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Hi y’all! I’m Karlie Waldrip—a proud deaf children’s book author and former deaf education teacher from Texas with four years of classroom experience. Born deaf, I was raised using both spoken language and sign language. I wore hearing aids growing up and later chose to get cochlear implants to better access sounds around me. My life experience as a deaf person has deeply shaped my passion for representation, inclusion, and empowerment in early literacy.

I’m the author of I Deaf-initely Can, Rhett the Heeler and We Deaf-initely Can, Let the Adventures Begin—inspiring children’s books told from the perspective of my deaf rescue dog, Rhett. I adopted Rhett from a small-town Texas shelter and gave him a voice to help educate the world about the beauty and capability of deaf dogs. Through these stories, sharing deaf culture, language, and resilience, hoping to inspire both deaf/hard-of-hearing and hearing children to believe in themselves. The books feature deaf characters and are brought to life by deaf illustrator Lucy Rogers.

Thank you for supporting our journey—let’s continue to educate the world, one book at a time!