"I am delighted to be a part of Signed Stories. Because my mother was deaf, not completely but she was deaf enough to find it difficult in company, I’ve always empathised with deaf people which is why I agreed so readily to come in on this.

The stories become more alive if someone is reading them. Sharing stories is a wonderful thing and I think that children who grow up sharing stories with adults have that extra step up in life that they can share their imagination with others. My father read to me and I never forgot that... it’s common ground between adults and children."

Mary Arrigan is an award-winning Irish author and illustrator who has written books including ‘Pa Jinglebob: The Fastest Knitter in the West’ and ‘Grimstone's Ghost’. Her awards include the White Raven Award for ‘The Dwellers Beneath’ and the Bisto Merit award for ‘A Day with Gran’. Mary studied at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin and taught art for 18 years before leaving the profession to become a fulltime children’s author in 1994.