BooksForKidsBlog

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Signing Up! ABC for Me: Baby Signs by Christine Engel

Follow us through the alphabet and learn to use twenty-six essential phrases in baby sign language--a fun way to communicate with baby long before they can talk.

It's an engaging premise and promise that infants can learn to understand and, as coordination develops, to communicate in sign language before they are able to form the words with which they will speak. Christine Engel's ABC for Me: ABC Baby Signs: Learn baby sign language while you practice your ABCs! (Walter Foster/Quarto, 2017) offers parents a chance to give teaching babies sign language a try.

Experienced parents know that infants gesture before they can speak, and most parents quickly learn to recognize those little arms reaching up in the "pick-me-up" position or the "I want THAT!" gesture. Experiments have shown that babies can recognize hand signs and begin to make them before they can produce speech. Engel's little board book offers illustrations of basic signs--ALL DONE, EAT, GO!, HELP, MORE, NO, PLEASE, UP, PLEASE, READ, and even I LOVE YOU!--with verbal directions and conventional diagrams as well as illustrations of endearing infants to ensure consistency with each sign. The author also arranges the twenty-six signs in alphabetical order, with explanations in rhythm and rhyme to reinforce language development.  And who wouldn't want to have a baby who knows how to follow the familiar Shhhh! gesture for QUIET sometimes?

WANT A BITE TO EAT?

MOVE YOUR HAND TO YOUR MOUTH,
AND YOU'LL GET A TREAT!

Engel's illustrations are charming, and, since they mimic common adult gestures, are easy to remember. The signs included cover most of the necessary communications, even one for "time for a diaper change!" She suggests, but does not emphasize, that such signs should be used along with spoken language, not as a substitute for speech. It's a fun book to read aloud and to begin communication with your baby.

Other books in the series by Christine Foster are ABC for Me: ABC Love: An endearing twist on learning your ABCs!, and ABC for Me: ABC Yoga:. Join us and the animals out in nature and learn some yoga!

Labels: , ,

0 Comments:

Post a Comment



<< Home