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Ranvir Cannot Hear
Ranvir Cannot Hear is a magical story set in the plains of India and is about a little elephant who goes on a long journey in search of his hearing. On his travels he meets some wonderful friends along the way who can’t do certain things but tell him about the things that they can! Ranvir even finds out he has a special talent too... This is a beautifully illustrated children’s story with a message of inclusion and empowerment. Learn to find out what you can do and don’t worry about what you can’t. 10p of every book will be donated to the Rangammal school in India for children with a hearing impairment. Recommended for children up to 7 years old. British and American sign language alphabets are included in the back - teach your little one to sign their name!
32 pages, Paperback
Published December 12, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 21, 2023
The illustrations are cute, but this is problematic for Deaf representation. Firstly, it doesn't make sense - Ravir can't hear, but goes around telling animals his story and hearing theirs? How are they communicating? There's no sign language in the illustrations, and all the activities are sound based - cheering and singing and dancing and hearing stories.
Then at the climax [spoilers necessary] when Ranvir comes to terms with the idea that he doesn't need his hearing because he has other talents, his talent is... singing? Umm. Could you not have chosen a talent that a Deaf child would relate to?
The book is clearly written by a hearing author for a hearing audience, without actually researching the Deaf community or putting thought into a plot that reflects a deaf person's experience or represents them in a positive way.
To add insult to injury, they added the BSL and ASL manual alphabets at the end, like they wanted to give themselves a gold star for Deaf representation despite creating harmful stereotypes and assumptions about deaf people in this book.
I would not recommend this for hearing or Deaf children.
Then at the climax [spoilers necessary] when Ranvir comes to terms with the idea that he doesn't need his hearing because he has other talents, his talent is... singing? Umm. Could you not have chosen a talent that a Deaf child would relate to?
The book is clearly written by a hearing author for a hearing audience, without actually researching the Deaf community or putting thought into a plot that reflects a deaf person's experience or represents them in a positive way.
To add insult to injury, they added the BSL and ASL manual alphabets at the end, like they wanted to give themselves a gold star for Deaf representation despite creating harmful stereotypes and assumptions about deaf people in this book.
I would not recommend this for hearing or Deaf children.
October 14, 2021
Each of the animals have something they "cannot" do.. the lion cannot roar, etc. but they can do lots of other things. They all join a journey to help Ranvir find his hearing. They did not find his hearing, but they did discover something else that he can do. "They all felt different, yet all the same."
April 13, 2023
made no sense
He had no hearing but the animals kept talking to him. No mention of sign language at all. Then the end shows signing alphabets (BSL and ASL). Kids won’t make the connection. Cannot recommend this one.
He had no hearing but the animals kept talking to him. No mention of sign language at all. Then the end shows signing alphabets (BSL and ASL). Kids won’t make the connection. Cannot recommend this one.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews