The Handmade Alphabet [Hardcover]

Laura Rankin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 7, 1991

Presents the handshape for each letter of the American manual alphabet accompanied by an object whose name begins with that letter.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

ENQUIRING MINDS... The I Want to Know series, imported from Italy, rolls out with Rain, Where Do You Come From?; Flower, Why Do You Smell So Nice?; Wind, What Makes You Move? and Sun, Where Do You Go?, all by Francesca Grazzini, illus. by Chiara Carrer. The books teach natural history through curious cartoon animals-the narrators include a bird who learns from the wind and a bee who quizzes a flower about pollination. The varied format includes simple poems and informal games/quizzes. Illustrations are fresh and winsome; the frog in Rain is particularly inspired and expressive. PW called this book displaying the American Sign Language alphabet "exceptionally striking... a glorious success." All ages.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

Exquisitely detailed, realistically portrayed hands of different ages, sexes, and colors demonstrate the positions for the manual alphabet used in American Sign; an object with the appropriate initial appears with each--the pointing finger for ``I'' reaches toward a dripping icicle; ``T'' sports three thimbles and a fistful of thread; ``X'' appears on an X-ray. An elegant roman capital completes each beautifully designed color- pencil illustration. The key includes the lovely jacket and title-page pictures, each of which adds something special--e.g., the hand on the title-page is overlaid with some of the many styles of letters that may be represented by the signs. The point of view sometimes varies from signer to observer, but the illustrations are so admirably clear that this should cause no confusion. An excellent introduction. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 2+) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Dial (October 7, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803709757
• ISBN-13: 978-0803709751
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,793,704 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exquisite book demonstrating the beauty of the hands., June 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Handmade Alphabet (Hardcover)

This is without a doubt the most beautiful book of dactyology (fingerspelling) that I have ever seen. Laura Rankin's artistry is such that each individual alphabetical element could be framed. The drawing on the frontface of the book alone is worth the price of the book...with the mingling of hands of different sizes and different colors which illustrate a part of manual language with unbelievable accuracy and incomparable beauty. This book is one of my treasures, which I share with children whenever I teach about what it is like to be deaf and the beauty of the sign language I choose to use. Karen Sadler, Science Education, University of Pittsburgh

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous picture book portraying the sign language alphabet, November 19, 1999

By 

Bill and Sheryl Savage - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Handmade Alphabet (Picture Puffins) (Mass Market Paperback)

Laura Rankin portrays the manual alphabet with beauty, creativity, and a little whimsy in her artful colored-pencil drawings. You'll be sure to be pleased with each splendid page, whether it depicts a china cup dangling from the thumb of a C-hand or the hooking motion of a J-hand taking a swipe of jam out of the jar. My husband intends to buy two copies, laminate the pages, and mount them on the wall of his elementary classroom as a captivating illustration of the sign language alphabet.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A work of art, October 23, 2001

By 

Marva Coleman - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Handmade Alphabet (Picture Puffins) (Mass Market Paperback)

The beautiful illustrations - simple yet exquisite, worthy of framing. I first framed some of the pictures and presented them as gifts to some young deaf children with self esteem problems, but it was when I taught hearing adults and did the same thing that I really saw the great impact her illustrations had. It then became a "work of art"