According to Grammar Monster, an idiom is a commonly used expression whose meaning does not relate to the literal meaning of its words. Here in the south where I live we use them all the time and are likely to make up a few of our own.

I’m letting the cat out of the bag on this one. My friend Vonda Bland Hamilton has recently released her book for deaf children to help them understand the idioms we use everyday without even thinking about them. Her book is called Letting the Cat out of the Bag. If I signed “letting the cat out of the bag” a deaf child may have difficulty understanding the meaning. Who would put a cat in a bag? The cat would be scratching and clawing and screeching. That’s not the meaning of the phrase at all! It means to share a secret.

Vonda’s book shares the secrets of idioms with deaf and hearing children. The book is set up very logically. The illustrator, Samantha Smith, drew a kid-friendly picture depicting the expression. Then Vonda wrote the idiom beneath the picture. The next page gives the meaning of the idiom with a picture of the meaning. Lastly, Vonda relates the idiom to a scripture verse.

Mrs. Hamilton has an idiom for each letter of the alphabet but there are so many more. She and her husband Steve are missionaries with the Deaf with Expressions of Emmanuel. Her book, which also contains a DVD, can be purchased through Expressions of Emmanuel. You don’t have to be deaf to enjoy Vonda’s book. We can all have fun playing with expressions and learning how to apply scripture to the words we share.

You can learn more about Vonda and her family by visiting the website www..expressionsofemmanuel.com

I hope this book brings a ray of sunshine into your learning this summer.

Gail Cartee

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