Boy Bear cannot hear Dad Bear coming to wake him up in the morning but he can feel the floor vibrate with his heavy footsteps. He can only grasp little bits of what his teacher says to him at school. He cannot catch what his friends are laughing at. And, all the time, Boy Bear keeps hearing the question, Can Bears ski? What does it mean? With the support of Dad Bear, Boy Bear visits an audiologist and, eventually, he gets hearing aids. Suddenly, he understands the question everyone has been asking him: Can you hear me? Raymond draws on his own experience to show how isolating it can be for a deaf child in a hearing world.
Raymond Antrobus
Raymond Antrobus is a British-Jamaican poet and educator known for his powerful explorations of identity, language, and deafness in his work. His debut collection "The Perseverance" won the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry in 2019, making him the first poet of color and the first deaf poet to receive the prestigious award. Antrobus' poetry often blends British Sign Language with spoken English, creating a unique and immersive reading experience. His work challenges traditional notions of communication and highlights the complexities of being a deaf person of color in contemporary society. Antrobus is a trailblazer in the literary world, using his platform to advocate for greater accessibility and representation for marginalized voices in literature.