El Deafo - Graphic Novel

El Deafo by Cece Bell; Illustrated by Cece Bell. New York: Amulet Books, 2014.  

Plot summary: Cece is an ordinary rabbit girl, until a severe illness causes her to lose her hearing. She doesn’t let that stop her. She imagines that she is the all-powerful superhero El Deafo. When she is El Deafo, everything goes right. Can she find a friend and survive school?  

Awards: Will Eisner Comic Industry Award 2015 & John Newberry Honor Medal 2015

Audience: Children ages 8 – 12 will love this semi-autobiographical tale. The characters resemble the friends they likely encounter in their neighborhood or classroom. Readers will also learn a bit about what it might be like to be deaf. Cece Bell cautions in her author note that there are many ways to be deaf.

Strengths and Weaknesses:  The book effectively captures the insecurities children encounter regarding making friends and being different from a peer group. Most children would find it easy to identify with Cece in that regard.

Another strength is this story is based on Bell’s own experience growing up and what it was like for her. The book is written so a hearing reader would understand the experience of being deaf. Deaf readers would see Cece as a mirror to their own lives. Not all deaf children can relate though as Cece refuses to learn American Sign Language (ASL) in the book. ASL is the primary language for many in the deaf community (Bayless).

Finally, the illustrations are delightful. The characters are rabbits, but the facial expressions are easy to follow. There can be no doubt when Cece doesn’t like her hearing aids- the picture says it all.  

I could not find a weakness in this book.

Creative Uses: This would be an ideal book to use when a student in a classroom is hard of hearing (HoH) or deaf. Many people prefer this to be called hearing impaired This would permit students to learn how to best communicate to their peer. They also would discover some of the issues that a deaf person may encounter. Finally, they would be able to see connections to the character Cece and realize they are more similar than different. For the deaf community this would be a good book to discover a story with a main character like them. Cece probably feels the same way about hearing aids that modern deaf readers could connect with. Asking the author to appear by skype or in person for a questions and answer session could be very rewarding (Bayless).

Superhero day: El Deafo would be a great character to include in any superhero day. Alongside heroes like Superman and Batman, El Deafo has earned her place. Children can make superhero capes and decorate them to reflect their superpowers. Finding superpowers in ourselves can be just the validation young children need.

Lesson plans: Researching meningitis, the illness that caused Cece’s deafness, would be a worthy assignment for 3^rd grade students and up. Students could create a timeline in improvements/advancements in medical care of the disease. They could also research advancements in hearing aid technology (Jaffe).

Language arts & art: Students can analyze the way Bell used speech bubbles to convey what being hearing impaired feels like. The empty speech bubbles convey the absence of sound. The lighter colored fonts demonstrate when speech is made but Cece is unable to hear what is said. Of course, students will also look at the funny speech bubbles of nonsense words. They represent when people speak too loudly or exaggerate what they say in an effort to be understood but are ensuring the exact opposite. Later in the text, Bell draws images to convey the difference between seeing with glasses and without. The graphic novel is the perfect medium to make these differences understood through visuals. After students understand the technique, students can write their own El Deafo stories in a similar style. Teachers should have students brainstorms plot ideas or assign a challenge El Deafo must overcome to help the student get started (Jaffe).

Other Considerations: Adult readers will be able to pick up references from the 1970’s. These references should not bother a child reading the book as they aren’t overt or impact the plot. The references sure do bring back some memories though.

Works Cited

Bayless, Sarah. “How ‘El Deafo’ Empowers Kids Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing.”  School Library Journal, 30 Jan. 2017, www.slj.com/2017/01/diversity.how-el-deafo-empowers-kids-who-are-deaf-and-hearing-impaired

Jaffe, Meryl. “Using Graphic Novels in Education: El Deafo.” Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, 12 Jan. 2015, cbldf.org/2015/06using-graphic-novels-in-education-eldeafo/.