Cece was just like any young girl, riding
bikes, singing, and playing with friends. Then one day when she was only
four years old, Cece became really sick with meningitis. As Cece
recovers, she notices something unusual; she can't hear! In, El Deafo, author Cece Bell tells the
story of the illness that caused her hearing loss and her struggles to adjust
to her disability through a graphic novel format using anthropomorphized
bunnies. After discovering that she will
be permanently deaf, Cece is fitted with a hearing device known as a phonic ear,
that she must wear to school and everywhere she goes. With this new device she can hear, but it’s
not quite the same. At first she attends
a school where all the other students are just like her. They learn the basics such as reading and
writing, but also other important skills such as lip reading. However at the end of the year, Cece’s family
moves and she is forced to leave her special school behind and attend a regular
school where there is no one else like her.
At first it’s lonely, and Cece is self-conscious about her phonic ear. Many of the students think that they must
yell for her to hear, which does not help Cece understand at all. She struggles with making friends that like
and accept her for who she is, and even has to deal with teachers who do not
want to wear the device that will help her, or mistreat the device. But once she discovers that she can hear her
teacher from anywhere in the school, she realizes she has a super power and
even gives herself a superhero name…El Deafo!
This 2015 Newberry Medal winner is written in a way that is appropriate and
enjoyable for readers of all ages.
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