Emma Every Day follows the adventures of young Emma, who loves playing soccer with her friends. Emma is deaf and wears a cochlear implant. Izzy and Emma use American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate. When Izzy wants to give up, Emma and her friend Chen are determined to show Izzy how fun soccer can be.
The Emma Every Day series first came to the Teachers Books Readers blog back in April 2021 when blogger Sarah DeFelice shared the first four books in the series. Since the publication of Sarah’s post, four new titles in the series have been released: Friendship Goals, The Lemonade Stand, Roller Skating Worries, and A Trip to Grandma’s.
The series is written by author C.L. Reid. Reid has been deaf-blind since childhood. She uses ASL to communicate and received a cochlear implant as an adult to help her hear.
When I brought Emma Every Day: Friendship Goals into my third grade classroom, there was an instant waiting list to read our copy. My students loved exploring the manual alphabet in the front of the book and reading the signs included throughout the book. They found the story to be relatable, making many connections to the characters.
Back matter in the book includes a number of ASL signs relating to topics from the story. My students loved exploring these pages as a window into a communication practice that was new to them.
The Emma Every Day series is a must-have for elementary classrooms and young readers’ homes!
