer and not the child. On seeing ‘My First Signs' I was pleasantly surprised, it is in colour (my previous experience of signing books being dreary and in black and white). It is illustrated with cartoon-like pictures that really appeal to children and adults alike. The little text there is explains how to perform the sign in an easy manner. The book is designed to be read with your child, not just as a reference. Emily and I had great fun looking at it together. I read out the signs and she showed me them, appearing to look at the pictures and copy what she saw. The signs she didn't know, she grasped quickly by copying the pictures. I particularly like the fact that each picture is a full scene e.g. bathtime, so that we can talk about each picture and use the appropriate sign.

Although it doesn't have a comprehensive list of signs it does contain the common ones for everyday use such as milk, food, more and drink. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone interested in starting to sign with their baby and those who have been signing for a while. I just wish that we had obtained a copy at the start of our signing days!
Julia Gilbert, Romsey & District NCT Newsletter – November 2004

These books feature traditional rhymes: Incey Wincey Spider, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, all of which include pictures of babies signing and instructions for parents. At this level, there's very little difference between the hand actions that any parents would use while reciting say Incey Wincey Spider and the official signing actions, as both involve wiggling hands for spiders and shaking fingers for rain. As with all the best ideas, signing is pretty simple to learn and all these books are a great resource to help you on your way.
Cork Evening Echo – Autumn 2004

Over the past few weeks Sophie has become a complete bookworm and is quite addicted to her books, thus showing much more interest and is attempting to learn some sign language. I've really enjoyed these books, both from my point where I have learnt a little about signing, and also from Sophie's point where she is starting to respond to the signs, as well as loving the nursery rhymes.
www.forparentsbyparents.co.uk – Autumn 2004

These are absolutely gorgeous – a must for any new parent. We only got as far as ‘eat’, ‘drink’, ‘more’ and ‘finished’ with Amy (now 3) – if only we’d had these lovely books we’d still be signing today! The robust board format with wipe clean pages will stand up to lots of reading and exploration by parents and babies alike. The illustrations are bright, clear and quite enchanting – not only will Mum and Dad be able to learn the signs quickly and easily, but the characters are very engaging for small minds. My First Signs runs through all the early signs centred around food and drink, then moves on through subjects like bath and bedtime, playtime, outdoor fun, behaviour and health ending very sweetly on ‘I Love You’. You will probably find that some of the signs come naturally – like the pointy ears for ‘rabbit’ or the charades mime for ‘book’ – some are less obvious, but incredibly useful – like ‘ill’ and ‘medicine’. Alongside the individual signs, you are also reminded of how to teach each of them to your baby and given encouragement not to worry if they creatively adapt signs for their own benefit! So long as you both know what the sign means, that’s all that matters!
The nursery rhyme Sign & Sing-Along quartet offers you the chance to expand your signing vocabulary through song. Most of us instinctively use hand signals through ‘Twinkle, Twinkle’ or ‘Incey Wincey’, but here they are taken a little further, signing the words and concepts rather than just the twinkly stars and finger diamonds.
These are beautifully crafted books that are sure to become long-standing family favourites – and they also offer a wonderful start to your baby’s communication skills.
Byfleet and District NCT Newsletter – August/September 2004

[From a] series of four medium size board books which, through the use of well-known nursery rhymes, encourage your baby to join in with simple hand movements to help tell the tale.
Prima Baby – September 2004

When babies cry, you don’t always know what they want – but they may be able to tell you. Babies can co-ordinate their hand muscles long before they can speak and, if they learn simple signs, they’re able to convey their needs from as early as eight months. It’s a system called “baby signing”, and it’s been popular in the US for years.
It can also help your child to speak earlier and use a larger vocabulary. And as it’s based on British Sign Language, you’re learning a lifelong skill. Parents and babies can learn at classes (visit www.totstalkinghands.co.uk) or through books such as My First Signs, £4.99, a dictionary of simple words, and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, one of four Sign & Sing-Along books by Annie Kubler.
She Magazine – August 2004

Child’s Play have recently published a series of beautifully illustrated baby signing books, which would help anyone interested in signing with their child to get started. There are four Nursery Rhyme titles and My First Signs.
My First Signs … is a large board book, with very easy to follow signs. My two and a half year old loves it and will sit for nearly an hour at a time, looking at each picture, copying the sign and saying the word – this must be good! – Ed
Wallingford and District NCT Newsletter – August/September 2004

Baby Signing is all the rage! It is simply a way of teaching babies to build on their natural ability to gesture so that you can communicate with them before they have the ability to speak. By introducing simple signs, babies can communicate their emotions and needs from as young as eight months old, reducing frustration for both the child and carer – and can help with language development. My First Signs from Child’s Play is the first signing dictionary, which shows how to sign more than forty key words, based around British Sign Language. If features clear illustrations of babies using the signs, with simple instructions for how to make them, as well as useful tips for starting to sign.
Four Sign & Sing-Along books, based on traditional nursery rhymes, complement the dictionary and add some fun.
Practical Professional Childcare – July 2004

Sign and Sing-Along from Child’s Play (International) illustrated by Annie Kubler comprises of four titles Baa Baa Black Sheep, Teddy Bear, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Incey Wincey Spider. Children love nursery rhymes, especially ones with actions and signing is a fantastic way of interacting. My 3 year old daughter, now a proficient talker, thoroughly enjoyed these books as she recognised the rhymes from the illustrations and she would sign and sing along with the book. Whilst reviewing these titles I often had to retrieve them from her room.
Tots Talking Hands – June 2004

Large format board book featuring forty-three British Sign Language signs ideally suited to encouraging a baby to start signing. Covering signs from first needs such as milk, eat and more, to animals and I love you this book is an excellent resource for adults, children and babies alike. Using BSL makes this book suitable for both deaf and hearing children. The illustrations are bright and engaging, the faces of the illustrated babies commanding the attention of my eight-month-old son. The instructions for the signs are clear and concise making it simple for someone who has never signed before to perform the signs with a child. At the bottom of each page, there is a hint or tip to help you to teach these simple and enormously useful signs to your child.
Charming, clear, affordable and excellently well thought out, if you only buy one book about signing with a baby then let it be this book. You will not be disappointed.
Tots Talking Hands – June 2004

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