Can Bears Ski?

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On Sunday, Ayling-Ellis will make her debut in the CBeebies story corner, telling the tale in BSL of a young bear and his father on their journey into the discovery and management of deafness. From CAN BEARS SKI? written by Raymond Antrobus and illustrated by Polly Dunbar. Reproduced by permission of Walker Books Ltd, London SE11 5HJ. www.walker.co.uk Little Bear can't catch the funny joke at school when friends are laughing, but feels the crunch of snow on frozen pavements. This is a lovely story showing a positive message about children with hearing loss. Boy Bear can feel the rumbling and noise of the curtains and his dad’s footsteps when he is woken up in the morning. He enjoys getting ready for school and then the snow outside, but then, while on his way to school, his dad tells him that he just ignored his friend and then asks him if Bears can Ski? But is that really what Dad Bear asked, or is Boy Bear suffering some problems with his hearing? Tina has written, adapted, directed and produced over twenty five plays for the company including a large scale national tour of Anne Fine's 'The Book of the Banshee', and 'A Little Princess'involving eight actors and eight young people.

CAN BEARS SKI? | Kirkus Reviews CAN BEARS SKI? | Kirkus Reviews

Can bears ski? What a random question to ask little bear. This book follows the story of a little bear who we find is hard of hearing. Antrobus and Dunbar have created a lovely book to show children what it is like to be hard of hearing. With the help of family and professionals the young bear who struggled to hear people talk and know what they were saying learns different techniques to help him such as lip reading and heading aids. The story draws on the author’s own experience to show how isolating it can be for a deaf child in a hearing world. Even though little ones think they are only having story-time, actual learning is going on, too. One way to bring additional insight about someone with a hearing loss would be to think of other words, or sentences, that might sound different. For instance, the sentence, “can you hear me,” might sound like, “can bears ski?” Awareness of this and other challenges of hearing loss can clear up what may have seemed like a case of being ignored, to just a misunderstanding of words.What a fabulous children’s book this is. I can hazard a guess that there aren’t many children’s books out there that are about hearing lose/deafness. I commend the author who is deaf himself for writing a book he would have loved as a child.

Can Bears Ski? by Raymond Antrobus, Polly Dunbar | Waterstones Can Bears Ski? by Raymond Antrobus, Polly Dunbar | Waterstones

This year brings a very special collaboration with Paula Garfield, the Artistic Director of Deafinitely Theatre to create ‘Can Bears Ski?’ for both a hearing and deaf audience. The story is also a mirror for deaf children and their families and I know from my own autistic son and dyslexic daughter how incredibly powerful it can be to feel seen in a story. The situation for Bear is a sad one and the beautiful illustrations and text really tug at your heart strings. You just want to make things better for Bear. You feel sad for his friends and teachers, his family, who want to include him and talk to him but do not know how.To celebrate Deaf Awareness Week, she will sign Can Bears Ski?, written by Raymond Antrobus and illustrated by Polly Dunbar. Bear feels sounds. He can tell the volume and urgency of his father’s voice by the movements in the things around him. Can Bears Ski? by Raymond Antrobus is a picture book about a little bear who cannot hear his dad or friends very well. He is constantly confused why people keep asking him "can bears ski?" only to find out later they were saying "can you hear me?" It turns out by the end he has been diagnosed with hearing loss by doctors.

Can Bears Ski? by Raymond Antrobus: 9781536212662

Boy Bear cannot hear Dad Bear coming to wake him up in the morning but he can feel the floor vibrate with his heavy footsteps. He can only grasp little bits of what his teacher says to him at school. He cannot catch what his friends are laughing at. And, all the time, Boy Bear keeps hearing the question, “Can Bears ski?” What does it mean? With the support of Dad Bear, Boy Bear visits an audiologist and, eventually, he gets hearing aids. Suddenly, he understands the question everyone has been asking him: “CAN YOU HEAR ME?” Bear is moved to the front of the classroom at school, he is still not quite sure what his teacher says. This is a book that would be perfect for a deaf child to read about something that they have in common with the main character. It is also a wonderful book to educate others about deafness and how a child might feel if they can’t hear or can only hear slightly. Can Bears Ski? is a beautiful and poignant children’s book that is about childhood hearing loss. Little bear can feel vibrations, but when people speak to him he feels like they are all asking him the same question ‘Can Bears Ski?’. He doesn’t understand why everyone keeps on asking him that question.

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Stephen Collins has 13 years of experience as an actor, workshop facilitator and recently working as a Deaf Creative consultant/directing. He is the Lead Artist for The DH Ensemble and Associate Artist with 1623 Theatre. Can Bears Ski? is based on the book by poet Raymond Antrobus, Ted Hughes award-winner, who draws on his own experience as a deaf child in a hearing world. Tina Williams is the Artistic Director of Pied Piper Theatre Company, which she set up in 1984 having trained as both an actor and a teacher.

Can Bears Ski? | Deafinitely Theatre Can Bears Ski? | Deafinitely Theatre

Deafinitely Theatre and New Diorama Theatre present Sarah Kane’s lyrical and haunting play about mental health. ★★★★ Time Out, ★★★★ The Guadian, ★★★★ Theatre Weekly, ★★★★★ West End Wilma

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Can Bears Ski? will be the first ever BSL-signed story on CBeebies and it will see Ayling-Ellis speaking only to introduce the story and at the end of the programme to say goodnight to the young audience. The story will also have subtitles. This striking world première from the nationally acclaimed British theatre company Deafinitely Theatre (The Vagina Monologues, Everyday and 4.48 Psychosis) is inspired by the extraordinary experiences of deaf people living with dementia. Ayling-Ellis’ story will air on Sunday to mark the end of Deaf Awareness Week. It will be the first of two stories she has recorded for CBeebies. Speaking about signing for CBeebies, Ayling-Ellis said: “I am super excited to read my first CBeebies bedtime story in British Sign Language and it’s even more wonderful to share a story written by a deaf writer.