Monday, July 25, 2016

EL DEAFO

Bell, C., & Lasky, D. (2014). El Deafo. New York: Abrams.


This charming graphic novel is best suited for upper elementary and middle grade readers.  It is an autographical account of how the author dealt with growing up hearing impared.

Cece was not born with her impediment.  It was only after she caught meningitis at the age of four that her hearing began to deteriorate.  When she starts school her parents enroll her in a school specifically for children with hearing disabilities.  She loves it and learns much, but soon her family moves and was no longer able to attend that school.


Cece is not a perfect and in fact her pride was perhaps her biggest enemy.  It keeps her from explaining that she cannot understand what people are saying if she can’t read their lips and that sometimes, even if she can see their mouths she might not fully grasp what they are saying.  This of course leads Cece into some sticky situations and a plethora of insecurities.  She deals with this by creating an alter ego: “El Deafo.” El Deafo is a steely nerved superhero that says and does whatever Cece is feeling and wishes she could say to those around her.

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