Handtalk School

Handtalk School by Mary Beth Miller and George Ancona, takes the reader on a fun and informative tour of a day in the life of children at a residential school for the deaf. From the moment the students wake up in the morning they are caught up in the excitement of preparing for the school play. From creating the props and costumes in art class, to learning their lines in history, to calling home on a TTY, the day circles around the preparation and the performance of the Thanksgiving day show. Handtalk School is full of colorful photographs and a narration provided in sign language. In addition to being a fun story, the book also provides the nonsigning reader with some beginning signs and an insight into Deaf culture. ASL users will notice that despite the books claim of being in ASL, the story is actually told in a hybrid of ASL and Signed English. Despite this, the signs are easy to follow and the book can be enjoyed even by those with little to no English reading ability. Parents of deaf children may also appreciate the list of residential schools for the deaf listed in the back of the book.