Book review: Where is the Bird?

Written by Victoria Forrest
Available online
Ages: 0-4

Reviewed by Isabelle who is mum to Ioan (13 months) who has suspected moderate hearing loss and wears hearing aids.

Ioan

"Ioan loves books and was happy to flick through Where is the Bird? The images are in black and white but he enjoyed looking at them. So far, Ioan has picked up the signs for ‘bird’ and ‘where’.

The main issue I had with Ioan was his attention span. Possibly due to his age, he likes to take over and open and close the pages himself, making it hard to concentrate on one image and sign. I found the best way to read it with him was to sit directly opposite and hold the book towards him. That way he was already looking in my direction so I could show him the corresponding BSL sign.

I found the app easy to download and very easy to use, which was great. The moving images are bold and colourful so they draw your attention.

However, to use the app and book together, as well as teaching the sign, I needed Ioan to focus on different objects, then back to me. Typically, when he saw the colourful image appear on my phone, he just wanted to play with that and the book was dropped. I think for his age, the book and app are easier to use separately, as otherwise there is just too much going on. It could also be that he’s a very busy baby and always on the move!

I would recommend Where is the Bird? to families with slightly older children who are learning to sign. The app might also be more effective on a larger screen, such as a tablet. I’ll continue to use the book and app, and hope Ioan will get to grips with it as he gets a bit older."