Need a Good Sign Language Book?

I found all the best ones!

I have searched and searched for the best sign language books. I have checked them out and read their reviews. Fortunately, I found a whole bunch of them. Some of these books are good for use in the classroom while others are great if you are a self-learner.

	Have You Ever Seen...? An American Sign Language Handshape DVD/Book by Smith I love this book! If you have the chance to buy it, do it! This book illustrates 44 handshapes in fun, bright colored illustrations with rhymes and cultural vignettes. This book truly shows what ASL and Deaf culture is all about. It is fun, great for all ages, and a wonderful book that was required for my Intro to Deaf Studies class. This is a perfect introduction to ASL, and I highly recommend it.
	American Sign Language The Easy Way by David A. Stewart I have not personally used this book to learn ASL, but I have seen it and I have also heard wonderful things about it. This book is very good for the self-learner, and is very accurate. If you want to learn basic ASL, this is the book for you. I recommend it!
	Talking With Your Hands, Listening With Your Eyes: A Complete Photographic Guide to American Sign Language by Gabriel Grayson I absolutely love this book! When researching for the Start ASL website, this book was a wonderful resource. Not only does it have wonderful information about Deaf culture, Deaf history, famous Deaf people, hearing loss, and the Deaf community (which is what I primarily used it for), it illustrates sign language vocabulary like no other book. If you are starting out and want to increase your ASL vocabulary, this is the book for you. It organizes the signs by category and progressively teaches you more and more signs. The pictures are the easiest to understand than any other book I have seen. I highly recommend this book!
	Signing Illustrated (Revised Edition): The Complete Learning Guide by Mickey Flodin This book is also very popular for learning ASL. I have heard many wonderful things about it. The 1500 signs are organized by category, not alphabetically. You can also purchase the game called, "Sign It!" because the game apparently uses this book for reference. How fun!
	American Sign Language Dictionary-Flexi by Martin L. Sternberg This is the dictionary that I own and love. My wonderful aunt gave it to me as a gift while I was attending college, and it's been a great resource ever since. It's a huge book and explains more than 5,000 signs and has over 8,000 illustrations. You definitely need to have a dictionary like this if you are learning American Sign Language! When you want to look up an obscure word, it's most likely in here!
	The American Sign Language Handshape Dictionary by Richard A. Tennant This is a great resource in that the dictionary is organized by handshape, not by word. This way, when you see a sign, you are able to look it up to learn what it means. I highly recommend this book for the ASL learner.
	From Mime to Sign by Gilbert C. Eastman This book was required for the Classifiers class at CSUN. It shows over 1,000 photos that illustrate how gestures, mime, and facial expression can form the basis of learning ASL. I recommend this book if you are just starting out or want to brush up on your knowledge of classifiers.
	Random House Webster's American Sign Language Dictionary by Elaine Costello This dictionary is a great resource to have. It not only illustrates vocabulary in ASL (the pictures are good, but not the best), but also idiomatic expressions. Knowing expressions like these is very important when engaging in an actual conversation with a Deaf person. I recommend this dictionary for anyone learning sign language.
	Religious Signing: A Comprehensive Guide For All Faiths by Elaine Costello If you want to learn religious signs, or plan to interpret church services, this book is wonderful! It's a great comprehensive guide and is easy to understand. I highly recommend it!
	The Gallaudet Survival Guide to Signing by Leonard Lane This book is great if you just want to learn some basic ASL. With only 500 words, it really does just teach you the basics. You can even give it to your friends who are interested in learning a little. I highly recommend this book as a resource for everyone.
	Learning American Sign Language: Levels I & II--Beginning & Intermediate (2nd Edition) by Tom L. Humphries Like the Signing Naturally series, this book would be best used in a class with the help of an instructor. I don't think this book would be very good for learning ASL on your own. The signing in the videos is very fast and not very good for people just beginning to learn ASL. If you know what you're doing, though, and you want a good challenge, then maybe this book is for you.
	Signing Naturally: Student Videotext and Workbook Level 1 (Vista American Sign Language Series Functional Notional Appr) by Cheri Smith This is book 1/3 for the Signing Naturally series. This is the textbook that I learned from when taking formal ASL classes, and also the book I refer to for writing my online lessons. I highly recommend this series for use in the classroom. When learning on your own, this series might be a little confusing. It is really meant to be taught with a class. However, if you are taking my online classes and wish to supplement what you learn with more practice, then I recommend it.
	Signing Naturally, Level 2 (Book & VHS Tape) by Ken Mikos This is book 2/3 for the Signing Naturally series. This is the textbook that I learned from when taking formal ASL classes, and also the book I refer to for writing my online lessons. I highly recommend this series for use in the classroom. When learning on your own, this series might be a little confusing. It is really meant to be taught with a class. However, if you are taking my online classes and wish to supplement what you learn with more practice, then I recommend it.
	Signing Naturally: Level 3 (Vista American Sign Languagel) by Ken Mikos This is book 3/3 for the Signing Naturally series. This is the textbook that I learned from when taking formal ASL classes, and also the book I refer to for writing my online lessons. I highly recommend this series for use in the classroom. When learning on your own, this series might be a little confusing. It is really meant to be taught with a class. However, if you are taking my online classes and wish to supplement what you learn with more practice, then I recommend it.
	Master Asl - Level One: With Dvd by Jason E. Zinza I have not personally used this book to learn ASL either, but I have heard good things about it. The book covers levels 1 and 2 of ASL (they are still working on the second book), is in color, not just in black and white, and is also more modern. I have heard that it would be a good book to use for teaching a high school ASL class, so it may not be a good book for learning ASL on your own.
	The Joy of Signing: The Illustrated Guide for Mastering Sign Language and the Manual Alphabet by Lottie L. Riekehof This is a rather old book, so it may be outdated, but it is one of the more popular American Sign Language books. Some people still find it to be a great resource. I actually think this book teaches Signed English more than true ASL.
	Basic Course in American Sign Language by Tom Humphries This text is rather old, but many classrooms (particularly high school) still use it for instruction. If you want to save some money on more expensive books, you can buy this one. Don't let the publish date push you too far away.
	Numbering in American Sign Language: Number Signs for Everyone This book was recommended for my ASL Interpreting class. It really makes numbers in ASL very clear. There are so many different ways to sign different numbers. It all depends on the context, and this is something you definitely need to learn how to decipher if you are learning ASL.

	British Sign Language: A Beginner's Guide by Donald Read When searching for a British Sign Language book, this popped up everywhere! It was published in 1988, but seems like it is still a great resource. If you want to learn some basic British Sign Language, then this is for you!
	Dictionary of British Sign Language/English This is a very comprehensive dictionary for learning British Sign Language signs. I haven't found another book that really adds up to this one. A dictionary like this with 1,084 pages will definitely increase your British Sign Language vocabulary!
	The Linguistics of British Sign Language: An Introduction by Rachel Sutton-Spence This is the first textbook dealing specifically with British sign linguistics. It provides essential support for learners of British Sign Language and others interested in the structure and use of BSL, and assumes no previous knowledge of linguistics and sign language. Technical terms and linguistic jargon are kept to a minimum. The book contains over three hundred illustrations and an index of signs and sign phrases. There are also exercises and a reading list for further independent study.
	An English Dictionary of Basic Japanese Signs by Japanese Federation for the Deaf This book was a required reading for my Foreign Signs class, and I recommend it if you want to learn some Japanese Sign Language!
	Spanish Sign Language by Bawcutt This is the only book I have been able to find for learning Spanish Sign Language. I can't recommend it because I haven't used it, but if you were looking for a book, here it is!
	Australian Sign Language (Auslan): An introduction to sign language linguistics by Trevor Johnston If you want to learn the linguistics of Australian Sign Language (Auslan), then this book is for you! It explains the grammar, sentence structure, syntax, and everything you wanted to know about how Auslan is structured.

I know, I know, this list is rather long. However, you can be confident that the books on this list have been researched extensively so you get what you want instead of guessing.

If you have a favorite sign language book that is not mentioned on this page, please contact me and let me know. I will gladly add it to this list.

You can also find more of my recommendations in My Library. Keep on the lookout for more sign language books to add to this list!