This year brings a very special collaboration with Paula Garfield, the Artistic Director of Deafinitely Theatre to create ‘Can Bears Ski?’ for both a hearing and deaf audience. This is a book written with heart and enriched with the real life experiences of both the author and the illustrator. The journey that Bear and his Dad travel in this story is one trodden by so many families which makes it all the more poignant and powerful because the emotion weaved through the words and pictures is tangible. It is real. The CLPE teaching notes are brilliant for starting discussions around this book and they also link to some brilliant resources and further reading for children who want to learn more about the Deaf community and want to improve their own ability to communicate with Deaf children and grown ups. With a set inspired by Polly Dunbar's stunning illustrations, puppetry and music, Pied Piper Theatre Company is delighted to be working with Paula Garfield and Deafinitely Theatre to bring this beautiful story to the stage. Join Deafinitely Theatre on Saturday 23 September 2023 for a one-night special charity fundraiser performance of The Vagina Monologues!

CAN BEARS SKI? | Kirkus Reviews CAN BEARS SKI? | Kirkus Reviews

I have read this book with all of my children, aged 3 to 11, and they have all absolutely loved it and have linked the story to children and adults that they know in real life. It has answered lots of questions for us and also opened up many more. Catherine Chapman’s designs – flowers, snow, carrots, russet leaves, and more – underpin the seasonal progression, once Tortoise has emerged from hibernation and we await the famous race. Stephen Collins has 13 years of experience as an actor, workshop facilitator and recently working as a Deaf Creative consultant/directing. He is the Lead Artist for The DH Ensemble and Associate Artist with 1623 Theatre. The story draws on the author’s own experience to show how isolating it can be for a deaf child in a hearing world.Here are some resources for anyone who wants to learn more for themselves and / or with their children this Deaf Awareness Week With a set inspired by Polly Dunbarʼs stunning illustrations, puppetry and music, Pied Piper Theatre Company and Deafinitely Theatre are delighted to bring this beautiful story to the stage. A cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface. This cookie is used by Issuu analytic system to gather information regarding visitor activity on Issuu products.

Can Bears Ski? - Raymond Antrobus - Google Books Can Bears Ski? - Raymond Antrobus - Google Books

Little Bear can’t catch the funny joke at school when friends are laughing, but feels the crunch of snow on frozen pavements. Can bears ski? What a random question to ask little bear. This book follows the story of a little bear who we find is hard of hearing. Antrobus and Dunbar have created a lovely book to show children what it is like to be hard of hearing. With the help of family and professionals the young bear who struggled to hear people talk and know what they were saying learns different techniques to help him such as lip reading and heading aids. Can Bears Ski? will be the first ever BSL-signed story on CBeebies and it will see Ayling-Ellis speaking only to introduce the story and at the end of the programme to say goodnight to the young audience. The story will also have subtitles. An endearing children's picture book that speaks to the hearts of those faced with hard of hearing issues. The book explores diversity with a creative approach for ages 4-7. It's also a helpful book using age appropriate terminology, e.g. audiologist and audiogram. Young readers will enjoy figuring out what the title “Can Bears Ski?” is supposed to mean. They will also benefit from learning more about the issues of someone hard of hearing and how to talk to them. It's the perfect book for teachers, parents and classmates. Sign language is not a part of the story line. The story follows Little Bear who is just discovering his deafness. It is Antrobus's children's debut book.Boy Bear cannot hear Dad Bear coming to wake him up in the morning but he can feel the floor vibrate with his heavy footsteps. He can only grasp little bits of what his teacher says to him at school. He cannot catch what his friends are laughing at. And, all the time, Boy Bear keeps hearing the question, “Can Bears ski?” What does it mean? With the support of Dad Bear, Boy Bear visits an audiologist and, eventually, he gets hearing aids. Suddenly, he understands the question everyone has been asking him: “CAN YOU HEAR ME?” Following the success of Pied Piper Theatre’s Burglar Billlast year, this new two hander for very young children follows a similar format. There is little dialogue in Hare and Tortoise, lots of physicality and gentle joking, a neat narrative shape and some catchy songs. And it all sits very happily in the Yvonne Arnaud’s child-friendly studio space. Little Bear can't catch the funny joke at school when friends are laughing, but feels the crunch of snow on frozen pavements. It is an incredibly emotional journey for the reader and gives a tiny taste of how that journey might feel for the parent and child, a chance for us to look through the window and begin to understand and empathise so that we may better support families that we know.

BBC News Rose Ayling-Ellis to sign CBeebies Bedtime Story - BBC News

This book has two goals: to tell a fun and interesting story, along with introducing children to some things faced by a person with a hearing loss or who is deaf. Both goals are met by the author and the illustrator, who themselves have hearing losses. Raymond is deaf, and Polly is partially deaf. Because of that, the two bring first-hand knowledge to this tale. Paula Garfield is the Artistic Director of Deafinitely Theatre. An actor, director, workshop leader
and organiser, Paula has worked on a variety of television, film and theatre projects over the past fifteen years. In 2002 she established Deafinitely Theatre with Steven Webb and Kate Furby after becoming frustrated at the barriers that deaf actors and directors face across the arts and media. I love how most of the read-aloud for this book includes ASL signing in the video. It is quite inclusive, and what this book is all about. My favorite illustration overall is when the little bear is getting ready in the morning, and he describes the colors of his clothing. In the picture, he stands confidently and comments how he likes his colors LOUD! It's completely adorable. It is a good thing to include a wide array of books for your students/child, but great when it includes positive and confident representation like this book does.The soap star has actively campaigned for BSL to be recognised as an official language and be given legal status in the UK. The story is also a mirror for deaf children and their families and I know from my own autistic son and dyslexic daughter how incredibly powerful it can be to feel seen in a story.