The Magic Mirror in American Sign Language

K-Gr 8—Renowned American Sign Language comedian/storyteller CJ Jones and animator Norland Téllez spearhead the latest in this ASL storytelling series, originally produced in cooperation with Gallaudet University and recently updated for the DVD market. Kids will enjoy the mixture of animation, storytelling, and the up-to-date and emotionally resonant settings for these original tales. The action centers on an upper elementary or middle school talent show audition in which Alice is full of doubt. She is an ASL poet, and ASL poetry is a performing art, one that lies at the heart of Deaf culture. Her struggle with the audition not only addresses issues of self-confidence for girls but also introduces this poetic form to a young audience. Alice's fluency becomes something transcendent, and this might be the first time this topic is directed at a younger audience. This is a perfect vehicle to introduce Deaf culture to a greater audience and a great follow-up to Cece Bell's El Deafo (Abrams, 2014) to challenge the widespread, erroneous perception of ASL as mime.