Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove) | J 419 RAN | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | J 419 RAN | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
"Originally published in hardcover by Dial Books"--T.p. verso.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
From a hand grasping two asparagus stalks to a zippered sleeve tracing the letter Z, Rankin's alphabet book is a glorious success as it displays the American Sign Language alphabet. The colored pencil illustrations on charcoal paper of varied hues depict one letter on each page--a pencil's eraser rubs away at a hand that signs the letter E , an icicle is balanced on a pinky, a muscular hand makes a V while holding a valentine. The hands here are as diverse and individual as the objects surrounding them--a baby's chubby fingers grip plastic keys, matronly hands with magenta-polished nails form the letter N , vivid bones of a hand, seen in an X-ray, show off X . Rankin's prefatory note describes how her deaf stepson ``gained more thorough undertanding and total communication'' when he learned sign language at Gallaudet University. In her third book, the artist proceeds to expand the awareness of those in the hearing world in an exceptionally striking ABC that speaks in an eloquent language all its own. All ages. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Luminous, realistically rendered colored-pencil drawings illustrate the hand shapes for the letters of the manual alphabet, used by the hearing impaired as a part of American Sign Language. Each drawing incorporates objects or actions while clearly picturing the correct position of the fingers and hands to make each sign. An elegant, imaginative alphabet book. From HORN BOOK 1991, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Exquisitely detailed, realistically portrayed hands of different ages, sexes, and colors demonstrate the positions for the manual alphabet used in American Sign; an object with the appropriate initial appears with each--the pointing finger for ``I'' reaches toward a dripping icicle; ``T'' sports three thimbles and a fistful of thread; ``X'' appears on an X-ray. An elegant roman capital completes each beautifully designed color- pencil illustration. The key includes the lovely jacket and title-page pictures, each of which adds something special--e.g., the hand on the title-page is overlaid with some of the many styles of letters that may be represented by the signs. The point of view sometimes varies from signer to observer, but the illustrations are so admirably clear that this should cause no confusion. An excellent introduction. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 2+)
Booklist Review
Ages 5 and up. While there is no dearth of children's books about the ASL manual sign-language alphabet, Rankin's is distinctive. Instead of simple line drawings or diagrams to depict letter formation, she lets hands do the talking. Old hands, children's hands, men's, women's, black, and white hands show sign shapes in large, clear, and luminous full-page paintings. A crisp black letter at the top left of each page identifies the hand-talk sign shown, with Rankin reinforcing the lesson by working an alphabetically keyed object into each picture. For example, the hand depicting V holds a tiny, red valentine heart; G wears a glove. More subtle are E, with a bright yellow pencil erasing the hand it's drawn, and J, where Rankin depicts the movement that's part of the sign by showing a single hand before and after it dips quickly into a jam jar. Sharp highlights sometimes make the paintings seem too slick. But Rankin's technical excellence combines with a warm color palette and imaginative detailing to provide balance aplenty. Utilitarian as well as beautiful, this is a book destined to fascinate a wide audience. A key to the objects is appended. ~--Stephanie Zvirin
