This beautifully written novel full of adventure, magic, and romance grabbed hold of my heart and never let go!
Marguerite is a compassionate and resourceful heroine who knows who she is even when the world tries to define that for her. I never knew how much I needed a story about textile magic until I read this book! The author wove her own experience as a deaf/hard-of-hearing individual and ASL interpreter into Marguerite’s story, and the results are a gorgeous tapestry of political intrigue, swordplay, romance, and feminist magic.
"A lovely tale for readers in search of magic, adventure, and romance."- Kirkus Reviews
Deaf. Princess. Witch. Some identities you embrace. Others will get you killed.
Sixteen-year-old Marguerite knows her uncle doesn’t like her. True, she’s in line for the throne before him and he contends she’s too deaf to rule, but she’s known since he broke her hand to keep her from using sign language. Now, as the kingdom’s Bishop-Princep, Uncle Reichard has declared war on magic and Marguerite must hide the fact that she’s a witch.
While witnessing her first witch trial, Marguerite rescues a child from death…
Years ago, I visited a school for the deaf to see how the children learn to read. It opened my eyes: It is exceedingly difficult to learn to read a language you cannot hear. I am a linguist and a writer for children. So this experience lit a fire under me – I wanted to learn about the deaf experience, sign languages, and what sorts of ways I might be able to support the effort to learn to read. I now analyze sign languages, work with a team to advocate for deaf children’s language rights, and am co-director of the RISE project, producing videobooks for deaf children and their families.
The authors explore the complexity of deaf identities, looking at race, sexual behavior/orientation, disability, and the range of different experiences deaf people have, from being born into a family that signs to not even learning about sign languages until they are (nearly) adults.
A contemporary and vibrant Deaf culture is found within Deaf communities, including Deaf Persons of Color and those who are DeafDisabled and DeafBlind. Taking a more people-centered view, the second edition of Deaf Culture: Exploring Deaf Communities in the United States critically examines how Deaf culture fits into education, psychology, cultural studies, technology, and the arts. With the acknowledgment of signed languages all over the world as bona fide languages, the perception of Deaf people has evolved into the recognition and acceptance of a vibrant Deaf culture centered around the use of signed languages and the communities of Deaf peoples.…
When I was a queer teen in the early 2000s, I didn’t have sapphic books or media available to me aside from anime, and even then, the dubbed versions on TV were scrubbed of queerness (I’m looking at you, Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura). I did have Revolutionary Girl Utena, and it was everything to me: fantasy, ballgowns, and girls dancing together. I wrote my book for that me who craved to see herself in beautiful, fantastical stories, and it’s why I love the fact that we have so many more out there right now that I can recommend to all of you!
I started reading this book as a webcomic on Tapas almost a decade ago, and I’m so happy to finally have the graphic novel!
I love The Little Mermaid, especially when it’s retold as a sapphic tale, so this is right up my alley. I am in awe of the unique depictions of mermaids in this world, and I can’t wait for the sequel.
"A refreshingly menacing take on the mermaid mythos." - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"An exciting, dramatic, and tender tale of adolescent self-discovery-above and below the ocean." - FOREWORD
15-year-old Corinth was just trying to clean up the beach; she never expected to meet a mermaid, let alone be nearly drowned by one. It was the start of a very strange friendship!
After Skylla, the deadly fanged mermaid, mysteriously lets Corinth live, they grow closer through a cautious exchange of stories, gifts, jokes, and sign language. Mermaids, it turns out, eat people, but however terrifying Skylla may look, she's a little younger, a…
I have seen a huge shift in the way others look at me and treat me since losing complete vision in one eye. I’m now labeled. It’s not fun, it’s disturbing and sad, and even though my appearance has slightly changed, I have not. “my disability does not define who I am” I may smile, but it doesn’t mean I don’t struggle and we can all use some kind words and encouragement and not be so judgmental.
A wonderful story about a little fox who despite having cochlear implants, helps others see past their differences.
This story teaches us to embrace our differences and accept ourselves as we are. The smallest act of kindness goes a long way. It even includes the American Sign Language Chart.
The 2022 Eric Hoffer Award recognizes the significance of Ada and the Helpers as:
Grand Prize Finalist
First Horizon Award Finalist (for debut authors)
Honorable Mention in Children's Book Category "Be bold! Be brave! Let you be you... and let's help others, too!" That's Ada's motto.
Ada is a dancing, deaf fox with cochlear implants who loves to help others. On her way to dance in a talent show one day, she meets three other creatures who are each facing a physical challenge or disability of their own. She decides to help each of her new friends to see past…
Writing a protagonist who can't talk out loud is quite a challenge. I talk constantly as I'm both an extrovert and a public speaker for my day job, but I have had several bouts of severe laryngitis and have been under severe no speaking orders from the doctor. People react differently when you can't talk. Nowadays, we all have a convenient mobile device on hand to help, but that isn't always the case in the fantasy books we read.
In Speechless in Achten Tan my main character Mila can't talk because magic took her voice. Her magic power is connected to her ability to speak, so she's pretty desperate to regain her ability to speak.
I picked up this book because I wanted to read another book about a witch who couldn't talk. Luckily, it's nothing like mine, phew.
Raina is a young woman who was born without the ability to speak. She lives in a country where magical ability is commonplace and marked on their skin. To substitute her lack of voice she communicates with sign language and can also weave spells that way. I didn't sense that Raina's lack of voice held her back very much. I think she had more trouble with jumping to conclusions and being too stubborn for her own good.
This was a great adventure with breakneck pace and some really high stakes.
Every harvest moon, the Witch Collector rides into our valley and leads one of us to the home of the immortal Frost King, to remain forever.
Today is that day—Collecting Day.
But he will not come for me. I, Raina Bloodgood, have lived in this village for twenty-four years, and for all that time he has passed me by.
His mistake.
Raina Bloodgood has one desire: kill the Frost King and the Witch Collector who stole her sister. On Collecting Day, she means to exact murderous revenge, but a more sinister threat sets fire to her world. Rising from the…
Years ago, I visited a school for the deaf to see how the children learn to read. It opened my eyes: It is exceedingly difficult to learn to read a language you cannot hear. I am a linguist and a writer for children. So this experience lit a fire under me – I wanted to learn about the deaf experience, sign languages, and what sorts of ways I might be able to support the effort to learn to read. I now analyze sign languages, work with a team to advocate for deaf children’s language rights, and am co-director of the RISE project, producing videobooks for deaf children and their families.
This book looks at the history of hearing people’s attitudes toward deaf people and sign languages in America over the past two centuries, and how those attitudes and the social institutions that stem from them have affected the ways deaf people see themselves. Despite the suppression of their language, deaf signers managed to keep American Sign Language alive through clubs and theater. Today, sign languages have achieved recognition of their full status as natural human languages.
In this absorbing story of the changing life of a community, the authors of Deaf in America reveal historical events and forces that have shaped the ways that Deaf people define themselves today. Inside Deaf Culture relates Deaf people's search for a voice of their own, and their proud self-discovery and self-description as a flourishing culture.
Padden and Humphries show how the nineteenth-century schools for the deaf, with their denigration of sign language and their insistence on oralist teaching, shaped the lives of Deaf people for generations to come. They describe how Deaf culture and art thrived in mid-twentieth century…
I grew up reading mysteries and quickly realized that, for me, the best stories were those that peered into the very heart and soul of the protagonist. I also favored books with deep roots; I wanted the present-day crime to be linked to the past. Through work and personal experience, I also understood the heavy toll of loss and grief and found myself drawn to writing a mystery series that related both in a way that was honest and real. When readers tell me that my protagonist’s pain is their pain, that his story is their story, I am both humbled and honored.
At my daughters’ elementary school, sign language was part of the curriculum both for hearing and deaf students, so I was intrigued to see how A. F. Whitehouse used her knowledge and experience as a former sign language interpreter in Signs of Murder.
The book, the first in an intriguing new series, features Dana Demeter, a Chicago homicide detective who grew up hearing in an all-deaf family.
Demeter struggles with her grief over a miscarriage, her anxiety over the future of her marriage, her concerns for her aging parents, and a penchant to drown her sorrows in alcohol even as she searches for the person who killed her father’s deaf friend.
A solid and satisfying read, with a twisting trail of clues into a puzzling mystery and profound insight into the world of the deaf.
As the only hearing person in an all-Deaf family, Dana Demeter assumed a position of authority at a young age--interpreting for her parents, alerting to sounds that meant trouble, absorbing slights aimed at her twin brother.
A protector.
Now as a Chicago homicide detective, matters beyond Dana's control begin to pile up: Her father's Deaf friend is murdered and the lead investigator rejects her help, bungling the case; her husband refuses to return home until Dana deals with her grief over a miscarriage; and her Lieutenant suspends her for ten days citing a claim she was drinking on the job.…
I love middle-grade stories that touch the mind, the heart, and the funny bone. These books are filled with possibilities and hope—they give me courage for the future. I have three grown sons who have inspired much of my thinking about children and childhood, and I keep close to me all of the children I worked with as a teacher, hoping they might finally see themselves and the world they know in the pages of what their children read. I’m grateful to other writers who inspire me to read, and to write, creating the best stories we can for kids living now, today, in the world we have (and imagining the world we want to see).
Macy’s mom is getting married and Macy isn’t looking forward to a new step-dad and two pesky little step-sisters. When Macy and her best friend have a falling out, the crabby ancient woman next door—who doesn’t even know sign language—couldn’t possibly become an ally…or could she? I love the free verse format of this novel, and the use of bolded text for dialogue, and how Macy’s hearing impairment is a streamlined and interesting aspect of her characterization.
Winner of the 2018 ALA Schneider Family Book Award, Middle Grade Books category
Sixth grade is coming to an end, and so is life as Macy McMillan knows it. Already a "For Sale" sign mars the front lawn of her beloved house. Soon her mother will upend their perfect little family, adding a stepfather and six-year-old twin stepsisters. To add insult to injury, what is Macy's final sixth grade assignment? A genealogy project. Well, she'll put it off - just like those wedding centerpieces she's supposed to be making.
Just when Macy's mother ought to be understanding, she sends Macy…
Writing a protagonist who can't talk out loud is quite a challenge. I talk constantly as I'm both an extrovert and a public speaker for my day job, but I have had several bouts of severe laryngitis and have been under severe no speaking orders from the doctor. People react differently when you can't talk. Nowadays, we all have a convenient mobile device on hand to help, but that isn't always the case in the fantasy books we read.
In Speechless in Achten Tan my main character Mila can't talk because magic took her voice. Her magic power is connected to her ability to speak, so she's pretty desperate to regain her ability to speak.
This character is another fantasy character in a pre-technology world. Robbed of her voice and home, Talin Kanami knows firsthand the brutality of the Federation.
I read this quite a while back, but as far as I understand, the MC is selectively mute because of trauma after losing her home and becoming a fugitive. She communicates with sign language.
Praise for the instant New York Times bestseller Skyhunter “Riveting.” —POPSUGAR “Action-packed.” —BuzzFeed “Fresh.” —Los Angeles Times “Exhilarating…a rollercoaster of a reading experience.” —The Nerd Daily
A Quiet Place meets Attack on Titan in this unputdownable, adrenaline-laced novel.
Strikers are loyal. With unparalleled, deadly fighting skills. With a willingness to do anything—including sacrifice their own lives—to defend Mara, the world’s last free nation. But to the very people she protects, Talin is seen as an outcast first and a Striker second.
No matter what others think, Talin lets nothing distract her from keeping the evil Federation and its army of…
There have always been disabled people shaping my worldview and understanding, however, I am an expert only about my own disabilities. Disabled storytellers, including Helen Keller, sometimes utilize tactical silence to scream… I value that! However, barriers confronting the disabled require broad and sometimes loud collective action from many people in many communities and not just a marginalized few. Disability activism is a complex, tactical fight over time for self-determination that touches all of us at some point. COVID, world events, and experiencing some barriers disabled and marginalized groups face all the time have compelled me to share a few of my favorite reads related to disability and inclusion.
Paul Longmore assignedEveryone Here Spoke Sign Language for the “Disability in America” course I took. As a folklorist this book hooked me. It is totally unique, combining science (genetics), history, maritime culture,and community. It consolidates sign language “oral histories” documenting a Deaf community’s cultural heritage in Martha’s Vineyard passed through generations. Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language offers an essential message from this tight-knit community where deafness was more a trait than a disability. Understanding how Helen Keller had a Deafblind destiny shaped by her times (as earlier were Deafblind woman should be women Julia Brace and Laura Bridgman), I sometimes wonder if Keller would have been less stressed if she had not been pressured by proponents of auralism like Alexander Graham Bell to learn to speak aloud.
From the seventeenth century to the early years of the twentieth, the population of Martha's Vineyard manifested an extremely high rate of profound hereditary deafness. In stark contrast to the experience of most Deaf people in our own society, the Vineyarders who were born Deaf were so thoroughly integrated into the daily life of the community that they were not seen-and did not see themselves-as handicapped or as a group apart. Deaf people were included in all aspects of life, such as town politics, jobs, church affairs, and social life. How was this possible?
