A number of years ago, I took ASL and fell in love with the language. I had read (or was told?) that young children can often communicate before they can speak - and ASL was a way to help the communication flow. When my child was about six months old, my partner and I started signing to our child. After one memorable experience (fussy child wanting something and parent being clueless until parent asked correct question and child signed desire), my partner and I knew - continue doing ASL until the verbal skills were solid. So, whenever I see a book about ASL and babies - I want to review it because it does work - as long as you put the effort into doing it consistently.

Now, to the adorably illustrated “Learn to Sign with Your Baby: 50 Essential ASL Signs” by Cecilia S. Grugan. If you want 50 real ASL signs to communicate with your child and have your child communicate with you, Grugan has selected a good basic set of signs with which to begin. There are illustrations to assist with how to do the signs and the book mentioned QR codes to see a video of the sign being done (the eARC I got didn’t show the codes, but I assume they will be in the printed book). There’s also a link to a website showing the signs being performed. Grugan also suggests activities to do to reinforce the signs that, to be honest, I found a little out there (if the actives are ones you like, do them; they were not all my cup of tea). I would’ve liked a chapter on animals. Grugan suggests the word “duck” due to bathing time but makes references to plushies - so I was hoping for cat, dog, fish, bear, and the like (yes, the signs are accessible by searching online but with my child “dog walk” became a baby-modified ASL phrase often signed). Overall, a cute book with a good selection of beginner signs (and I liked the “your child may do the sign in this manner” hints) and some good ideas for incorporating the signs into every day use.

THIS WAS BRILLIANT.
i am deaf and new to ASL and this book was so easy to understand for someone who is new to this great language.
with pictures and easy explanation, i managed to learn most of those 50 signs. Memory Hacks were the best.
i highly recommend this book.

thanks to publisher for the copy.

I highly recommend this book I have a two-year-old and from birth. I was anxious to be able to teach him simple sign language so that he could communicate I know how difficult it is to communicate things that you were feeling when you’re unable to say words, so this is a great resource for, all parents!