The Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm Tree

by Angeliki Stamatopoulou-Pedersen, Tety Solou

This early childhood book is written from a mother's point of view with the purpose of helping children with hearing loss and their families at the critical mainstream stage.There is an emphasis through the different components in the book for broader understanding of hearing loss such as how classroom tactics and facilitation of communication at the educational level help.When young children get exposed to differences in others, they learn tolerance, empathy and create new ways of learning.For the educators, they will have in their hands a tool to start conversations with their students about hearing loss.

39 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 11, 2019

Reviews

[Carole G. Barton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm Tree is a well written picture book by Angeliki Stamatopoulou- Pedersen and beautifully illustrated by Tety Solou. This story has such an amazing message from a caring classroom with Angelia and Jacob. I love that Angelia wants to learn more about his hearing aids. He explains and so much more. As a speech therapist, I appreciate how this class with, Ms. Zoe, classroom teacher works to accommodate Jacob and how it helps all students. I truly admire the kindness these children share. I highly recommend The Secrets Hidden Beneath The Palm Tree. Enjoy reading and learning
as well as the importance of understanding we are all different and we learn differently.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Joanne Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book for explaining deafness and how to help someone who can not hear to be included.
The book has detailed explanations and examples throughout, which are written in a simplistic way that children will understand.
The friendship theme is clear and so lovely.
Lovely illustrations.

[Elisavet Arkolaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This early childhood book is written from a mother’s point of view with the purpose of helping hard of hearing or deaf children and their families at the critical mainstream stage.

It is the story of Angelia and Jacob, two kids destined to be best friends, and it all begins on their first day at school. Angelia is curious about something behind the ears of Jacob (hearing aid), and the two kids engage in a very informative dialogue. Angelia learns how to be a good and helpful friend, and appreciates that Jacob is smart and able to succeed when his needs are met. Angelia is also introduced to a new set of vocabulary like hearing aids, sign language, audiologist, cochlear implant, a speech pathologist.

As the author addresses in her book “Mainstream schooling for strong kids with weak hearing requires information, acceptance, and support from young and old’. A must-have book for educators, caregivers, speech therapists, school libraries, and public libraries. Through the story and the illustrations, we get to see how hearing impaired and non-hearing impaired students can thrive harmoniously both in and out of the classroom. When young children get exposed to differences in others, they learn tolerance, empathy and create new ways of learning.

[Sharae RaetheReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars! *I was gifted a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.*

This book does well in that it expresses an underrepresented community. It teaches children and adults alike about the various ways the deaf community and deaf individuals live and learn. I think showing the cochlear implants, lip reading, and even the service dog (which I didnt know) was very informative. The illustrations were bright and colorful as well. As someone currently learning sign language I appreciated the book and the information provided.

Unfortunately, the vocabulary is interesting. I think the note of the teachers name being spelled in Greek on the board without an explanation for the reader comes off oddly. I also think the book may benefit from a glossary. Lastly,...this book title is....not good. Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm Tree sounds like a romance novel or adult literature, not a fun book about a deaf student and his class.

This book would work great in classrooms with students who are being introduced to deaf students or are interested in learning more about inclusion of different peoples.

#mcbd2021 #ReadYourWorld

[Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful children's book about diversity and inclusion that never utters either word. Angelia & Jacob are elementary school aged children who become fast friends on their first day of school. Curious about "something" behind Jacob's ears, Angelia asks and learns that Jacob uses hearing aids to "hear better, just like glasses help some people see better." Angelia's curiosity is innocent and sincere; Jacob's answers are educational and patient. As Angelia learns a whole new vocabulary - audiologist, cochlea, lip reading, etc. - she also learns how to be a good friend, ally, and advocate to and for Jacob. Most importantly, she learns that Jacob is perfectly capable and able to succeed in an environment that accommodates his needs. This book is perfect not only for children -- my four year old enjoyed it! -- but also for caregivers, educators, and.. really, anyone!

[maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teaching children about diversity also means teaching them about children with special needs. This lovely, easy to read and understand story about a little boy who is hearing impaired and the little girl who seeks to understand his world and how to include him in the activities at school. All benefit from this new relationship.

[Deanna Bussadori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this well written book as a gift and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was not only educational but spread great messages of building friendships, helpfulness, inclusiveness, curiosity, and love. Angelia starts her first day of school and meets a boy, Jacob in her class. She is curious about Jacob as he has something behind his ears that she has never seen before. At recess, beneath the palm tree, Jacob explains to Angelia that he wears hearing aids used by deaf people and how he needs to read lips to understand what people are saying. He goes on to explain sign language - speaking with moving hands and listening with your eyes. This leads to a start of a wonderful and helpful friendship. The story has beautiful illustrations and specific words are highlighted to help readers better understand the meanings of these words. Included in the book is a loving dog, Biscuit, the support dog, who helps Jacob and alerts him to things going on around him that he cannot hear. This amazing story is beneficial for any child to read and to understand the significance of accepting others who are not the same and that their journey in life may be different and why inclusiveness is so important. A definite must-read for any families and children.

[Mary Mecham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a wonderful story about a girl who has a new friend- a boy with hearing aids! He explains a little about his hearing aids, sign language, and lip reading, and the girl is able to gain better understanding. My absolute favorite part of this book was how the girl describes ways that she, her classmates, and the community at large find to be more inclusive. Whether she sits next to her friend and shares her notes, or explains about how the boy's service dog helps, or what the teacher does (not turning her back to the class, setting up the students in a horseshoe desk formation)- I was able to gain some new ideas on how to be more inclusive towards the deaf/ Deaf/ Hard-of-Hearing culture!

The only critique I would have of this book was that some of the words were a little tricky to distinguish from the background, or else the differently colored letters made it hard to read, but it was a relatively rare occurrence.

[Elizabeth Madarang · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful, informative story about a deaf student for elementary teachers to share with their students or for parents to share with their elementary aged children. Essential terms are sprinkled throughout the story. I like the way the colors and fonts are different for the essential vocabulary words! A glossary of terms at the end would be a great addition and allow for a thorough definition with examples for each related term. The girls that befriend Jacob demonstrate kindness and a desire to learn more about how Jacob communicates and learns. However, the suggested experiment should include a note about asking a parent before embarking on the activity to simulate being deaf. Overall, this story educates the reader about the uniqueness of children (and any people) that cannot hear and the ease of acceptance of this difference.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writer lent me this book after I expressed an interest in creative writing and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn't know a lot about hearing issues, but I learned quite a bit. For a children's book, it's packed with a lot of information. Frankly it felt a little long and I'm not sure that younger kids would sit still long enough but older kids should enjoy it. It's also a great resource for parents of hearing impaired children. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful.