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Welcome back to another book tour! Today I’m telling you about Charlie & Frog by Karen Kane. I received a copy of the book in exchange for my thoughts.
About Charlie and Frog
All Charlie Tickler wants is for his parents to listen.
Charlie’s parents have left him (again). This time they are off to South Africa to help giant golden moles. And Charlie? He’s been dumped with his TV-obsessed grandparents. Lonely and curious, Charlie heads into the village of Castle-on-the-Hudson, where a frightened old woman gives him a desperate message – in sign language. When the woman suddenly disappears, Charlie is determined to find answers.
All Francine (AKA Frog) Castle wants is to be the world’s greatest detective.
Frog, who is deaf, would rather be solving crimes than working at the Flying Hands Cafe. When Charlie Tickler walks into the cafe looking for help, Frog jumps at the chance to tackle a real-life (maybe) murder mystery.
Together, Charlie and Frog set out to decipher a series of clues and uncover the truth behind the missing woman’s message. Charlie needs to learn American Sign Language (fast) to keep up with quick-witted Frog. And Frog needs to gather her detective know-how (now) to solve the case before it’s too late.
About Karen Kane
Charlie and Frog is Karen’s first novel! Her path led her from a small village near Rochester, New York, to the bustle of Washington DC. The people she met along the way inspired her writing with their warmth and humor, especially those in the deaf community.
Karen graduated fro the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and received her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. When she’s not writing, Karen spends her days as a sign language interpreter at Gallaudet University or lost in the stacks of her local library.
Learn more at her website.
My Thoughts on Charlie and Frog
My Mom was born deaf in one ear. We never had to learn sign language because she has one perfectly good ear. I always wondered though what my life would have been like growing up if she was completely deaf. Learning American Sign Language never took a priority, but rather earned a spot on my bucket list of things I’d like to do.
Enter Charlie and Frog. What an interesting novel. The inside cover has the full alphabet in ASL. Before even diving into the book I went through and retaught myself the letters. There’s always those few that I can’t remember – g and r. To my utter delight, each chapter is named with sign language.
Once I got past the uniqueness of incorporating sign language so fully into Charlie and Frog I settled into the story. As an adult, I’m really struggling with the lack of attention any of the adults in the story have for the kids. As a middle-grade novel, however, I can see kids loving this view of the adults. The story is intriguing, and as a mystery really holds the readers’ attention.
I can’t wait to get this into my kids’ hands, and then work together on learning more ASL!
Purchase Charlie and Frog at your local bookstore or through the Amazon link below.
