Book review: At the Bottom of My Garden and Out of My Window

Review of At the Bottom of My Garden and Out of My Window.

By Sue Searle
Available from Amazon
Ages: 0-10

Eleanor is mum to Isaac (5) who is severely deaf and wears a bone anchored hearing aid.

Isaac

"My son Isaac has always loved books. We don’t routinely use sign language but we have learnt basic British Sign Language together. At the Bottom of My Garden is a delightful book aimed at young children. There’s lots to explore as the story takes you on a journey through a garden full of creatures. On each page you’re introduced to a new garden creature and told something about them.

The repetition and rhyme really appeals to younger children, as does the task of finding the different creatures as they appear in the pictures. Out of My Window is another great book from the series. The story invites you to look out of the window as you enjoy a train ride through the town and countryside. The focus is on different vehicles and what they’re for. The rhythm and rhyme of the story is really appealing to young children. It follows the ‘I spy’ format I’m sure lots of children are familiar with.

In both books each page has pictures of key signs that accompany the story. I found, even though Isaac doesn’t sign much, he was really interested to learn how to sign the words. For beginners, there are useful tips at the beginning of the books and illustrations of how to form some of the basic hand shapes.

There’s also a guide with tips on how to get the most out of reading with your child, help them to practise key skills like paying attention, observation and language development, and to increase their confidence and enjoyment of reading.

Overall we gave both these books a huge thumbs up in our house. We would recommend them for signers and non-signers alike."