Jessi's Secret Language

It was always refreshing to see the Baby-Sitters Club encounter kids that were different in some way (for example, Kristin babysat an autistic girl) In this book, Jessi takes on the baby-sitting duty of a boy who is deaf. The book was well-written and researched. Yes, it's a kids' book, so it doesn't offer a complex perspective in the world of the deaf or anything like that, but for its reading level, the context was presented appropriately, and it was cool to see Jessi learn sign language.

I think this book is a great story for readers. Jessi is a middle school aged girl who is babysitting a family in her neighborhood. There are two children in the family, a young girl and her older brother, Matt. Jessi learns sign language for the family because Matt is deaf. The neighborhood kids also start to learn ASL to communicate with Matt; they feel as if they are using a secret language. I am fond of the book because of the portrayal of being different. Matt is not looked as any differently nor is he the conflict of the story. Instead, Matt is embraced and looked up to because he has a talent no one else has "awesome." the neighborhood kids exclaimed (p58). The book also incorporates dance and becoming independent which is show more important for children knowing they can be different, enjoy many hobbies and that they are not alone. show less

One of my favourite BSC books. I tend to prefer Jessi's books, because I love reading about her ballet, and as I'm also very fascinated by sign language, this is extra interesting to me.

I'll admit here that i liked this book twenty years ago. The series was rather "eh", but this particular book I liked. I liked that Jessi learned sign language and had a real practical use for it, too.

loved learning about ASL

A great book, Jessi learns sign-language to communicate with a young boy.

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