Splish, Splat!, produced in partnership with the Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf, began life as a winning entry in a competition for deaf writers, and is the first book for both author and illustrator. In it, a little boy hates the egg-yolk yellow colour of his bedroom, and is delighted when it is redecorated by a couple of painters, who happen to be deaf women.

While working on the room’s white trim, the painters begin chatting to each other – in sign language. When they bring the boy and his mother in to see their handiwork, the adults are dismayed to find that chatting with paintbrushes in their hands has resulted in a lot of white spots scattered over the navy blue walls. The boy, however, decides he likes the effect, so all is well.

Incorporating deaf characters into a story that is not specifically about deafness is valuable, as is the supportive material about signing and the explanation of how the message-relay system works to enable deaf tradespeople to take telephone calls. It’s unfortunate that the episode on which the story hinges seems to undercut the presentation of the deaf women as competent workers, since their sign language chatter results in something their employer hadn’t wanted. As a bit of silliness, however, the book works. Crawford’s colourful illustrations add to the book’s humour, especially in her hilarious details of the boy’s initial nightmares about egg yolks.