I have a sister, my sister is deaf

recommended book

I have a Sister my Sister is Deaf tells the story of a girl who has a younger sister who is deaf. This book follows these two sisters throughout their everyday life experiences. As readers are brought into the characters’ lives they begin to learn about what life would be like with a hearing disability. Together these two girls play on playgrounds, look for deer, and go to school. As the author, through the voice of the older sister, portrays this family’s life she points out things that this family does differently because they are supporting the hearing impaired sister and looking after her needs. The relationship between these two sisters will warm your heart while raising awareness about this common disability.

            This story would be helpful when introducing the deaf culture to young readers who may have little or no prior knowledge about this group of people. Without giving too much information, that may be complex for a young reader, it gives an image of a young girl who adapts to her hearing loss while completing ordinary child activities. It demonstrates how this deaf child fits into a normal family as well as attends a mainstream school. 

            Although this story gives information about children who are deaf it also only tells one unique story.  Individuals included in the deaf culture are each capable of different things. This story has some parts that may cause readers to believe that every child who is deaf has these exact same difficulties. For example, the child in this story can only say a few simple words. This is not the case for many other deaf individuals. Not only does the story only portray a single story but it is also told from an outside perspective. Readers see how the sister views the disability rather than how the younger sister views her own disability. 

Though this story can be used as an introduction to learning about the deaf culture readers would need to gather more information in order to be truly informed.