El Deafo by Cece Bell

 
“And being different? That turned out to be the best part of all. I found that with a little creativity, and a lot of dedication, any difference can be turned into something amazing. Our differences are our superpowers.”

Bibliography:

Bell, Cece. 2014. El Deafo. Color by David Lasky. New York: Amulet Books. ISBN: 9781419710209

Plot Summary:
In this autobiographical graphic novel, Cece is four years old when she loses hearing from a serious meningitis illness.  As she adapts to her new hearing aids, Cece soon discovers how different she is from everyone around her. Until Cece starts kindergarten and meets other kids who are just like her. But as Cece grows older, she no longer has a class dedicated to people with her disability, and she gets a new hearing aid called The Phonic Ear. The Phonic Ear is a unique hearing device that allows Cece's teachers to speak directly into a microphone that helps her hear them. She soon figures out that she cannot only hear her teachers from inside their classrooms but anywhere in the entire school building! With this new development of superpower hearing abilities, Cece imagines herself as a super-hearing superhero named El Deafo. As Cece discovers the true meaning of friendship, nice crushes, and inclusiveness, with the help of El Deafo, she learns that she can overcome any challenge set before her. 

Critical Analysis:
El Deafo by Cece Bell is an autobiographical graphic novel adaptation about the author's real-life experiences growing up deaf and using The Phonic Ear. Bell's depiction of herself as the protagonist Cece illustrated with rabbit characteristic is honest and authentic. Cece is a critical character whose emotional growth is more significant than the plot of the story. The author's style incorporates believable language from the perspective of a young girl navigating dialogue through lip reading, gestural clues, and wanting to fit in. Readers will easily step into Cece's shoes when seeing how she misinterprets people's words, such as mistaking Coke for goat and juice for shoes. 

El Deafo presents plausible true-to-life realistic fiction, especially since the story is based on the author's memoirs. The narrative timeline is set in the 1970s, but it seems as if the story were taking place today and doesn't feel like a historical graphic novel. Throughout the book, there are many themes, such as friendship, inclusion, isolation, and family, which will speak to all readers of any age in this coming-of-age tale. The account of Cece Bell's life accurately represents people with disabilities and real-life relatable issues. Overall, the charming illustrations, engaging plot, and dynamic characters bring this fantastic story to life, and readers will learn something new, from the first-person perspective of a person with a hearing disability to normalizing treating all of our friends with respect and care.

Review Excerpts:
Awards & Recognitions:
  • 2014 Kirkus Prize Nominee for Young Readers' Literature Finalist 
  • 2015 Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children's Literature
  • 2015 Newbery Medal Nominee
  • 2015 NCTE Charlotte Huck Honor Book
  • 2015 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards for Best Publication for Kids
  • 2016 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award
  • 2017 Bluestem Book Award
  • 2017 Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award Nominee
From The Horn Book, "This memoir is thus exceptionally informative and entertaining in relation to some aspects of deaf communication, but, most centrally and powerfully, it is exceptional for its perceptive, indomitable protagonist and complex story of friendship, growth, and classroom and family dynamics."

From New York Times Book Review, "Bell’s book should be an inspiration for those who are ‘different,’ and it should help others to understand just what being different means. Required reading isn’t always fun reading. El Deafo should be the first and is definitely the second."

From School Library Journal, "This warmly and humorously illustrated full-color graphic novel set in the suburban ‘70s has all the gripping characters and inflated melodrama of late childhood: a crush on a neighborhood boy, the bossy friend, the too-sensitive-to-her-Deafness friend, and the perfect friend, scared away."

Connections:
  • The Phonic Ear helps Cece discover her superpower ability to listen to her teach anywhere within the school building. Encourage patrons or students to discuss what their superpowers would be if they could choose one. Super listening abilities, like Cece? Super speed? Invisibility? Share what your superpower would be to spark the conversation with the class or group. 
  • In honor of graphic novels, teach children how to create a zine following this kid-friendly tutorial: How to Make a Zine: A Kid-Friendly DIY Guide by Celia C. Pérez. Once the zine books are finished, ask everyone to decorate their very own graphic novel. Children can come up with stories, doodle, or contribute to a collaborative zine by working together.
Check out more children's graphic novels about people with disabilities:
  • Lambert, Joseph. Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller. ISBN: 9781423113362
  • Magruder, Nilah. M.F.K.: Book One. ISBN: 9781683830047
  • Selznick, Brian. Wonderstruck. ISBN: 9780545027892
Extra Content: To Kick Those Boredom Blues

Watch this video of author Cece Bell explain how The Phonic Ear works!