Picture Book #6 -- I Have A Sister My Sister is Deaf --

TITLE: I Have A Sister My Sister Is Deaf
AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR: This book was written by Jeanne Whitehouse Peterson, and the pictures were done by Deborah Ray.
GENRE: General Fiction
THEME: Disabilities and acceptance
AWARDS: This book is a Corretta Scott King award winner, as well as a book that was part of the Reading Rainbow.
CHARACTERS: The older sibling and the sister who is deaf.
PUBLISHING DATE AND COMPANY: This book was published in 1977 through the HarperCollins Publisher.
SUMMARY: This book is a very simple one. It is written in first person, by the older sibling and tells of what it is like to have a sister with a disability. This book is written in very simple language, and is in all black and white pictures. It is very easy to understand, and even with out color it is simple to see what the narrator is feeling. It is important to teach children what it is like to be different, and teach them understanding of others.


I would use this book in my classroom to help explain to children who may not have a disability, or know someone with a disability what it is like. This book is simple and shows what it is like for the sister who is deaf to be in our world, she cannot hear things but she makes up for that with being able to see things that others may not see. This book also shows the advances in technology that we now have, because at one point in the book it says my sister will never be able to know when the phone is ringing, but now we have systems that lightup, or have a hammer that hits the floor and they know from the vibrations that the phone is ringing.