Overview

Ling Ling Bird loves Christmas! But do you know what he likes the most? The cake, the carols or the Christmas roast? Join Ling Ling Bird and his family on their festive adventures as they explore a feast of sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures at this magical time of the year! As Ling Ling Bird and his sister Lola Louise find their Christmas stockings, bake a colossal Christmas cake, wait up to see Father Christmas (you might also call him Santa Claus), open presents and pull Christmas crackers while being watched over by cheeky elves on shelves, this bright and fun festive story offers an exciting and engaging way for children to learn and practice Christmas vocabulary. The book stars a character with hearing loss (from her personal experience with her own children, one of whom is deaf and the other typically hearing, the author believes that representation and inclusion really matter to all our children) and incorporates some subtle deaf awareness messaging, as we see Ling Ling Bird, who is deaf, putting on his cochlear implant speech processors first thing in the morning, which enables him to enjoy the many joyous sounds of Christmas. The story goes on to explore all the five senses, as Ling Ling Bird and Lola Louise are immersed in the rich sensory experience of the holiday season: they relish the taste of their turkey dinner (and the Christmas pudding is a winner!), they love to feel the freezing snow outside and then the heat of the warming fire inside, they breathe in the sweet spicy smell of gingerbread and are entranced by the sight of the sparkling Christmas tree (not to mention the colourful gifts below!), while they listen out for the ting-a-ling-ling of Santa's sled, the church bells ringing and the festive carol singing beneath a star-filled sky. But can you guess which is Ling Ling Bird's favourite part of Christmas? Might it be the same thing that you like best, even more than presents and treats and all the rest?

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9781913968625

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Tanya Saunders is a writer, artist and lover of wild places. The road that eventually led to her founding AVID Language and writing books for deaf children started unexpectedly back in 2016. Tanya and her husband Ian were living and working in a remote corner of the African wilderness (where Tanya had grown up with elephants literally on her doorstep) when their life was suddenly turned upside down overnight. One of their two year old twin daughters was diagnosed with profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD). In other words, she was completely deaf in both ears and there was no chance of her natural hearing ever getting any better. Tanya and Ian were advised that there was only one way that their daughter might one day be able to learn to listen and speak: she would need to get cochlear implants and embark on an intensive programme of speech and language therapy. Without hesitation, Tanya and Ian made the decision to do whatever was necessary to give both their daughters the best chance possible for a happy and fulfilling future. This included uprooting their family from their beloved home, moving continents and changing careers. Tanya and her family are now happily settled in the UK, feeling fortunate to be surrounded by an incredible support network and with access to some of the best medical and scientific expertise the world has to offer.Motivated by her own family's journey with hearing loss (which is a long road, and one on which they are still traveling), Tanya founded AVID Language to publish books for deaf children, as well as for their parents, carers, teachers and friends whose support is so critical to their success in learning to listen and speak. Tanya believes that deaf children are currently underrepresented in books, and this gap needs to be filled for the sake of all the children out there in the world today who are growing up with some degree of hearing loss. She believes that deaf children deserve the same opportunities in life as everyone else; it is not for us to set limits on what they can achieve but rather to give them the platform they need to learn, grow, and attain their goals as equals alongside their hearing peers. Tanya wants AVID Language books to inspire deaf children to dream big, while acknowledging the hard work it takes to learn to listen and speak.Tanya is a Parent Ambassador for Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK), an aspirational organisation that delivers listening and spoken language early intervention programmes for deaf children with cochlear implants and/or hearing aids. The auditory verbal strategies and techniques that Tanya learned while her daughter was on the AVUK programme guide Tanya's writing today, alongside the wealth of knowledge she has gained from numerous other professionals, friends and family members who, as a team, continue to support her daughter and have made truly transformative contributions to her odyssey into the hearing and speaking world.Although not a professional therapist herself, as a 'parent practitioner' of auditory verbal therapy traveling this road alongside her daughter, Tanya's personal experience and observations can provide helpful insights for other families on the same path. Her vibrantly illustrated stories encourage deaf children to reach for the stars and reassure them that, while it may not be easy, all the hard work involved in learning to listen and speak will be worth it in the end.Tanya discusses parenting a deaf child, writing and publishing in her HearSay blog on the AVID Language website.

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