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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
SO GOOD. I can see why this won all the awards. It's such an important story of childhood, illness, and the nuances of a physical disability told so simply and powerfully. I've used technology like the one described for students and that personal connection made the story brighter. I liked how she plotted the process of discovering what her inability to hear was called by the world and how she constructed her persona after finding out that information. I appreciated the afterward, which briefly explored the varying factions of communities and identifies available to those who are hearing impaired.
such an adorable children's story all about Cece Bell's own experience as a deaf child.
The art was so cute and I loved that we got to see a pretty big age range within this story!
The art was so cute and I loved that we got to see a pretty big age range within this story!
Such a delightful read!! Sad, funny, sweet, insightful. Bell has a fantastic memory and a lovely, hilarious manner of re-inhabiting her childhood self so readers can join her for the tale. El Deafo is a superhero everyone should get to know. And you can read the whole thing in a couple of hours!
2018
I still love this book so much I’m re-designing an entire class so I can teach it.
2018
I still love this book so much I’m re-designing an entire class so I can teach it.
I adored this book so much! It was one of the summer reading bonus books and since I was working the desk I wanted to be able to honestly talk about it. Such a great book, I even had it ordered for the school library this year and I can't keep either of our copies on the shelf. There is always a long wait list.
We are all exceptional, We can overcome hardships, Accepting and loving yourself
Comments: It's a fast, easy read, but also very powerful and meaningful at the same time. The illustrations are very captivating and pleasing. I will be using this graphic novel memoir to spark conversations and discussions about what it means to be "special," and self-acceptance.
Comments: It's a fast, easy read, but also very powerful and meaningful at the same time. The illustrations are very captivating and pleasing. I will be using this graphic novel memoir to spark conversations and discussions about what it means to be "special," and self-acceptance.
The world is doing such a good job of pushing this book. Blurbs from Riordan, Palacio, Telgemeier... the list goes on and on. The cover is reminiscent of Smile, the insides are all colorful. Just fantastic, machine. Way to work it.
And for something so deserving!
I grew up closely adjacent to the deaf community. My mom worked as an interpreter, her best friend was deaf, we went to deaf movie night at the community center. Bell is fairly close in age to close friends of our family who traveled similar paths.
It's so great to see an authentic book packaged and marketed in such a smart way.
I just really really hope that the kids are finding it, reading it, loving it. Because stories like this need to be read more often.
And for something so deserving!
I grew up closely adjacent to the deaf community. My mom worked as an interpreter, her best friend was deaf, we went to deaf movie night at the community center. Bell is fairly close in age to close friends of our family who traveled similar paths.
It's so great to see an authentic book packaged and marketed in such a smart way.
I just really really hope that the kids are finding it, reading it, loving it. Because stories like this need to be read more often.
When Cece Bell was four-years-old she developed meningitis, which left her "severely to profoundly deaf." El Deafo is the story of how Cece learned to navigate a new world, as someone who was born hearing to now having a significant hearing loss.
El Deafo is wonderful book that is certain to go right next to Raina Telgemeier's Smile in canon of children's graphic memoirs. And to think, I almost didn't put this book on my to-read pile! I don't know what I was thinking! But as soon as I watched the following video where Bell talks about the story behind the book, I just knew I had to read it.
Bell has created something to appeal to both camps of readers: those who like realistic stories and those who like fantasy and/or superheroes, as she imagines herself the superhero El Defo when she is feeling especially socially insecure about her disability.
Bell grabs readers from the very beginning, as we see Cece as a four-year-old who refuses to wear anything but her bathing suit. That detail seems small, but it somehow gets the reader to fall in love with her from page one. Similarly, trying to figure out why all of Bell's characters are rabbits in this book is somewhat of a head-scratcher, but in an amusing way, not a frustrating way. It is likely that the rabbits' big ears force the reader to focus more on young Cece's hearing aids and therefore was a natural way to call attention to the disability/superhero power of Cece/El Deafo in those moments of insecurity when she calls upon her superpower. Whatever the case, it works! Often we say that books can be either mirrors or windows, and El Deafo is one of those books that illustrates this concept beautifully. Not only will it speak to readers who feel different because of a disability or deficit they might be struggling with, but it's also a window for those of us who have never known a deaf person, to walk a mile in their shoes and cultivate our own empathy. El Deafo is one of those graphic memoirs that belongs in classrooms of all grade levels. It will appeals to elementary, middle, and high school students equally. Of that I have no doubt.
Read my entire review on my blog
El Deafo is wonderful book that is certain to go right next to Raina Telgemeier's Smile in canon of children's graphic memoirs. And to think, I almost didn't put this book on my to-read pile! I don't know what I was thinking! But as soon as I watched the following video where Bell talks about the story behind the book, I just knew I had to read it.
Bell has created something to appeal to both camps of readers: those who like realistic stories and those who like fantasy and/or superheroes, as she imagines herself the superhero El Defo when she is feeling especially socially insecure about her disability.
Bell grabs readers from the very beginning, as we see Cece as a four-year-old who refuses to wear anything but her bathing suit. That detail seems small, but it somehow gets the reader to fall in love with her from page one. Similarly, trying to figure out why all of Bell's characters are rabbits in this book is somewhat of a head-scratcher, but in an amusing way, not a frustrating way. It is likely that the rabbits' big ears force the reader to focus more on young Cece's hearing aids and therefore was a natural way to call attention to the disability/superhero power of Cece/El Deafo in those moments of insecurity when she calls upon her superpower. Whatever the case, it works! Often we say that books can be either mirrors or windows, and El Deafo is one of those books that illustrates this concept beautifully. Not only will it speak to readers who feel different because of a disability or deficit they might be struggling with, but it's also a window for those of us who have never known a deaf person, to walk a mile in their shoes and cultivate our own empathy. El Deafo is one of those graphic memoirs that belongs in classrooms of all grade levels. It will appeals to elementary, middle, and high school students equally. Of that I have no doubt.
Read my entire review on my blog
4.5
This is a really fantastic novel for kids in elementary or middle school, and really for readers of all ages. My 7-year-old daughter and I picked this up because it's the story of a deaf bunny, Cece, whose story is very close to that of a child in my daughter's class. Cece has to wear a Phonic Ear, a visible, kind of bulky device that has a microphone for the teacher to speak into so that she can hear well in school. Cece is really self-conscious about it, but quickly learns that her deafness makes her unique and is part of who she is, and that her Phonic Ear gives her super hearing.
El Deafo is fantastic for kids to learn about the experience of being deaf in a hearing school, and what to do and not to do when interacting with deaf peers.
This is a really fantastic novel for kids in elementary or middle school, and really for readers of all ages. My 7-year-old daughter and I picked this up because it's the story of a deaf bunny, Cece, whose story is very close to that of a child in my daughter's class. Cece has to wear a Phonic Ear, a visible, kind of bulky device that has a microphone for the teacher to speak into so that she can hear well in school. Cece is really self-conscious about it, but quickly learns that her deafness makes her unique and is part of who she is, and that her Phonic Ear gives her super hearing.
El Deafo is fantastic for kids to learn about the experience of being deaf in a hearing school, and what to do and not to do when interacting with deaf peers.
Look, look, look: this is a 2-star book FOR ME, because that's how I use Goodreads. I don't really rate things as the way I imagine they would hit their intended audience because I use Goodreads to remember what I read and how I felt about it.
Besides, this is like a highly-praised book and so on, so I don't think my personal system is going to screw up Goodreads and Cece Bell is going to be out on the street now.
This is definitely a book for a younger audience. It presents the basics and specifics of Bell's hearing loss and the devices she uses to help her hear a little better. I think it'd be great for introducing kids to disability and accommodations, especially in sensory loss.
What's tricky about this book and books like it, and Bell does point this out in the end, is that it's one person's story. You know, we can't look at all people with hearing loss and assume they think and feel the same way Bell does.
Bell seems, at least during her childhood, to be interested in hearing and interacting with hearing kids and adults, and it seems like she's interested in using devices and options that open those doors.
I gather some people in the deaf community feel that using devices like Cece's or getting cochlear implants and whatnot is an issue of deaf culture and makes kids feel like there's something wrong with them when there's not. I can see that.
I think the problem is that there's no one, correct choice.
For example, I think parents who had a deaf child and had the means and ability to learn sign language, send the child to a school with other children with deafness, do all that good shit, can probably reasonably raise a person and let them make their own choices.
But then let's say you have parents who do not make much money, work long hours, and don't have the ability to means to learn sign and send their kid to a special school. The best decision for their kid might be different than the best decision for that other kid.
A stark example in the book is that Cece doesn't want to learn ASL. I think it's because she felt like she didn't need it, and she felt like it made her different, and she didn't want to be different. I think a lot of kids who feel different in ways that are inescapable want to feel like they're less different, and how that looks probably varies a great deal from person to person.
Anyway, it's a tough call, and I think the best thing to do is to ask someone how they want to be treated when you encounter them and go from there.
I think the strength of this book is that it's honest and it presents a specific version of how one person feels, which is a good thing. And while I think it's most appropriate for young audiences, I think it's probably best read along with a person who can help guide the child and help the child understand that Cece's view of things isn't going to be for everyone, and that's okay. Because people with disabilities aren't all the same, even if they have the same disability. Each of them has to look at it from their own perspective and manage it in their preferred way.
I think that concept is a little tough for adults. For example, when we talk about "marginalized people" at my workplace, we lump in a lot of different people with different needs, and sometimes a person from one marginalized community may not be an ally to someone in another marginalized community. It's not like every person from a low SES is a LGBTQIA+ ally, right?
So I think El Deafo does a good job of showing one version of things, and people would be wise to take care to read it that way.
Besides, this is like a highly-praised book and so on, so I don't think my personal system is going to screw up Goodreads and Cece Bell is going to be out on the street now.
This is definitely a book for a younger audience. It presents the basics and specifics of Bell's hearing loss and the devices she uses to help her hear a little better. I think it'd be great for introducing kids to disability and accommodations, especially in sensory loss.
What's tricky about this book and books like it, and Bell does point this out in the end, is that it's one person's story. You know, we can't look at all people with hearing loss and assume they think and feel the same way Bell does.
Bell seems, at least during her childhood, to be interested in hearing and interacting with hearing kids and adults, and it seems like she's interested in using devices and options that open those doors.
I gather some people in the deaf community feel that using devices like Cece's or getting cochlear implants and whatnot is an issue of deaf culture and makes kids feel like there's something wrong with them when there's not. I can see that.
I think the problem is that there's no one, correct choice.
For example, I think parents who had a deaf child and had the means and ability to learn sign language, send the child to a school with other children with deafness, do all that good shit, can probably reasonably raise a person and let them make their own choices.
But then let's say you have parents who do not make much money, work long hours, and don't have the ability to means to learn sign and send their kid to a special school. The best decision for their kid might be different than the best decision for that other kid.
A stark example in the book is that Cece doesn't want to learn ASL. I think it's because she felt like she didn't need it, and she felt like it made her different, and she didn't want to be different. I think a lot of kids who feel different in ways that are inescapable want to feel like they're less different, and how that looks probably varies a great deal from person to person.
Anyway, it's a tough call, and I think the best thing to do is to ask someone how they want to be treated when you encounter them and go from there.
I think the strength of this book is that it's honest and it presents a specific version of how one person feels, which is a good thing. And while I think it's most appropriate for young audiences, I think it's probably best read along with a person who can help guide the child and help the child understand that Cece's view of things isn't going to be for everyone, and that's okay. Because people with disabilities aren't all the same, even if they have the same disability. Each of them has to look at it from their own perspective and manage it in their preferred way.
I think that concept is a little tough for adults. For example, when we talk about "marginalized people" at my workplace, we lump in a lot of different people with different needs, and sometimes a person from one marginalized community may not be an ally to someone in another marginalized community. It's not like every person from a low SES is a LGBTQIA+ ally, right?
So I think El Deafo does a good job of showing one version of things, and people would be wise to take care to read it that way.
El Deafo is a fabulous graphic novel/memoir about a girl who is severely to profoundly deaf. I loved this even more after I read the author's note and found out it was about the author's experience growing up. There is a reason it is a New York Times bestseller and was nominated for a Newbery Medal Award.