Hear Us Read: Facilitating Storybook Interactions for Preschoolers With Hearing Impairments . (2002). By Joan Kaderavek, Don Reiber, & Lori Pakulski. Hear Us Read Project, Dept. PHRS, Mail Stop 201, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606. 27 minutes, $10. Reviewed by Monique S. Kaye, Long Hill Township Board of Education, Millington, NJ.

Based on the Knowledgeworks Literacy Project, this video presents information obtained through the authors’ research on shared storybook reading activities and literacy development in preschool children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Beginning and ending with a 10-year-old child with a profound sensorineural hearing impairment who is a fluent reader for her grade level, the video describes and illustrates how families can facilitate success with reading by their children.

Parents and professionals share their views on the importance of literacy and how language difficulties experienced by children with hearing loss can impact their reading. Joint attention and shared book interactions are presented as strategies that can promote literacy for young children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Techniques for parents to use with their children to develop and maintain interest in shared reading activities are described by professionals seen on the video as well as an unseen narrator.

The quality of the videotape is very good, and a variety of interactions between parents and their children illustrate the strategies and techniques described. The narrator is articulate and does not detract from information presented visually. The use of both oral and signed communication modes during reading activities is discussed and illustrated.

This is a well-produced videotape that could supplement presentations on language and literacy development with children who are deaf or hard of hearing to audiences that include parents, students, or professionals. A handout that corresponds closely with the suggested strategies and terminology would be a useful addition.