Child's Play

Signed Stories

Signed Stories brings traditional picture books alive through sign language, simple animation
and storytelling.

Launched in February 2009 as part of ITV's Corporate and Social Responsibility initiative, the Signed Stories website offers children, their families and teachers all around the world the opportunity to enjoy some of the best contemporary children's stories. The free online library offers stories in British Sign Language, text, animation, pictures, narration and sound.

See the Child's Play titles that are available on the website by clicking here.

In light of the success of the initiative ITV are now launching the new Signed Stories App. The initial launch of the App is in an exclusive partnership with Child's Play and will only feature books from our range. This is a great recognition of the high quality of our products and our precedent for being both diverse and inclusive in our publishing while still creating imaginative, enagaging, and entertaining children's books.

The App has been developed in response to feedback from teachers, who tell us that they struggle to find accessible resources that can be used with children of different abilities, particularly in mainstream classrooms where there are deaf children and those with special educational needs.

Sign language is enormously helpful for teachers. Basic sign language is easy to learn and it adds interest, emotion and expression to storytime for all children, but particularly for reluctant readers.

Deaf children and children with delayed speech and communication difficulties benefit from learning sign language and being around children and adults who also sign - it’s an opportunity for you to create genuine inclusion in your classroom for children who otherwise would be left out.

And you don’t need to be fluent in sign language, picking out key signs and learning those signs is a great way to start.

Storybooks on mobile devices are perfect for children who find reading difficult; they’re intuitive, interactive and they’re ‘cool’. They don’t mark children as different and they help create a positive shared experience. Schools are increasingly moving away from hard-wired computers and onto mobile devices.

The Signed Stories app for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch is designed for teachers and families, creating real synergy between home and school. Some of the best modern books are available with animation, illustration, subtitles, narration and music. They will enhance your classroom storytime and encourage children to read for pleasure, individually and together.

Download the free app now and get Three Billy Goats Gruff for free. Each book comes with two sign language games and ten signed dictionary words to extend learning. Story notes to help you select books and plan after-story activities are also provided.

Child’s Play books available on the app now:

1. Dingo Dog and the Billabong Storm
2. First Time Nursery
3. Stone Soup
4. The Ant and the Big Bad Bully Goat
5. The Cloud
6. The Cockerel, the Mouse and The Little Red Hen
7. The Elves and the Shoemaker
8. The Flower
9. The Frog Prince
10. The Lost Stars
11. Three Billy Goats Gruff
12. Three Little Pigs
13. Rabbit Cooks up a Cunning Plan
14. Hansel and Gretel