I absolutely loved this book! It has five different stories in it, all of which tell of different incidents that deaf people experience frequently in our society. This book pushes readers to think about tough issues and urges them to broaden their perspectives about deaf people. I thought that each character, in each story, was well-developed due to the clear and descriptive language used. It was imperative for reader to fully understand who the character was and what they believed in, in order to grasp the messages in each book. Each character encompassed what it truly means to be deaf—and deaf-blind in the last story—and allows for the reader to learn about different parts of Deaf culture. The writing within each story was organized and paced well. Each story began with describing the character and what their relationships were with other characters in the story. For example, the first story was about a young deaf girl who went to a “royal” school to learn how to sign. After she returned, she had to stay with her aunt who wanted to teach her how to speak and her aunt thought she was dumb, “Aunt Belle thought that because Lyla was Deaf, she wasn’t smart. She thought that Deaf people couldn’t read, write, sew or do any of the million things that people learn to do. And she thought that talking in sign looked ridiculous.” Her aunt encompasses what it means to be an audist, where someone discriminates a deaf person simply based on the premise that the deaf person cannot hear. Deaf people experience this routinely and I thought it was really great how this book took various obstacles a deaf person faces and put them into children’s tales. This leads to the main message of the book which is one should not judge a book by its cover; just because deaf people cannot hear, does not mean they should be treated any different. Another story presents the scenario of what it would be like if ASL was the universal language, instead of English. By presenting these different scenarios, the reader is forced to think about life differently and question what their perspectives are of deaf people. All of this is done in a positive way and I thought this was truly a great book. ( )

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

A product of the Ladder Awards II: Story Swap Program in Canada, THE SMART PRINCESS AND OTHER DEAF TALES is a short book perfect for all ages, and for everyone, regardless of whether they are deaf or not. This is a great book to be used as a read-aloud for young children, or a short enough chapter book for younger or reluctant readers. And, of course, for all of those who are young at heart.

THE SMART PRINCESS, written by Dena Ruiter-Koopmans and illustrated by Colleen C. Turner, deals with a young princess who would one day be queen, and how she deals with her Aunt Belle, who refuses to learn sign language to communicate.

EARTH 2, written by Nicholas Meloche-Kales and illustrated by Eugeniu Televco, features a group of deaf astronauts, along with their hearing cohorts, who end up on another planet after being sucked through a black hole -- a planet where the people who can hear have special needs, and not the other way around.

MY LIFE CHANGED, written by Nicole Marsh and illustrated by Kelly C. Halligan, features a young girl who finds herself teased at school for being deaf, until she begins to attend the Newfoundland School for the Deaf.

MY TIGER, written by Keelin Carey and illustrated by Kelly C. Halligan, shows how one girl, although deaf, can use her imagination to discover all types of great new things.

BEST FRIENDS, written by Kristina Guevremont and illustrated by Colleen C. Turner, demonstrates that everyone, whether large or small, hearing or deaf, can find ways to work together and communicate.

Although only fifty-pages long, this would be a wonderful gift for any child to stress the importance of learning to live with our differences. ( )