Although we may not think we notice them, storefronts and their signage are meaningful, and the impact they have on people is significant. What the Signs Say argues that the public language of storefronts is a key component to the creation of the place known as Brooklyn, New York. Using a sample of more than two thousand storefronts and over a decade of ethnographic observation and interviews, the study charts two very different types of local Brooklyn retail signage. The unique and consistent features of many words, large lettering, and repetition that make up Old School signage both mark and produce an inclusive and open place. In contrast, the linguistic elements of New School signage, such as brevity and wordplay, signal not only the arrival of gentrification, but also the remaking of Brooklyn as distinctive and exclusive. Shonna Trinch and Edward Snajdr, a sociolinguist and an anthropologist respectively, show how the beliefs and ideas that people take as truths about language and its speakers are deployed in these different sign types. They also present in-depth ethnographic case studies that reveal how gentrification and corporate redevelopment in Brooklyn are intimately connected to public communication, literacy practices, the transformation of motherhood and gender roles, notions of historical preservation, urban planning, and systems of privilege. Far from peripheral or irrelevant, shop signs say loud and clear that language displayed in public always matters.

When the road signs take a vacation, chaos and hilarity ensue--and they quickly learn how important they are. School is ending for the summer, and the stick figures on the school crossing sign are jealous of all the vacation plans they hear the students making. The stick figures work hard--maybe they deserve a vacation, too! So they abandon their signpost and set off on an adventure, inviting along all the other underappreciated road signs they meet on the way. It's all fun and games for a while, especially when they stumble upon a fantastic amusement park. But the people they've left behind are feeling their absence, and soon there are traffic tangles and lost pedestrians everywhere. The signs are more important than they realized, and now it's time for them to save the day!

"Laura Lynne Jackson is a psychic medium and the author of the New York Times bestseller The Light Between Us. She possesses an incredible gift--the ability to communicate with loved ones who have passed, convey messages of love and healing, and impart a greater understanding of our interconnectedness. Though her abilities are exceptional, they are not unique, and that is the message at the core of this book. Understanding "the secret language of the universe" is a gift available to all. As we learn to ask for and recognize signs from the other side, we will start to find meaning where before there was only confusion, we will see light in the darkness. We may decide to change paths, push toward love, pursue joy, and engage with life in a whole new way. In Signs, Jackson is able to bring the mystical into the everyday. She relates stories of people who have experienced these uncanny revelations and instances of unexplained synchronicity, as well as those drawn from her own experience. There's the producer whose lost child appears to her as a deer that approaches her unhesitatingly at a highway rest stop; the name tag of an ER nurse that lets a terrified wife know that her husband will be okay; the Elvis Presley song that arrives at the exact time of her own father's passing; and many others. This is a book that is both inspiring and practical, deeply comforting and wonderfully motivational in asking us to see beyond ourselves to a more magnificent universal design"--

Jane, a superstitious fangirl, takes an anonymous babysitting job to avoid an unpaid internship with her college-obsessed mom. The only problem? She's babysitting the siblings of her childhood friend and new crush, Teo. Teo doesn't dislike Jane, but his best friend Ravi hates her, and is determined to keep them apart. So Teo's pretty sure his plans for a peaceful summer are shot. His only hope is that his intermittent search for his birth father will finally pan out and he'll find a new, less awkward home. Meanwhile, at Jane's house, her sister Margo wants to come out as bisexual, but she's terrified of how her parents will react. In a summer filled with secrets and questions, even Jane's Magic 8 ball can't give them clear answers, but Signs Point to Yes.

Long before they're able to talk, babies have a whole lot to say! Widen their world with this delightful modern classic—a must-have for growing families and a perfect baby shower or new-baby gift. With this adorable board book of essential signs, babies and toddlers can easily learn how to communicate their needs, wants, and feelings and even make basic observations with a simple gesture. Studies show that babies who use sign language feel less frustrated, throw fewer tantrums, and often learn to talk more easily. Just point to a sign in the book, say the word while making the sign, and the baby will soon be signing. Communicating a wet diaper or a hungry belly, asking for help or saying "all done" becomes as easy as waving hello or good-bye. And these are just a few of the thirteen signs inside this small and adorably illustrated board book, perfect for little hands and minds to grasp.