Review by Booklist Review
Disabled disability advocates Slice and Cupp explore the various ways communication happens, with emphasis on the communication experiences of disabled people. The duo highlights a number of ways to "talk," from verbal communication to physical expression to AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) devices. No variation of communication is treated as better than another, since each conveys its necessary message. The semirealistic illustrations capture a variety of experiences--wheelchair users utilizing photo communication posters, siblings touching heads together with a soft hat as a cushion, computerized voices emitting from a tablet, head nods, stimming, sign language, written language--with sparkling currents surrounding the communicating object or motion. Though this isn't nonfiction, the concepts conveyed are all applicable to everyday life and feature a variety of disabilities and physical expressions, such as people with various assistive devices, skin tones, and family compositions. This picture book would be great for helping students better understand the variety of communication styles in the classroom or as reassurance for a child who may communicate outside the expected verbal means.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 4--This beautifully illustrated book celebrates the ways children and adults living with disabilities communicate with the world. Beginning by explaining that there are many ways people talk, each subsequent page lovingly shows a different example of communication adaptations for people living with disabilities and for their caregivers, loved ones, and providers. Slice and Cupp's words provide explanation, without specific diagnoses, of realistic drawings, including scenes of nonverbal individuals who communicate through various physical movements, parents translating through sign language for their child while at the doctor's office, and children and adults using AAC (Augmentive and Alternative Communication) to attend or teach school. Harren uses bright, sparkly lines to indicate movement or emotion and to highlight the type of communication happening, creating a magical feel and inspiring in readers a sense of wonder for every adaptation. Also included are guides for kids and grown-ups that provide more details about specific disabilities, the types of communication represented, and how to teach kids about disability appropriately and responsibly. VERDICT Featuring exceptional accounts and impactful illustrations of different forms of communication, this book is a true celebration of all people living with disabilities and an invaluable learning experience for children and their grown-ups. This is a first purchase for all collections.--Kasey Swords
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Rather clunky rhyming couplets describe the many ways people with disabilities communicate, such as American Sign Language, assistive devices, and stimming. The digital art captures a variety of children and adults using these methods and tools; the message of acceptance and compassion in both text and art is clear. Back matter includes notes for kids (about celebrating difference) and for grownups (about precision in language) as well as short descriptions of the communication forms and disabilities represented. (c) Copyright 2025. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In the follow-up toThis Is How We Play (2024), kids and adults with physical, sensory, and developmental disabilities describe how they communicate. A teacher gives a lesson on dinosaurs via a speech device; a father asks about his child's day by spelling with his eyes. With a pictorial communication book, two friends create "the silliest story we've ever heard." Emphasizing that communication involves feelings as well as words, characters express an array of emotions. Anxious about attending a parade, a child expresses fear by "falling down onto the floor!" To convey happiness, a youngster yells to Mama; "to say 'I love you,' I hold her hand-- / we don't need words to understand." Importantly, the authors also recognize stimming as a form of communication. "When my dad thinks, he twirls his hands, / I squeeze and squish the slimy sand," a child explains. "With joy and adaptation," the racially diverse group exclaims, "this is how we talk!" And as dinnertime arrives, "with joy and hungry bellies, this is how we… EAT!" As in the previous book, Harren's vibrant illustrations depict people using wheelchairs, forearm crutches, prostheses, and more as they enjoy busy lives, warmly reinforcing the lively rhyming text. Backmatter includes information on the communication methods and conditions portrayed here, as well as guides for kids and caregivers on addressing disability. An exuberant and inclusive look at the many ways we all express ourselves.(Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
