Cece (September 2 - El Deafo by Bell

I have been excited for this middle-grade graphic semi-autobiographical novel for the longest time! I remember when BEA was on earlier this year, lots of publishing articles were writing about how autobiographies and memoirs were a predicted trend coming to youth literature – a few titles that intrigued me were 'Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out' by Susan Kuklin, 'We Should Hang Out Sometime: Embarrassingly, a true story' by Josh Sundquist, not to mention David Burton’s 'How to Be Happy' which won the Text Prize for Young Adult and Children's Writing this year … and 'El Deafo' by Cece Bell.

'El Deafo' is Cece Bell’s semi-autobiographic graphic novel that begins when Bell is four and a half years old and contracts meningitis. During her recovery it’s discovered that she has become severely to profoundly deaf, and so begins her new life as the only deaf member of her hearing family, and the beginning of her relationship with The Phonic Ear – a hearing aid pack that she wears like a backpack and connects to her ears via cords.

I particularly loved the way that Bell portrays her gradual hearing loss – while recovering in hospital odd things start happening (like the nurses giving all the kids ice-cream, except her). The strangeness continues at home, where Bell becomes anxious when she can’t find her mother in the house. The gradual silence is expressed through speech-bubbles with fading text … and during these chapters Bell is speaking from her four-year-old perspective, unable to pinpoint exactly what’s changed in her world, but with a deep sense that something is missing.

Bell’s childhood plays out during the 1970s, so at her specialist kindergarten she – along with her fellow deaf and hard of hearing classmates – are taught how to lip-read.

This proves a complicated lesson for Bell, who details the myriad of ways that lip-reading is about a lot more than just looking at people’s lips – you have to look out for visual, context and gestural clues for one thing. And if a person is talking to you at night, with a moustache/beard, with their head turned or amongst a big group of people – all those clues are of little help.

By the time Bell’s family moved to a different town, she had done so well at kindergarten that when she started first grade, she went to a hearing school and was the only student there who had hearing loss. Outfitted with The Phonic Ear and a microphone for her teacher to wear (that transmitted to Bell’s hearing aid) it was during this time that Bell came to think of herself as El Deafo – a superhero with super hearing!

Bell explores so many facets of her childhood, and all of it is entirely relatable. From trying to extricate herself from a bossy friend, to experiencing her first crush – so much of 'El Deafo' is universal. And then there are the ways that Bell explores how her childhood was ever so slightly different and sometimes more complicated – the friend who insisted on introducing Cece as her “deaf friend” for instance, her initial embarrassments with sign-language.

'El Deafo' is also laugh-out-loud funny. Bell has hijinks with her Phonic Ear and microphone, which turns her into a fly-on-the-wall in the teacher's lounge ... and during her teacher's toilet breaks. It's great to watch Bell transform into a self-confident superhero on the page, but only when she starts being a little more honest and lets her classmates into her unique world.

I really loved 'El Deafo'. I interviewed Kayla Whaley recently, a moderator over at the wonderful Disability in KidLit blog and someone you should definitely follow on Twitter. In my Kill Your Darlings (http://tinyurl.com/n2vtpxc) interview, Whaley spoke about how important it is to show varied and positive forms of disability in youth literature – “I think that’s a point that doesn’t get made often. There are innumerable disabled experiences, not one single authoritative experience. It’s critical that we have varied portrayals, that we show young readers that their experience of disability is valid, no matter what that experience looks like.”

What’s really great about Cece Bell is that she acknowledges 'El Deafo' is very much based on her unique childhood experiences; “It is in no way a representation of what all deaf people might experience,” she says in a note from the author. She also acknowledges that many in the Deaf community do not want to “fix” themselves, or see being deaf as a disability. But she’s very honest in this book, and explores the many ways that she struggled and railed against her hearing loss – “I was a deaf kid surrounded by kids who could hear. I felt different, and in my mind, being different was not a good thing. I secretly, and openly, believed that my deafness, in making me so different, was a disability. And I was ashamed.”

These are the positive and varied portrayals that Kayla was talking about – and 'El Deafo' is such a wonderful example of how powerful such stories can be. At the end of her author’s note, Bell summarises what it took so long for her younger-self to learn: “Our differences are our superpowers!”

This is a favourite book of 2014 for me – an absolutely stunning semi-autobiographic graphic novel that middle-grade readers will love, but everyone should read!

This book was humorous, but in many ways, taught you something. When Cece Bell lost her hearing, she learned how to be courageous and brave. Her friends were nice and especially Martha, Cece's best friend. I recommend that you should read this book. It's the best book I ever have read.

I really love this book and recommend this not only to children who are deaf/hoh but to those who are parents, relatives or grand parents of children who are deaf or hoh (Hared of Hearing). Very entertaining and informative.

Great Job Cece Bell! I started wearing hearing aids when I was 4 years old (the behind the ears kind). Your book is a true, honest and clear depiction of my young life. You nailed it! Great book for children and adults.

This book was humorous, but in many ways, taught you something. When Cece Bell lost her hearing, she learned how to be courageous and brave. Her friends were nice and especially Martha, Cece's best friend. I recommend that you should read this book. It's the best book I ever have read.

I really love this book and recommend this not only to children who are deaf/hoh but to those who are parents, relatives or grand parents of children who are deaf or hoh (Hared of Hearing). Very entertaining and informative.

Great Job Cece Bell! I started wearing hearing aids when I was 4 years old (the behind the ears kind). Your book is a true, honest and clear depiction of my young life. You nailed it! Great book for children and adults.

Wonderful graphic novel with a great message. My eight year old daughter devoured this book in two short days. The story was well written and captured my daughter's attention from page one. Great book! We will anxiously await another from Cece Bell.

This book was amazing, most people say that graphic novels are easy and no one ever learns from them. They are wrong. I absolutely adored El Deafo and learned lots. I loved the characters, especially Martha, she is the character that I aspire to be; nice, funny, and just a good person. In the past I haven't read many graphic novels, but the ones I've tried (Smile,Sisters, Drama,The Terrible Two) were all awesome. Cece Bell just awed the world with this out of the ballpark novel.

My daughter, who is 11, loved this book and shared it with several of her friends. I especially enjoyed the way Bell describes in kind and humorous ways the mistakes that many kids make around people with disabilities, like students who referred to Bell as "my deaf friend" or spoke slowly and loudly to her. We both enjoyed reading it and discussing a range of issues, some disability specific like accommodations in school, and others very general like how to be a good friend and what to do when you feel picked on.

I enjoyed reading this book as it reflected some of my amazing experiences as a hard of hearing adult student in a master's program. Being different at that age and state wasn't troubling. There were many teachable moments. And, I could not have done the graduate studies without a personal FM system like 'El Deafo' used as a child. The book is light, real, and fun. My granddaughter also enjoyed the book.

My 3rd grade daughter could not put this book down--she LOVED the story and the illustrations. She has read it cover to cover at least 5 times. She loves that it is a true story about fitting in but with a darling graphic novel approach. She would like to beg Cece Bell to write a sequel--she's dying to know about her life after this book!

This book is the Newbery Honor Book for this year and it is a well deserved honor. I have a close relative who is hard of hearing so I bought copies for all our relatives. The art is cute. The story told so well. This book is a must for everyone to understand the world of hard of hearing/deaf children. Thank you CeCe Bell for writing this truly life changing book!

This book gives amazing insight into the life of a hearing impaired child. The author does a wonderful job of relating her personal experiences in dealing with losing her hearing. As an audiologist with a career spaning 40+ years, with many of those specializing in pediatric and educational audiology, I gained a new understanding - and perspective - of the life experiences of many of my patients and their families.

Loved this book that I️ read with my students. Cece, the main character, has a lot of depth and is a captivating character. Her story about deafness was about more than just being deaf, but also about loneliness, fitting in, and growing up.

I am a Newbery books collector. Here are my thoughts on a graphic novel making Newbery status, and the reason I give El Deafo the full five stars. It is a delightful read that took me back to childhood even while it taught me a new perspective in Life experiences. That landed it solidly at the 4-star level. But it also completely changed my mind about the merits of graphic novels, earning that last star as well.

At first I was disappointed at the thought of one of these being given Newbery status, because a whole lot of what I like about reading is that an artful writer makes it possible for your mind to create the world you enter, right down to nuances of how you imagine a character to look and the various moods of environment. The nature of a graphic novel robs you of that magic. HOWEVER. This is not a story based in conveyance of imagination. It is the sharing of the specific experience of a young child's new deafness in an effort to teach others exactly what it is like, and I find that a graphic novel is not only uniquely qualified for that purpose, but it is perfect. It achieves that aim in a way that "normal" prose could never do. This is not a long comic book slapped together. It is artfully crafted, and well deserving of the award. (Despite that one occurrence early on of poor grammar that glared so annoyingly to someone who inherited an English-teaching Grandma's exactitude. Grammar-policing not necessary here.)

My nine year old daughter loves this book. We have found it at a time when she is struggling with coming to grips with a disability herself. She loves the graphics demonstrating how CeCe really hears stuff. She really identifies with some of the situations CeCe encounters due to her disability.

This graphic book was excellent! I, too, grew up "hard-of-hearing" during the same time period as the author. We share many similar experiences. It brought back many memories of being a hearing-impaired child attending a mainstream public school. In fact, it was so accurate that I asked my husband and children to read it so they could have a better idea of what my life was like as a kid. Thanks for sharing your story, Cece Bell!

This book may look childish and sound childish,but it's not. The meaning of this book was so strong and it showed that being deaf maybe isn't really a bad thing. I recommend this book to 3rd graders and up.I hope everyone enjoyed and appreciated this book as much as I did.