Florida author writes to teach kids about sign language, financial matters

Gainesville native Kentrell Martin is living his dream.

He is an award-winning author of American Sign Language books who travels the country on book tours, visiting schools, and teaching American Sign Language.

And, in December, Martin will go on his first book tour abroad, where he will teach American Sign Language at an English-speaking school in Sweden.

Martin and his wife, Allison, also of Gainesville, who is a finance journalist and educator who also travels the country facilitating financial literacy and business workshops, co-authored the latest book, “Shelly Goes to the Bank,” which is a chapter book that introduces children of all ages to banking in a fun and relatable way.

Allison and Kentrell and their sons, Kentrell Jr., and Kasey, 6, live in Oxford, near The Villages.

Other books in the Shelly’s Adventure Series, which tells the story of an 8-year-old-girl whose father is deaf, include “Shelly’s Outdoor Adventure” and “Shelly Goes to the Zoo,” which are picture books with accompanying DVDs, and “Kasey’s First Day at Basketball Practice,” also a chapter book that Kentrell Martin co-authored with his 10-year-old son, Kentrell Jr.

“We’re the publishers. We do everything inhouse,” said Allison Martin. In “Shelly Goes to the Bank,” Shelly and her dad go to the bank, where she learns about opening a bank account, basic checking and interestbearing checking accounts, debit cards, credit cards, paying bills online, making direct deposits, types of savings accounts, money market accounts and more.

The book is interactive and full of resources to test your knowledge, said Allison Martin.

“Financial literacy is not about frugality and pinching pennies,” she added. “It’s about making your money work for you and financial freedom.”

“This is a dream come true,” Kentrell Martin said. “My ultimate goal is to get books into animation.”