First Signs Board Book - Animals

Children understand hundreds of words and concepts before they can communicate verbally and teaching them signs gives you and your little one a helping hand as they connect with the world around them, develop interests, and (most importantly) learn basic language skills.

First Signs – Animals paves the way with some favourite animal signs as a fun extension or introduction to pre-verbal communication skills.

First Signs – Animals contains 13 New Zealand Sign Language signs with details and illustrations on how to do them.

Written and illustrated by Jenna Brockett

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- Product dimensions: 16 x 16 x 2 cm
- Format: Board book
- Number of pages: 15
- Author & Illustrator: Jenna Brockett
Recommended Age

0 Year More about First Signs – Animals from the author

You can begin introducing signs as early as you want, but studies show that babies as young as six months old can remember and recognise a sign. By eight months, some children are able to imitate gestures or communicate using simple one-word signs.

Keep eye contact as you sign and say the word out loud, using the sign in direct context, for example sign ‘dog’ when you see a dog in real life or in a book, and repeat the sign every time you see the animal.

It’s very likely that your child will invent their own signs or use variations of a sign you use. If they do, that’s fine. Keep using the ‘official’ sign and let them do their sign.

Using sign language as a pre-verbal aid is all about the joy of communicating, not about them ‘getting it right’.