VIKA Books takeover on The Bookseller homepage today

Created by immersive book publishers and Pervasive Media Studio residents VIKA Books as part of the South West Creative Technology Network, Baby BSL: Where is the Bird? encourages parents of both deaf and hearing children to learn British Sign Language together, helping to make pre-speech between babies and adults a reality.

In 2019 Baby BSL: Where is the Bird? was awarded Prestige AR Book of the Year 2019 and VIKA were finalists in The Bookseller Futurebook Tech Startup of the Year Awards. They have also worked with NHS Trust University College Bristol introducing Baby BSL Activity Packs to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children’s wards, appeared on BBC News + BBC Two's See Hear, and today have teamed up with The Bookseller for a one-day homepage take over to announce their official launch on Mother's Day 2020 - check it out here

Where is the Bird? is a playful, interactive multi-media learning experience that is affordable, flexible and fun. Simple words are accompanied by beautiful illustrations that ‘wake up’ and literally pop-out of the pages when viewed through the accompanying free smartphone app, alongside a video of the BSL sign for that word demonstrated by children at Elmfield School for Deaf Children in Bristol. 

“Pointing at and acknowledging objects together is empowering for a young child. Our goal is for families to have fun describing the world around them in sign. The more you practise together, the quicker you will learn.” Victoria Forrest, founder VIKA Books

Teaching materials for BSL are surprisingly limited, even though many believe the impact of being able to sign with children under the age of two is huge. This is a particular problem for the 90% of deaf children born to hearing parents. For hearing families, it's been suggested that complexities of speech are a possible contributor to the ‘Terrible Twos’, a time when a child has independent thoughts, but cannot adequately express them. Baby BSL's aim is to help bridge that gap, helping children communicate complex concepts earlier.

The future looks no less exciting for VIKA Books and we look forward to discovering what suprises they have in store for 2020

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