KJ Martin Jr. stands 6 feet, 8 inches tall. He’s a forward on University of Tulsa’s basketball team and, at 18 years old, he’s considered quiet. At least, that’s how his dad describes him — partly because he doesn’t always use words to speak.
The father-son duo are fluent in American Sign Language after learning by being around a deaf family member.
“I kind of was introduced at a younger age than most. I think by the age of 4 I was really signing a lot,” KJ said. “I’ve been around it my whole life.”
Now, they want to share their life experiences with Tulsa’s youth in their new children’s book, “Kasey’s Outdoor Adventure.” The story follows a young boy named Kasey who is hard of hearing and teaches his friends how to use sign language.
The book is the 13th installment in the Shelly’s Adventures series, which follows a young girl with a deaf father who traverses through everyday scenarios and teaches her friends sign language.
Kentrell said having a deaf brother — KJ’s uncle — helped him recognize the importance of knowing different ways to communicate. That lesson ultimately led to the creation of the award-winning series.
“When I started the company, Shelly’s Adventures, the goal (was to bridge) the gap between the deaf and the hearing world,” he said.
Now, KJ plans to use both the royalties and his name, image and likeness earnings as a college athlete to donate a copy to Tulsa Public Schools for each book sold.
Giving children the chance to learn sign language at a young age is paramount to their mission. Kentrell routinely makes school visits across the country, and even in Sweden and Greece, to advertise the Shelly’s Adventures series and teach kids sign language.
“(Kids are) like sponges, they take in so much,” he said. “From a young age, kids can actually start signing before they can even speak, because with speaking they have to wait ‘til they are able to pronounce certain things. But they can start signing as early as six months.”
He noted that children aren’t the only ones who can — and should — learn sign language. He urged adults to take initiative in learning how to communicate using ASL so that deaf students aren’t left behind. In his experience, deaf students often aren’t given adequate resources to help navigate school.
“The education system doesn’t educate teachers (on how to handle) a deaf student. Many times deaf students are put into situations where they have a very big disadvantage, because the school may not have the proper training or awareness,” Kentrell said.
Some schools, like midtown’s Patrick Henry Elementary, offer students a deaf education program with certified specialists.
“Kasey’s Outdoor Adventure,” which releases April 15 and is now available for pre-order, will be the second book the Martins have written together. They published “Kasey’s First Day of Basketball Practice” a decade ago.
It follows Kasey, who ditches his hearing aid in fear of appearing different. Alongside the book, KJ appeared in the documentary “Reach to the Stars.”
“So being in that and just being able to have a book at the age of 10 was just amazing,” KJ said.
KJ is adding “Division I athlete” to his resume. The family, including his parents and brother, relocated from Florida last year to support the college freshman.
As for “Kasey’s Outdoor Adventure,” Kentrell said the plan is to work with local bookstores in the city to make it as accessible as possible. While the original goal was to introduce kids to a new language, he says their mission now is much broader. Readers will see that differences don’t have to be “weird.”
“The kids are the future,” he said. “They see somebody who’s deaf or with a hearing aid or anything like that — it’s not different and weird (now), like they’ve seen it before. They understand that we’re all different.”
Ismael Lele is a Report for America corps member and writes about business in Tulsa for The Oklahoma Eagle. Your donation to match our Report for America grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting this link.
