Dear Channie and Koren, A few years ago Time Magazine printed letters written by famous dads to their children. Since they overlooked me (go figure), I thought I’d send you a note. On January 22, 2015 you were together in Mexico thousands of miles from your California home. That was the day I received…
Dear Pop, My twelve-year-old son is near deaf. He feels isolated from his peers and family. What can I do to make people understand his unique communication needs? Worried Mom Dear Worried Mom, Helen Keller, the deaf and blind American author and political activist, once wrote, “Blindness separates us from things, but deafness separates us…
Savannah is a communications major at a prominent university. One day, while walking across campus, she eyes a guy she can’t resist. He is absolutely gorgeous. The communications major is taking American Sign Language (ASL) with Prof. Stockton to fulfill her language requirement. One homework assignment is to attend a Deaf event….
Audiologists acknowledge four levels of deafness—mild, moderate, severe, and profound. Author Cece Bell is severely to profoundly deaf. At the age of four she contracted meningitis, robbing her of most of her hearing. When she started public school, Cece was mainstreamed into a regular classroom. She knew she was different from the other kids due…
Dear Pop, My daughter will have a baby this spring. I want to teach my grandchild American Sign Language (ASL) but my wife thinks that will only confuse the child. I say it will empower my granddaughter. Who’s right? Deaf Grandpa Dear Deaf Grandpa, You’re right. Now let me tell you why. Soon after birth,…
Twenty-four years ago author Michael Thal began what would become The Koolura Series. His prime motivation at the time was to get his daughter Channie excited about reading. Then in the sixth grade, she promised to read the book upon its publication. Good for her word, even though she was twenty-eight years…
Deafness is an invisible disability leaving its victims isolated within a hearing environment where oral language dominates the social, political, and entertainment worlds. Compared with the general population, there are few people touched by deafness, so the majority has no idea of its emotional impact and social effect on its victims. Myron Uhlberg knows better….
On April 16, 2018 the 9thAnnual eLit Book Awards announced its winners for 2018. There were 65 award categories including Historical Fiction, True Crime, and Autobiography/Memoir. Each category awarded three prizes—Gold, Silver, and Bronze. In the Juvenile/Young Adult Fiction category, Koolura and the Mayans won the Gold Prize! The eLit Book Awards is a global awards…
During 2017 Pop read and reviewed 32 YA books. Here are his five favorites with the #1 posted last. #5 Collide The last day of spring break Anna (aka Annabelle) and younger brother Eric have the opportunity to go out for dinner with their parents. Eric wants Italian and Anna craves sushi. Mom tosses a…
Author Lou Ann Walker’s primary language is American Sign Language (ASL). Born to Deaf parents, it was her job to be the ears and voice for her family. Raised in Indiana during the early 1950s-60s, Walker eloquently writes about a loving family faced by an ignorant public to the problems inherent in deafness. Over twenty-three…