While this book is aimed at parents and professionals learning British Sign Language (BSL) for use with young children, the four stories about Ollie and his family are very much aimed at the children themselves. In clear diagrams and illustrations (photographs of children of 8 or 9 demonstrating the signs) we gradually learn signs for about 100 different words, as well as finger spelling for names. Each story builds on the vocabulary of the last. The stories themselves are simple narratives of family life - the sort of thing the very young enjoy, full of repetition. The little monkey, Ollie, is cheeky and sometimes gets into trouble. There are poems with each story that add to the fun.
It has become common in recent years for parents to teach sign language to children before they can talk - simple terms such as 'milk' and 'more', and so it is not only deaf children and their families who can benefit from this book and its approach. There is evidence that children learning sign language early on develop wider vocabularies earlier than their contemporaries - a second language, in fact. The book was a Book of the Month for the Royal National Institute for the Deaf in 2007 and is a quality production, beautifully produced. It is available from www.signwitholli.com or Tel: 01780 767398.