Birth to Age Three

Can Bears Ski?

Raymond Antrobus

Boy Bear cannot hear Dad Bear coming to wake him up in the morning but he can feel the floor vibrate with his heavy footsteps. He can only grasp little bits of what his teacher says to him at school. He cannot catch what his friends are laughing at. And, all the time, Boy Bear keeps hearing the question, “Can Bears ski?” What does it mean? With the support of Dad Bear, Boy Bear visits an audiologist and, eventually, he gets hearing aids. Suddenly, he understands the question everyone has been asking him: "CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

Raymond Antrobus, the award-winning poet of The Perseverance, draws on his own experience to show how isolating it can be for a deaf child in a hearing world. But through his lyrical and moving words, matched with Polly‘s stunning imagery, he also shows how many ways there are to communicate love. With a solid network, Boy Bear will find his place in the world.

Freddie and the Fairy

Julia Donaldson

Freddie wants nothing more than a pet, so when the fairy Bessie-Belle offers to grant his wishes, he knows just what to ask for. But Bessie-Belle can’t hear very well and Freddie tends to mumble, which means the wishes aren’t turning out as planned! Whatever can they do? Luckily the Fairy Queen is on hand to help.

Resources

TPT Companion resource

Gracie’s Ears

Debbie Blackington

This is the story of Gracie, your everyday fun-loving kid who does everything that you do, but has trouble hearing. It‘s as if her ears are sleeping! Can anyone or anything wake up Gracie‘s ears? Based on a true story.

Helpful Little Hands: ASL Version

Kristin Blakely

Nate learns that he can do a lot with his hands. He can clap, write, paint, high-five, drive, scoop, tie, peel, wipe, pat, stir, scrub, shush, and wave. Nate can also sign! Little hands are helpful indeed! In this tender book for toddlers, each page shows Nate signing the corresponding ASL sign for all of the different actions.

By combining gestures, words, and signs, “Helpful Little Hands” promotes speech and language development for children with and without hearing loss. It shows a hard-of-hearing child communicating with signs and engaging independently in play and daily activities. Developed in consultation with Sign Language Interpreters and Teachers of the Deaf, this book is a gentle introduction to sign language and an applause-worthy celebration of all the amazing things that helpful little hands can do!

Nita's Day

Kathy MacMillan

Sign language makes it easy to communicate with your child, and Nita makes it fun! The second book in the Little Hands Signing series (which introduced the bestselling Nita's First Signs), Nita's Day teaches ten new and essential ASL signs for every parent and child to know: wake up, change, clothes, eat, potty, go, play, bath, book, and bed. A simple story about Nita and her parents teaches each sign in context. Even better, each page slides open to reveal accurate instructions on how to make each sign, plus tabs on the side of each page make it simple to locate every sign for later reference. No signing book collection is complete without Nita!

Now I Can Hear!

Connie Losacano

Now I Can Hear! was written for very young children who use hearing aids. This book is fun and delightful, and will be sure to charm any young child, with or without hearing loss.