Rating: 
Summary: Deceived into using gestures instead of ASL
Review: I have my Ph.D. in language development and early literacy and while I think the idea of using signs with babies is fabulous, I think many people have been duped by the authors into buying a book that advocates **using made up gestures as opposed to real language**. In order to facilitate language, real language should be used. And if the point is that making up gestures is "easier" for parents who don't know American Sign Language, then how can the authors "suggest" (i.e., TELL you) which ones to use? How can they give you a video on signs to watch and learn--thereby teaching you THEIR version of the gestures, if the point is to make them up? Making up gestures not only makes the signs idiosyncratic and more difficult to remember over time ("What did I use to sign CAT last week--shoot there's no "gesture dictionary" to look it up in!") or between children ("Shoot, what gesture did we make up when your sister was young?"), but it also means that even if more and more people are signing, the chance of 2 families using the same random signs (and thereby being able to sign with the one another's child) is non-existent! Also, the choice of some of their gestures is ridiculous--panting for a dog? So when you are out with your child and see a dog you are supposed to start panting?? Or stomping your foot to imitate a horse? What about if you are sitting at the table, how is your child supposed to see you gesture? The REAL signs for these items are not only based on visual information, but also are designed to be done in the visual space around the torso, making them simplier, more practical, and more useful over time. As more and more signing playgroups pop up, the reality is the majority use real ASL. Beginning with gestures is just a waste of time. Why use made up gestures when there are REAL ASL signs that are based on visual information that are REAL LANGUAGE and able to be used not only by you but by a growing number of hearing, hard of hearing, and deaf people around the country??? Furthermore, I have found that many people don't know that the gestures AREN'T real signs. Believe me, there is no stronger advocate for signing with your baby, but I think Garcia's book and video are a much better way to go. As I said before, THE BEST WAY TO FACILITATE IS WITH REAL LANGUAGE. Why bother learning random and--in the long run--meaningless gestures when an entire system of signs that you can look up and refer to is available so readily?
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book!
Review: By "great" book, I mean the concept and techniques are great!!! It's very easy to read and not filled with boring mumbo jumbo. Lots of examples (LOTS!) to read about as well. This is not a book you need to read cover to cover in order to understand how to do it. We started teaching him the signs about 8 months old. Of course he didn't learn them immediately but a couple months later (even though we didn't do them EVERY day) he would start signing to us! It was incredible! I think his first sign was Dog. He'd pant like a dog! It was so cute!!! He LOVED showing me dogs after that. In the grocery store one day we were standing in the front of the store waiting for help and I didn't realize we were next to the dog food bags until our son started doing the dog sign. I looked around for a dog and sure enough, there on the bag was the dog he was trying to point out to me! These signs have been THE BEST thing we have taught our son so far! He's 18 months old and knows a lot of signs, although now he's trying to say everything instead of signing. But if he didn't know how to sign, his communication would have been so limited! He still signs a lot, "More" "Sippy", "More" "Sippy" or "Bite Bite" (meaning he wants something else to either drink or eat). So, instead of him crying to communicate what he wants he just signs it! Now he's learning to talk and just yesterday he was trying to say Cat. It came out "Cauk". I didn't understand what he was saying so I tried to think of all the words he knew that sounded like that, so I said Duck? (he says "Cack Cack" for duck + opens and closes his hand like a ducks mouth). So, He again said "Cauk!". I said, "Clock?" and he looks around trying to think of how to make me understand then said "Maow!" (That's his cat sign!) So then I knew he had seen our cat outside and he wanted me to know! I was so proud of him! You will NOT be disappointed if you try the techniques in this book! I've told SO many people about it and now my friend's daughter (who just turned 1) said she knows 15 signs already! It's such a wonderful feeling when your baby can communicate with you! It makes them so happy. My mom says that she's never seen a baby cry so little! He doesn't need to! He can communicate his needs to us!!
Rating:
Summary: Communication is Key
Review: Being able to communicate is so so easy. Babies are already waving bye-bye, just like the site says. It's taking this concept into real communication that is so amazing. It doesn't have to be hard - it isn't. This book offers validation and research-based advice - plus the suggestions of signs families often use to get started. I found the previous review that was saying they wanted more in depth directions kind of silly. There is plenty of direction here. Or, buy the video too! I looked into the other book touting ASL as so important -which sells as a kit for so much more money - mmm. Especially since I also know people who gave up and threw that stuff away when they tried to regiment themselves and their babies to that approach. As the Baby Signs book says in effect, just enjoy - and really talk to your baby - it is not hard!
Rating: 
Summary: Ok if you take your child to the zoo all the time.
Review: I found this book rather blah. It really didn't get into the heart of communicating with your baby with signs. I dealt more with using general signs for cat, dog, phone, etc. I returned it and bought "Sign With Your Baby". MUCH more indepth.
Rating:
Summary: A GREAT CONCEPT, SIMPLY PRESENTED
Review: This book was one of the greatest things to happen to me as a parent. Using Baby Signs is amazing. I gained so much respect for my son, (and had such a great time) using Baby Signs with him. My wife read the book when she was pregnant, and when our son was about 8 months old started using a few signs with him. It took him awhile to catch on (older babies catch on faster) but once he did, the results were amazing. We "learned" (quotes because you make up the signs or use their sign suggestions if you wish) about 60 signs! Some he made up and taught to me! He could express his needs, his desires, his ideas, and even make a few jokes and puns. Please, do this with your baby. Don't be intimidated! Its simpler than trying to learn American Sign Language and really worth it. Now my son is 2 1/2 and he constantly amazes people because he can speak and think like a 4 or 5 year old. I credit "Baby Signs".
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Conceptual Introduction.
Review: Baby Signs is clearly designed to be a first introduction to the concept of signing with young children. The book has 162 pages. The first 109 pages are a conceptual introduction to signing with infants. In this conceptual introduction, the authors: (1) describe through examples how babies naturally use familiar gestures to communicate (e.g. waving "bye-bye" or using the motion from the Itsy Bitsy Spider when they see a spider), (2) provide anecdotes about how they observed their own children using "signs" before actually trying to sign with them, and (3) thoroughly describe the results of their research program on the use of sign language with children. The basic results of their studies were that signing speeded up the ability to communicate by 6 to 18 months, that signing increased the rate of subsequent verbal communication, and that signing had long-term positive impact on IQ and language ability. This is done with many examples of children and families in their study, so it is very engaging. The final 53 pages include (1) responses to specific questions many parents have asked about the process of signing with children, (2) illustrations of 53 signs, and (3) Rhymes that can be used to teach children signs. I read this book when my daughter was 3 months old, and I knew very little about the topic except that signing with babies was a new trend. As I read the touching examples of other parents using signs with their children, I often found myself with tears in my eyes as I imagined being able to have meaningful communication with my daughter far before I'd ever imagined. This book created a vivid and personal picture of how signing could create a better relationship with my daughter. The research results it described also allowed me to respond confidently to questions from my parents and others about how signing would impact the acquisition of verbal communication. In fact, we purchased this book for my parents and my in-laws and all enjoyed it. We began signing with our daughter when she was about 9 months old. By the time she was 1 year, we had outgrown the Baby Signs book and found we needed more specific examples of signs in order to keep up with her. At this point, we purchased Joseph Garcia's Sign with Your Baby. Sign With Your Baby has a much more complete set of illustrated signs, with most of its text devoted to this. Although Sign With Your Baby had some of the conceptual introduction of Baby Signs, it read much more like a reference book and was less personal. In conclusion, Baby Signs and Sign With Your Baby fill two very different needs. If you know very little about the concept of signing with children, buy Baby Signs. If you are looking for a great baby gift, buy Baby Signs. If you are signing with your child and want the grandparents to buy into the concept, buy Baby Signs. If you are already sold on the idea of signing and want an excellent reference with many illustrations of signs, buy Sign with Your Baby. An additional suggestion is to buy an overall ASL signing book.
Rating: 
Summary: Middle of the road.
Review: I bought this book after reading reviews for it and was very psyched about starting to baby sign with my child. I read about half of the book and then found it repetitive. The book is mainly about convincing a person to use baby signs. Hardly something you need to do to someone who is willing to buy a book on teaching their baby to sign. The book left some things to be desired. It's a decent read. Not great, not bad. Perhaps this would be a great book as a gift to give a skeptic rather than someone who is already convinced about baby signing. As for my baby learning how to sign, I used the given ideas and made some signs of my own, and yes, before I knew it, baby was teaching me her own signs. As young as 5 months, my baby was picking up signing and using it to communicate with me. Ex: putting her hand to her mouth as if holding a bottle to let me know she wanted one and putting a fist to her mouth when hungry to indicate she wanted to eat, as well as pointing to her palm when she wanted more. I suggest, you find some video you both can watch or some other book that has a more substantial approach at teaching your baby to sign. This book is best as a gift to introduce baby signing to a new mother.
Rating:
Summary: Not everything it could be
Review: This is a well-written, well-researched book. The concept is wonderful, but it is not everything that it could be. I am a graduate student studying infant and toddler development, and I have devoted years to researching this topic. Teaching your children to communicate through sign language is one of the best and most important commitments a parent can make. Your child will have a larger vocabulary and greater social skills. (my 25-month old has a vocabulary of approximately 850 words.) However, if you are going to invest all of time and effort, teach your children ASL! Baby Signs are meant to be used for a time and then cast aside - BUT preschoolers who sign have significantly larger vocabularies, and elementary children who sign perform approximately 1 grade level above their peers in Language Arts. If they encounter deaf individuals they will be able to communicate with them. If you are going to teach them to sign, let it become a lifelong thing, not a rudimentary language to be cast aside in a few years! I recommend Joseph Garcia's book, Sign With Your Baby, and if you are interested in the research behind it and ASL for older children, buy Dancing with words by Marilyn Daniels. That is a 5-star book!
Rating:
Summary: Common Sense
Review: I thought the contents of this book was common sense. I perused the book and then gave it away.
Rating:
Summary: Worth it!
Review: This book is informative and worth the money! I especially liked the rhymes at the end that can be used with the signs. My youngest son is 7months old and anytime I do some of the rhymes he laughs and smiles. My four year old has also gotten in on teaching his younger brother the signs. Even though my seven month old hasn't produced any signs yet (the book says he is too young) I can tell that he has started to recognize some of them. I look forward to communicating with him in the near future using the baby signs! I highly recommend this book!
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