Bridging the Gap Between the Hearing & Deaf Worlds
After reading ‘Song for a Whale’, I had the pleasure of interviewing the author Lynne Kelly to get a detailed “behind-the-scenes” access of the book, learn more about the characters and how her day as a sign language interpreter has helped to play a part in shaping this book.
The interview contains no spoilers so if you haven’t had the chance to read ‘Song for Whale’, you must get yourself a copy of the book.
Listen to podcast or read transcript of the interview with Lynne Kelly
What does a deaf 12-year old girl and a whale that doesn’t belong in a pod has in common?
Surprisingly quite a lot, as beautifully illustrated by by Lynne Kelly’s ‘Song for a Whale’.
12-year old Iris, who is the only d/Deaf person in her school and family, learns about a whale called ‘Blue 55’ who is unable to communicate with other whales and is known as a lonely whale. Since Iris can resonate with that, she went on a journey to see if she can find a way to “sing” with the whale herself to let him know that he is heard.
And what a beautiful journey it was.
One thing for sure about The Silent Child; it managed to deliver a strong message at the end of the short 20-minute clip, right before the credits, with several different sobering facts.
The whole essence of the film is to highlight the importance of sign language to allow d/Deaf children to have the same experience and opportunities in life that other children would also have.
Not only managed to do that well in just 20 minutes, but they also bagged themselves an Oscar for it too
Academy Award-winning Deaf actress, Marlee Matlin first book ‘Deaf Child Crossing’, is the first of the trilogy in the series and where she made her debut as a writer.
Even though it’s not a book that will standout from the crowd, there are a number of things that you can learn from it, whether you are hearing or d/Deaf, whether you are a child or an adult.
