Quick read. Best used with the accompanying video. ( )

I got the book and DVD set and found the two together to be incredibly helpful in teaching my daughter ASL signs. Some of those first signs are very subtle, and seeing the DVD really helped me recognize when she was trying to make a sign versus when she was just kind of moving her hands around. Signing really enriched our interactions and reduced frustration in those pre-verbal months. She's nearly three now and quite verbal, but there are still a few signs she uses, sometimes for novelty, sometimes for emphasis, and sometimes because she's feeling shy and doesn't want to say "thank you" out loud to a stranger. ( )

This is an incarnation of the original baby-sign book, and it still has a garage photostated quality to it. The writer's large moustache is visible in every sign example, making his image pretty memorable. I liked the tone of the explanation, although it was a titch proselytising - unnecessary when I am already converted to the idea of baby signing. ( )

I highly recommend this great kit! With the help of this kit our son learned over 35 words and was able to tell us when he was hungry, tired, wanted or to play... all at 1 yr old! I figure that being able to communicate his wants and needs to early helped him skip the "terrible" part of the "twos" :-D ( )

I chose to read this instead of Baby Signs because I figured as long as we're teaching Abby a second language, it might as well be an actual language (American Sign Language) that she can use later on in life too.

A major benefit of this book is that the text to read is less than 50 pages, and that's nothing to shake a stick at when you're a parent with little uninterrupted reading time. The rest of the book is a glossary of signs. However, I have decided to read Baby Signs after all, even though we still plan to use the signs from Dr. Garcia's book.

There are a couple reasons for my change of heart. I started reading Baby Minds: Brain-Building Games Your Baby Will Love, which is by the same authors of Baby Signs. I really appreciated how the authors did a great job of backing up every major point with specific research studies. In Sign with Your Baby, the emphasis is more on anecdotes from parents and Dr. Garcia's own experience.

Because I was reading both books at the same time, I also found myself preferring the writing style of Baby Minds to Dr. Garcia's writing style. There's nothing wrong with it per se—I just thought the Baby Minds authors were a little more engaging and professional. (The book design might be playing into this impression too, as Sign with Your Baby doesn't exactly have a slick book design.)

But what really sealed the deal for me is that in his book, Dr. Garcia actually mentions and recommends Baby Signs. So that made me realize I didn't have to go with one or the other but that I could learn from both. ( )