Jessi's Secret Language Read Online Free PDF

her voice and her hands at the same time. “Home from school.”
    The boy was Matt, of course, and his face broke into a grin just like Haley’s, with a dimple on the right side of his mouth. He waved to his mother and then ran to her for a hug.
    â€œBelieve it or not,” Mrs. Braddock said to me, “that wave was the sign for ‘hello.’ It’s also the sign for ‘good-bye.’”
    â€œThat’s easy to remember,” I said.
    Mrs. Braddock turned Matt so that he could look at me. Then she turned him back to her and once again began signing and talking at the same time. She was introducing us.
    â€œIs there a sign for my name ?” I asked, amazed.
    â€œThat’s a good question,” Mrs. Braddock replied. “And the answer is ‘Not exactly,’ or perhaps, ‘Not yet.’ What I did just now was spell your name. I used finger spelling, which I’ll explain later. However, since it takes too long to spell out names we use a lot, such as our own names, or the names of Matt’s teacher and his friends at school, we make up signs for those people.” Mrs. Braddocksigned something to Matt, saying at the same time, “Matt, show Jessi the sign for your name.”
    Matt grinned. Then he held up one hand and sort of flew it through the air.
    â€œThat,” said Mrs. Braddock, “is the letter M for Matt being tossed like a baseball. Matt loves sports.”
    â€œOh!” I exclaimed. “Neat.”
    â€œShow Jessi the sign for Haley,” Mrs. Braddock instructed Matt.
    Another hand flew through the air.
    â€œThat was the letter H soaring like Halley’s Comet. When you know finger spelling, you’ll be able to tell the signs apart more easily. Also, we’ll have to give you a sign soon.”
    Mrs. Braddock asked Haley to take Matt into the kitchen then and fix him a snack. When we were alone again, she began showing me signs.
    â€œThe word you is easy,” she told me. “Just point to the person you’re talking to.”
    (What do you know? I thought. My father knows sign language!)
    â€œTo sign want ,” Mrs. Braddock went on, “hold your hands out like this — palms up, fingers relaxed — and pull them toward you, curling your fingers in slightly.”
    Mrs. Braddpck went on and on. She showedme signs for foods, for parts of the body, and for the words bathroom , play , and come . Finally she said, “I think that’s enough for one day. I’m going to start dinner. Why don’t you take Matt and Haley downstairs to the rec room so you can get to know them better?”
    The Braddocks’ rec room looked like any other rec room — a TV, a couple of couches, a shelf full of books, and plenty of toys.
    â€œAsk Matt what he wants to play,” I said to Haley.
    Haley obediently signed to her brother, a questioning look on her face. Matt signed back.
    â€œHe wants to read,” Haley told me.
    â€œRead!” I cried. “He can read?”
    â€œWell, he is seven,” Haley pointed out, “and he’s been in school since he was two. It’s really important for him to be able to read and write.”
    Of course, I thought. Reading and writing are other ways to communicate.
    Matt found a picture book and curled up with it.
    â€œHow can I get to know him if he reads?” I wondered out loud.
    â€œHow about getting to know me ?” asked Haley impatiently, and she shot a brief look of annoyance at her brother. Luckily he didn’t notice.That one annoyed look said a lot. Something was going on between Matt and Haley, I thought, but I wasn’t sure what.
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    That night I finished my homework and settled into bed with the American Sign Language Dictionary . Tons of questions came to me, and I wrote them down so that I’d remember to ask Mrs. Braddock. How do you sign a question? Do you make a question mark with your fingers? How do you make a