Deaf Students impacted by Hurricane IKE

The Council of American Instructors of the Deaf (CAID) is collecting money for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students (and their families) in the Galveston/Houston area of Texas who have been severely impacted by Hurricane Ike. Families are in need of beds, furniture, school supplies, etc. CAID pledges that all funds will go to families in an effort to recreate pre-Ike conditions for students in these areas.

CAID Council Member, Gabriel Lomas, who is a Hurricane Ike survivor is processing requests for these families and will work with the Council to allocate these funds as needed.

If you are able, please mail your donation to the CAID office or call their office if you would like to make a credit card donation.

Attention D/HH Hurricane Ike Survivors
CAID Office Manager Helen Lovato P.O. Box 377 Bedford, TX 76095-0377

(817) 354-8414 V/TTY

Email: caid@swbell.net

New List: Children's Books with Deaf Characters

While my primary focus is adolescent and Young Adult chapter books, I have added information about children's literature from time to time. I encourage you to visit my 100+ and Counting List which includes Juvenile (early chapter books- some with illustrations).


This is a new list that I will add titles to as I find them. This is NOT a comprehensive list of children's books with Deaf Characters. I have included books that I consider "contemporary". I usually do not include books that are out-of-print or unavailable.

1. Antoinette Abbamonte, Tree Wise (2007)


2. Sally Hobart Alexander & Robert Alexander, She Touched the World: Laura Bridgman, Deaf-Blind Pioneer (2008)


3. Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf, The Smart Princess and Other Deaf Tales (2006)


4. Cece Bell, El Deafo (2014)
5. Claire H. Blatchford, Going With the Flow (1998)- deaf author


6. Elizabeth Boschini & Rachel Chaikof-deaf author with C.I., Ellie's Ears (2008)- deaf character with C.I.


7. Merilee Dodson, Kids from Critter Cove (2007)-The purpose of this book is to teach children about people who are different or who have disabilities.
8. Joyce Dunbar, Moonbird (2007 reprint)
9. Linda Kurtz Kingsley, Signs of Jays (2008)


10. Patricia Lakin, Dad and Me in the Morning (1994)


11. Laila Laván and Beatriz Iglesias, Lucy: Loud and Clear / Lucía: alto y claro (2007)


12. Jeanne M. Lee, Silent Lotus (1994)


13. Emily Arnold McCully, My Heart Glow: Alice Cogswell, Thomas Gallaudet, and the Birth of American Sign Language (2008)


14. Isaac Millman, Moses Goes To a Concert (1980)


15. Isaac Millman, Moses Goes to School (2000)


16. Isaac Millman, Moses Goes to the Circus (2003)


17. Isaac Millman, Moses Sees a Play (2004)
18. Jennifer Moore-Mallinos, I Am Deaf (Live and Learn Series) (March 2009)


19. Anita Riggio, Secret Signs: Escape Through the Underground Railroad (2002)


20. Pete Seeger & Paul Dubois Jacobs, Deaf Musicians (2006)-ALA honored book


21. Andrea Stenn Stryer, Kami and the Yaks (2007)


22. Myron Uhlberg, Dad, Jackie, and Me (2005)


23. Myron Uhlberg, Flying over Brooklyn (1999)


24. Myron Uhlberg, The Printer (2003)
25. Mike Venezia, Alexander Graham Bell: Setting the Tone for Communication (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Inventors and Scientists) (2008)


26. Valentine, Dina the Deaf Dinosaur (1997)

New Children's Book: My Heart Glow by Emily Arnold McCully

My Heart Glow: Alice Cogswell, Thomas Gallaudet, and the Birth of American Sign Language (2008) by Emily Arnold McCully

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children

Alice Cogswell was a bright and curious child and a quick learner. She also couldn't hear. And, unfortunately, in the early nineteenth century in America, there was no way to teach deaf children. One day, though, an equally curious young man named Thomas Gallaudet, Alice's neighbor, senses Alice's intelligence and agrees to find a way to teach her. Gallaudet's interest in young Alice carries him across the ocean and back and eventually inspires him to create the nation's first school for the deaf, thus improving young Alice's life and the lives of generations of young, deaf students to come.

New in October Children's Book: Signs of Jays by Linda Kurtz Kingsley

Signs of Jays (October 2008) by Linda Kurtz Kingsley

Publisher: Jason & Nordic Publishers
ISBN-13: 9780944727225
Reading Age: 4 to 9
32pp

Peter and his mother rescued two abandoned jays. Caring for the baby birds became a project for Pete, Mike, who was deaf, and for Pete’s mother’s hearing impaired class students. Just as the children in the hearing impaired group were preparing to mainstream, so the boys prepared the jays to be mainstreamed back into the wild. This is a beginning signing book. It has twenty four signs and the standard ASL alphabet included.Reading Signs of Jays together and learning some of the signs included may open areas of understanding and provide opportunity for discussion with friends and siblings as children are included in regular education classrooms.

New Book for Adolescents: From A to Zulinski by Deb Piper

From A to Zulinski (May 2008) by Deb Piper

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Publisher: Royal Fireworks Publishing Company

This is the third volume in the chronicles of the irrepressible Jake's schooling. We first met him in Jake's the Name, Sixth Grade's the Game and followed by his exploits in Those Sevy Blues.
Jake is deaf and has relied on an interpreter to sign the spoken words in his classrooms. For most of his teachers and classmates he was the first mainstreamed deaf student they had encountered.

By the time he has reached high school Jake has a deaf classmate and long acquaintance with his peers. They know what mischief he can generate. The book is a series of flashbacks from the perspective of high school graduation, and Jake Zulinski has plenty of time for remembrance while his classmates receive their diplomas in alphabetical order.

There was the explosion of parts in small engine repair and the major problem in the welding class. Jake is reminded of his first date, and the girl's father who was more than a little concerned. There was the problem of sign language in the darkroom in photography and of his female interpreter in the boys' locker room for track. Then there was the incident...but you'll have to read the book to find out how much mayhem one student can cause.

Conference Presentation: The Importance of Including Adolescent Literature with Deaf Characters

Welcome Weaving Common Threads Conference Attendees. Note to the right side of this post you'll find a Deaf Character store where you can purchase the books that I discuss throughout the blog; my list of 100+ and Counting list of books currently with 185 contemporary publications; archives to view past posts; and a list of author interviews. Thanks for visiting!

The Importance of Including Adolescent Literature with Deaf Characters in the Curriculum

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: conference)

Captioned Video: Myron Uhlberg speaks of The Hands of My Father

Before, I posted the version that was not yet captioned. Three days ago this captioned version was made available. Here is the captioned version of Myron Uhlberg discussing his forthcoming book, Hands of My Father.

I've also updated the earlier post with this video.

Daughters of Blessing #4

Rebecca's Reward (Daughters of Blessing #4) by Lauraine Snelling
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (October 1, 2008)

This is the fourth book in Snelling's Daughters of Blessing series. I love the character Grace (Deaf Character) who has appeared in Snelling's Red River Series, the Return to Red River, and plays a more significant role in the The Daughters of Blessing series. The #3 book in Snelling's series, A Touch of Grace, focused on Grace's life. I haven't read Rebecca's Reward yet so Grace might just be a secondary character. If you haven't read A Touch of Grace, I encourage you to do so if you enjoy historic fiction.

The setting is the early 1900s. Mrs. Knutson has started The Blessing School for the Deaf in Blessing, North Dakota and Grace teaches with her mother. The characters throughout the book use sign language to communicate. While this book is considered a historical fiction romance, many of the characters are adolescents and young adults... and it is considered a Christian Romance so there shouldn't be any inappropriate material for a teen.

I tried to interview Lauraine Snelling last year but wow is she a busy woman. I'm still hoping:) In the meantime, check out her website.

Product Description
Nineteen-year-old Rebecca Baard has experienced more than her share of sorrow, and now she is afraid to open her heart to love. Besides, no man has ever shown enough interest in her to come courting. So Rebecca's friends set out to remedy the situation, concocting social events to attract all the eligible bachelors in Blessing and advising her in the use of feminine wiles. When none of these efforts seem to work, Rebecca tries yet another tack, only to discover that even the best of intentions can't keep events from taking a surprising turn.

Blogging and Conferences

It has taken me a while to check my RSS Feed... so the compliment is a little dated; however, thanks Living La Vida Alpo for complimenting my blog. Interestingly enough, I've been following her blog and especially enjoy being Cue-Flipped and her post on banned books.

I'm supposed to nominate at least seven other bloggers. I've already mentioned some of my favorite bloggers. I read tons of blog.. hey "all the kids are doing it". Honestly, my favorite blogs right now are my student blogs:)

There are a couple that I read as often as possible. For starters, for those of you interested in graphic novels or using graphic novels in your classes, visit Professor Carter's (aka Bucky) blog which uses an English Educator's eye to examine "Sequential Art Narratives". I also read the NCTE blog weekly and ALAN whenever it is available.

Next week is the Weaving Common Threads and Diversity Among Deaf and Hard of Hearing Adolescents Conference in St. Louis, MO is in just a few days. My presentation on Deaf Characters will be on Tuesday October 7, from 1:30 - 2:45. Hope to see you there!

Finally, this year I have served as the 2008 Washington, D.C. representative for the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN), an independent assembly of NCTE that was established particularly for those interested in adolescent literature. Now that the year is almost at an end, I wanted to take one more opportunity to spread the word about the organization and to recruit new members. Membership dues are still only $20.00 per year and it includes the journal, The ALAN Review. The student membership is just $10. I have a special interest in ALAN because I believe they are supportive of including books with deaf characters. Check out their website http://www.alan-ya.org/ and consider joining. That's my plug...No pressure though... okay, maybe a little. I've attached a membership application below for your convenience. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Alan Membership Form

View SlideShare document or Upload your own.

ASL Films: 'The Legend of the Mountain Man'

The Legend of the Mountain Man

The Legend of the Mountain Man, set in picturesque Montana, features a typical, dysfunctional family of five. The father, who has been at odds with his parents for many years, decides to send his three children to his parents' ranch for the summer. The children unexpectedly encounter a creature, one that has never been seen nor recorded in history books. Viewers accompany the children on a heartwarming journey as they navigate the family's past and try to reconcile some of the estranged family members.
Directed by Mark Woods
Rated PG
116 minutes

Saturday, October 4 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, October 5 at 2 p.m.

Gallaudet University
Elstad Auditorium
Tickets: $10
To purchase tickets, contact Jenny.Nygaard@sprint.com.

For more information about the movie, visit www.ASLFILMS.com