• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 3 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

A unique and much-needed collection, The Smart Princess takes readers inside the fantasies, dreams and disappointments of young people who are Deaf. This book is written and illustrated by winners of a national competition, the Ladder Awards, organized by the Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf. In one tale a princess runs away when her intolerant aunt does not allow her to sign. Another story looks at the experience of a Deaf child at a hearing school. Two strangers, one giant and one tiny, become friends despite their difficulties in seeing each other sign.

The Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf (now the Deaf Culture Centre) is the only national cultural organization for Deaf Canadians across Canada. A non-profit organization with a membership of over 450,000 Canadians, CCSD preserves and advances the performing arts, literature, history, visual arts and heritage resources of the Canadian Deaf community. All the authors and illustrators are winners of The Ladder Awards, a competition held for members of the Deaf community. They were selected from across Canada.

Canadian Cultural Centre of the Deaf's profile page

The stories are all written with a keen awareness of the senses and capture the imagination with vivid detail.

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A wonderful gift for any child to stress the importance of learning to live with our differences.

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