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Singing Hands
As one of three hearing daughters of deaf parents, 12-year-old Gussie Davis is expected to be a proper representative of Saint Jude's Church for the Deaf in Birmingham, Alabama, which is run by her father. So when Gussie starts to hum through signed services in the summer of 1948, Reverend Davis assumes she merely wants to sing out loud and sends her to a regular church downtown. But Gussie's behavior worsens, and she is not allowed to go on a much-anticipated trip; instead, she must help her father at the Alabama School for the Deaf.Rebelling against the strict rules of the school, Gussie finally confronts the difficulties and prejudices encountered by the deaf community, all while still trying to find her own identity in the worlds of both the hearing and the deaf.Drawing on firsthand accounts of her mother's own childhood with deaf parents, Delia Ray provides an inside look at the South in the 1940s. Lively humor, unforgettable characters, and meticulous research combine to make this a standout novel that offers keen insight into what it means to be hearing in a deaf world. Author's note.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
August 31, 2017
The main character, Augusta, isn't very likable. I was glad when she got punished for her misdeeds. Her many, many misdeeds.
March 13, 2024
The author has created a fictional story that incorporates her mother's memories and experiences growing up in Birmingham, Alabama as one of three hearing daughters with two Deaf parents.
The story takes place when Augusta (called Gussie) is 12 years old, in 1948, before the Civil Rights Movement. Although the rest of Gussie's family has almost no contact with Black people, her father is a preacher to a number of different Deaf congregations across multiples states, including serving Black Deaf communities.
The first-person writing shows Gussie to be observant, mischievous, bold, undaunted, and also thoughtful - when she finally gets around to it. Some of the pranks and trouble Gussie gets into seem like they must have been true, because they reflect so badly on her that it's hard to believe Delia Ray's mother would have allowed her to be portrayed that way if it weren't true.
I cringed and recoiled from Gussie's bad choices in this book as much as I did in the mean-girls-style Queen Bee - but in truth, the pranks are not unexpected for the 1940s, for a preacher's daughter, and for a bored/intelligent middle daughter whose parents can't hear her humming, singing, complaining, or even sneaking around the house, including into their female boarders' bedrooms. Young readers (4th-5th grade) who tend to follow the rules will feel the tension and anticipation of punishment...but slightly older readers will probably dismiss it as overly-cautious or no-big-deal.
In the satisfying wrap-up, Gussie's worsening punishment (to match her increasingly rude, risky, and irresponsible behavior) happens to provide her with opportunities to discover her own capabilities, power, and allyship.
I believe the author probably accurately reflects the odd position that hearing children of Deaf parents experience; their parents are fully capable adults, but in an instant, the child sees their power and capacity undermined by disrespectful adults or children, or by the mainstream systems that presume a hearing population. Gussie's observation of this shows how she can feel anger and defensiveness in one moment, when hearing people are dismissive, condescending, rude, or infantalizing to her parents and other Deaf people, and in the next moment, exploit her Deaf parents' weaknesses.
Her pranks and her attempts to cover up her mistakes also show how she unabashedly breaks rules of social norms and of safety - humming in the Deaf church, making up pretend signs, talking about Deaf people under their noses, spending her allowance on milkshakes instead of giving it to the church - and then is wracked with guilt about it. Altogether, this flawed main character lets readers observe and draw their conclusions from it; Gussie in the end is kind and considerate, and willing to risk her own comfort and safety in order to stand up for others.
It's a heartwarming historical fiction story that gives a glimpse into the Deaf community of a certain time and place, through the eyes of an outsider who identifies as hearing, but has been raised with empathy and with patient explanations. Having a hearing main character allows hearing readers to receive factual and historical information and understand the context.
The story takes place when Augusta (called Gussie) is 12 years old, in 1948, before the Civil Rights Movement. Although the rest of Gussie's family has almost no contact with Black people, her father is a preacher to a number of different Deaf congregations across multiples states, including serving Black Deaf communities.
The first-person writing shows Gussie to be observant, mischievous, bold, undaunted, and also thoughtful - when she finally gets around to it. Some of the pranks and trouble Gussie gets into seem like they must have been true, because they reflect so badly on her that it's hard to believe Delia Ray's mother would have allowed her to be portrayed that way if it weren't true.
I cringed and recoiled from Gussie's bad choices in this book as much as I did in the mean-girls-style Queen Bee - but in truth, the pranks are not unexpected for the 1940s, for a preacher's daughter, and for a bored/intelligent middle daughter whose parents can't hear her humming, singing, complaining, or even sneaking around the house, including into their female boarders' bedrooms. Young readers (4th-5th grade) who tend to follow the rules will feel the tension and anticipation of punishment...but slightly older readers will probably dismiss it as overly-cautious or no-big-deal.
In the satisfying wrap-up, Gussie's worsening punishment (to match her increasingly rude, risky, and irresponsible behavior) happens to provide her with opportunities to discover her own capabilities, power, and allyship.
I believe the author probably accurately reflects the odd position that hearing children of Deaf parents experience; their parents are fully capable adults, but in an instant, the child sees their power and capacity undermined by disrespectful adults or children, or by the mainstream systems that presume a hearing population. Gussie's observation of this shows how she can feel anger and defensiveness in one moment, when hearing people are dismissive, condescending, rude, or infantalizing to her parents and other Deaf people, and in the next moment, exploit her Deaf parents' weaknesses.
Her pranks and her attempts to cover up her mistakes also show how she unabashedly breaks rules of social norms and of safety - humming in the Deaf church, making up pretend signs, talking about Deaf people under their noses, spending her allowance on milkshakes instead of giving it to the church - and then is wracked with guilt about it. Altogether, this flawed main character lets readers observe and draw their conclusions from it; Gussie in the end is kind and considerate, and willing to risk her own comfort and safety in order to stand up for others.
It's a heartwarming historical fiction story that gives a glimpse into the Deaf community of a certain time and place, through the eyes of an outsider who identifies as hearing, but has been raised with empathy and with patient explanations. Having a hearing main character allows hearing readers to receive factual and historical information and understand the context.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 18, 2021
I picked this up for the kids at a library booksale since we had a housemate for a while who is Deaf. We tried to read it as a family, but the kids weren't really into it, so I just went ahead and finished it myself. It's based on the lives of the author's mother and grandfather. I enjoyed the twists and turns of Gussie making mistakes and growing up. Unfortunately the author barely touches on race relations and probably could have made this more explicit. Looking back, she also didn't address when Gussie's frienemy Missy from the hearing church makes fun of deaf people and only her younger sister Nell seems to find this horrifying. Gussie learns from and tries to make amends on her other misdeeds. Overall, it's a solid middle-grade read, especially if you've got a kiddo who is interested in historical fiction (sadly, ours aren't!).
March 11, 2021
This book was not good like I expected. The concept was interesting, but each chapter made the main character into more and more of a selfish and rude person.
May 28, 2025
excellent
October 27, 2009
Well, it was good in that there were a lot of deaf characters. More than two! It takes place in the 50's and we get a glimpse of how it was harder to be a deaf person if you were also black. Not that the main character is black, of course. She's a white hearing girl.
And the main character is most of the problem with this book. She does some really uncaring, unthinking, wrong things and I have trouble understanding why she's doing them when she's doing them. She sneaks into a tenant's locked rock to rummage through and steal the woman's dead husband's clothes so she can pull a prank on her sister. And instead finds love letters from some other guy and takes one of those! And that's not the only wrong thing she does, but it's the one that rubbed me completely the wrong way. Skip Sunday school? Fine. Hum during church? I don't care. But violating someone's privacy like that? For no good reason?
Almost wish the book had been about her father rather than her. He's a deaf minister who travels around all over the place to preach and minister in deaf churches all over the state and out of it.
And the main character is most of the problem with this book. She does some really uncaring, unthinking, wrong things and I have trouble understanding why she's doing them when she's doing them. She sneaks into a tenant's locked rock to rummage through and steal the woman's dead husband's clothes so she can pull a prank on her sister. And instead finds love letters from some other guy and takes one of those! And that's not the only wrong thing she does, but it's the one that rubbed me completely the wrong way. Skip Sunday school? Fine. Hum during church? I don't care. But violating someone's privacy like that? For no good reason?
Almost wish the book had been about her father rather than her. He's a deaf minister who travels around all over the place to preach and minister in deaf churches all over the state and out of it.
September 5, 2011
Singing Hands
____________________________________
This book is about a girl named Gussie Davis, she is the the daughter of two deaf parents. Gussies parents are proud owners of Saint Jude's Church for the deaf in Birmingham, Alabama. One day a hearing girl comes to Gussie's church and discovers that Gussie pretends that she can't hear at church sometimes, so the other hearing visitor goes and alerts Gussie's father and he wasn't angry with Gussie he just thought she wanted to be around other hearing children so he sent her to a church in Downtown Burmingham. Gussie goes to the church once and she is scared that someone might find out that her parents are deaf. So she starts to skip church, Gussie takes her offering money and spends it at a drug store. Reverend Davis takes Gussie to a church for the deaf and blind and there Gussie can learns to relate to different people and how to respect the fact that her parents are deaf.
____________________________________
This book is about a girl named Gussie Davis, she is the the daughter of two deaf parents. Gussies parents are proud owners of Saint Jude's Church for the deaf in Birmingham, Alabama. One day a hearing girl comes to Gussie's church and discovers that Gussie pretends that she can't hear at church sometimes, so the other hearing visitor goes and alerts Gussie's father and he wasn't angry with Gussie he just thought she wanted to be around other hearing children so he sent her to a church in Downtown Burmingham. Gussie goes to the church once and she is scared that someone might find out that her parents are deaf. So she starts to skip church, Gussie takes her offering money and spends it at a drug store. Reverend Davis takes Gussie to a church for the deaf and blind and there Gussie can learns to relate to different people and how to respect the fact that her parents are deaf.
August 25, 2013
Because of my fascination with sign language, I decided to read Singing Hands by Delia Ray this August. In Ray's novel, a young hearing girl born of deaf parents, Gussie, struggles to find her place in the world between the deaf culture she grew up in and the hearing culture that becomes more apparent the older she grows.
There were many reasons I found this book an unpleasant read. For one, the summary on the back didn't explain the story well;I expected a completely different story line. After beginning, I figured I would still read the book, but as I progressed, the story moved slowly. Also, there were many characters, and I found it difficult to keep track of where everyone belonged in the story. There were also many parts of the story (setting, conflict, etc.) that simply weren't clear. I expected deaf culture to be mentioned more, as well. That was a disappointment for me.
I wouldn't recommend this book for most people because of the reasons above and also the subject. While I'm sure many people can relate to feeling a bit confused in their world, the specific story itself is likely to not be relatable for many readers.
There were many reasons I found this book an unpleasant read. For one, the summary on the back didn't explain the story well;I expected a completely different story line. After beginning, I figured I would still read the book, but as I progressed, the story moved slowly. Also, there were many characters, and I found it difficult to keep track of where everyone belonged in the story. There were also many parts of the story (setting, conflict, etc.) that simply weren't clear. I expected deaf culture to be mentioned more, as well. That was a disappointment for me.
I wouldn't recommend this book for most people because of the reasons above and also the subject. While I'm sure many people can relate to feeling a bit confused in their world, the specific story itself is likely to not be relatable for many readers.
June 23, 2008
This is one of those "you can't judge a book by its cover" kind of books. Honestly, of the stack of books I took with me on my vacation, this was the last one I read. The cover absolutely did not appeal to me at all and I wasn't in the mood for another one of those stories with a "lesson." Happily, the book is delightful and many young readers will like Gussie Davis, the main character. Gussie, short for Augusta, is a twelve-year-old girl with a penchant for mischievous pranks. She is the daughter of deaf parents and her father is a minister to boot! It is set in 1948 which lends a historical context to the story but it is never heavy handed. And though Gussie does indeed learn some valuable lessons over that summer, the story does not come across as corny or preachy. Students who know sign language or are interested in learning sign language will appreciate the chapter titles.
October 9, 2011
Ray, Delia. Singing Hands. ISBN-13: 978-0-618-65762-9.
Rating ***.
Summary: Gussie and her sisters Nell and Margret are hearing children born to deaf parents. Their dad is the preacher at the local church. Gussie experiences several adventures that help her come to accept her parent's world.
Main characters:
Gussie Davis is a twelve year old girl who has troubles finding where she belongs in life. She wants to fit in.She is an adeventorus girl who thinks everyone is giving up on her.
Mrs. Fernley rents a room in the Davis house. She offered help to Mr. and Mrs. Davis when Gussie gets in trouble.
Abe is a little boy who is deaf. Reverend Davis takes him under his wing. The family works with Abe to get him to attend the ASD (Alabama School for the Deaf.
Key issues: family, deafness, religion.
Other interesting information: This story takes place in the late 1940s where schools down south were still seperate based on color.
Rating ***.
Summary: Gussie and her sisters Nell and Margret are hearing children born to deaf parents. Their dad is the preacher at the local church. Gussie experiences several adventures that help her come to accept her parent's world.
Main characters:
Gussie Davis is a twelve year old girl who has troubles finding where she belongs in life. She wants to fit in.She is an adeventorus girl who thinks everyone is giving up on her.
Mrs. Fernley rents a room in the Davis house. She offered help to Mr. and Mrs. Davis when Gussie gets in trouble.
Abe is a little boy who is deaf. Reverend Davis takes him under his wing. The family works with Abe to get him to attend the ASD (Alabama School for the Deaf.
Key issues: family, deafness, religion.
Other interesting information: This story takes place in the late 1940s where schools down south were still seperate based on color.
April 17, 2008
I almost quit reading this, 'cause at first it wasn't grabbing my attention, but I pesevered and I'm glad I did. It turned out to be a nice story, and in the end I really liked and was proud of the main character "Gussie". Through the events of the book -- most specifically the trip she takes with her father to the Alabama School for the Deaf -- the reader watches Gussie (who's parents are both deaf, but she is NOT) "grow up" and find her place and become more comfortable in the deaf society, which although she has grown up with, up to this point, she hasn't necessarily felt like she fit into.
April 13, 2015
I started reading this book for my Literature for Children class. It features Augusta "Gussie" Davis. She is the hearing child of two death parents, and doesn't really know where she fits. The book opens with her getting into trouble for humming songs during services at one of the many death churches her father pastors. Her father sends her to the hearing church on the other side of town. She doesn't fit in there either. The book follows Gussie as she gets into more scrapes, some hilarious and some that make you really disappointed in her. In the end, Gussie discovers herself and her place in the world. It's a really beautiful book and I enjoyed it.
October 23, 2007
I just have begun to read this book. So far I have learned Gussie is a frustrated girl who is a middle daughter. Her parents are deaf and her father is a minister of the deaf community and never home.
So far I am only half way through but I am excited to finish it to see how far Gussie will go to get her Father's attention and who are all these mysterious boarders in their building anyway?? What are their connections to her Father?
So far I am only half way through but I am excited to finish it to see how far Gussie will go to get her Father's attention and who are all these mysterious boarders in their building anyway?? What are their connections to her Father?
June 29, 2012
Gussie Davis is one of 3 hearing sisters born to deaf parents. Her father is a busy preacher trying to serve several congreations of hearing impaired. Gussie is a real character hummin during his services where no one buy her sisters can hear and playing a trick on her older sister that backfires. With the help of 2 boarders living in her home and assisting at a school for the deaf, Gusssie finally develops into a wonderful young lady and finds out what integrity means. Great
February 8, 2016
It's the summer 1948 in Alabama, and twelve-year-old Gussie, the hearing daughter of deaf parents, is bored. This is Gussie's journey through doing things she knows she shouldn't, making them right again, and coming out the other side a little more mature. The setting makes the story. What's also quite lovely is that the author based a lot of the story on her own mother's experiences as a hearing daughter of deaf parents. Do read the author's note in the back.
January 5, 2008
Technically Delia's books are for young readers, but she is a writer that will appeal to adults as well. Singing Hands details the life of young Gussie Davis who is the hearing child of deaf parents. Rebellious Gussie is a compelling character.
August 21, 2008
This book is based on actual events in the lives of the author's mother & grandparents. It is interesting to read about choirs of deaf people "singing" with their hands & to realize some of the difficulties experienced by hearing children of deaf parents. This is BOB & WAW.
November 20, 2012
Writer lives in Iowa City. (There are a lot of those.) This was in the juvenile fiction section so is an easy read, but quite entertaining. Recreates the south of 1948, particularly the deaf culture. Author draws on her mother's stories of being a hearing child of deaf parents.
July 31, 2008
A look into deaf culture set in 1948 Alabama from the viewpoint of the hearing daughter of deaf parents. Based on the author's parents
Read
March 5, 2009JAR5-Ray
April 1, 2009
This was a delightful book.
July 9, 2009
This was a really good book. Thanks Mrs. Dixon!
Currently reading
May 13, 2010Setting: Alabama. Cast: A minister and his family. Told from the point-of-view of the daughter. Written by a former Alabama resident.
July 8, 2010
Excellent historical fiction with fascinating information about the deaf community in the late 1940s. A variety of interesting characters keep the story moving quickly.
February 8, 2011
I love the fact that it had deaf characters since I have never read a book before with deaf characters. But it was boring.
June 28, 2011
This is one of Luke's Battle of Books selections, a very sweet story about a young girl growing up with deaf parents.
November 16, 2011
The book was quite well written.
The plot stayed on track and it's on of those 'don't judge a book by its cover books'.
I faded in and out of the story a bit, but at the end I was satisfied.
The plot stayed on track and it's on of those 'don't judge a book by its cover books'.
I faded in and out of the story a bit, but at the end I was satisfied.
Read
June 8, 2013Age of character: twelve, had one older and two younger sisters.
Context: Character is hearing while family and community is deaf. 1948. Dad is a pastor. She is a rebel.
Events:
Context: Character is hearing while family and community is deaf. 1948. Dad is a pastor. She is a rebel.
Events:
August 19, 2013
A good book
May 1, 2014
First getting into this book wasn't so easy but if you give it some time, it turns out to be quite good! I really liked the ending also.
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