El Deafo

Bell, C. (2014). El Deafo. New York: Amulet

CeCe was a normal little girl until she got meningitis. The fever left her partially deaf. And so begins CeCe's life with hearing aides, lip reading, and struggles with school and friends. To cope with her struggles she imagines herself as a super hero, El Deafo, who can say all the things she wished she could say to her friends and teachers. She wants to make friends but wants to be treated like everyone else. The graphic novel format makes this book a fun and that fact that it is semi-autobiographical makes it even more interesting.

This is a very popular book in my classroom due to its graphic novel format. For me it was much more. This book is going to be a Christmas present for my daughter's godmother. Judy was born with nerve damage that caused her to lose most of her hearing. She too has dealt with hearing aides, lip reading classes, and where she fit in the hearing and deaf world. She has always said that no one quite understands what she went through as a child. Finally here is some one who did!