El deafo

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El deafo

Title :

El deafo / Cece Bell ; color by David Lasky.

Title:

El deafo

Author:

Bell, Cece

Format:

Books

Physical Description:

233 pages : color illustrations ; 24 cm

ISBN:

9781419710209

9781419712173

Production / Publication Information:

New York : Amulet Books, c2014.

General Note:

Chiefly illustrations.

Summary:

The author recounts in graphic novel format her experiences with hearing loss at a young age, including using a bulky hearing aid, learning how to lip read, and determining her "superpower."

"Going to school and making new friends can be tough. But going to school and making new friends while wearing a bulky hearing aid strapped to your chest? That requires superpowers! In this funny, poignant graphic novel memoir, author/illustrator Cece Bell chronicles her hearing loss at a young age and her subsequent experiences with the Phonic Ear, a very powerful--and very awkward--hearing aid. The Phonic Ear gives Cece the ability to hear--sometimes things she shouldn't--but also isolates her from her classmates. She really just wants to fit in and find a true friend, someone who appreciates her as she is. After some trouble, she is finally able to harness the power of the Phonic Ear and become "El Deafo, Listener for All." And more importantly, declare a place for herself in the world and find the friend she's longed for"--

Language:

English

Genre:

Graphic novels.

Comics (Graphic works)

Personal Subject:

Bell, Cece-Juvenile literature.

Bell, Cece-Comic books, strips, etc.

Bell, Cece-Caricatures and cartoons.

Bell, Cece-Childhood and youth-Comic books, strips, etc.

Subject Term:

Deaf -- United States -- Biography -- Juvenile literature.

Deaf -- United States -- Biography -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Authors, American -- Biography -- Juvenile literature.

Authors, American -- Biography -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Deaf -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Authors -- Caricatures and cartoons.

Women -- Biography -- Cartoons and comics.

Deaf children -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Schools -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Hearing aids for children -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Friendship -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Cartoonists -- Biography -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Comic books, strips, etc. -- United States.

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Material Type	Library	Call Number	Item Barcode	Location
Book	Searching... Andover - Memorial Hall Library	TEEN GRAPHIC / BELL	31330008772356	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Amesbury Public Library	YA GRAPHIC NOVEL EL DEAFO	32114002291442	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Amesbury Public Library	J GRAPHIC EL DEAFO	32114002380351	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Andover - Memorial Hall Library Children's Room	J GRAPHIC BELL	31330009297460	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Andover - Memorial Hall Library Children's Room	J GRAPHIC BELL	31330009316229	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Billerica Public Library	J GRAPHIC/BELL	33934003845550	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Billerica Public Library	J GRAPHIC/BELL	33934003845576	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Billerica Public Library	YA GRAPHIC/BELL	33934004175940	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Burlington Public Library	NEWBERY - J BELL GRAPHIC	32116003547292	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Burlington Public Library	YA BELL (SUMMER READING)	32116003976707	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Burlington Public Library	YA BELL (SUMMER READING)	32116003976715	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Burlington Public Library	YA BELL (SUMMER READING)	32116003976749	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Burlington Public Library	YA BELL (SUMMER READING)	32116003976756	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Burlington Public Library	YA BELL (SUMMER READING)	32116003976632	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Burlington Public Library	YA BELL GRAPHIC	32116003991631	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Carlisle - Gleason Public Library	J/GRAPHIC BELL	32117002189961	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Chelmsford MacKay Branch	J/GRAPHIC/DEAFO	31480010645775	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Chelmsford Public Library	J/GRAPHIC/DEAFO	31480011710719	Searching... Unknown
Pop-up Library materials	Searching... Chelmsford Public Library	P/J/GRAPHIC/DEAFO	31480011761720	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Dracut - Moses Greeley Parker Memorial Library	YA/GRAPHIC/BELL	31482002610288	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Dunstable Free Public Library	JFIC BEL GRAPHIC PB	32118000929192	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Dunstable Free Public Library	YA BEL GRAPHIC	32118000941684	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Essex - T.O.H.P. Burnham Free Library	J GN BEL	32119000469858	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Georgetown Peabody Library	JGN BELL	32120001381860	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Georgetown Peabody Library	JGN BELL	32120001384443	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Groton Public Library	JGN BEL	37003701525553	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Groton Public Library	JGN BEL	37003701892003	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Groton Public Library	JGN BEL	37003701921729	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Groveland - Langley-Adams Library	J COMIX BELL	32121000793907	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Hamilton-Wenham Public Library	J B BELL, CECE/GRAPHIC	30470002044153	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Haverhill Public Library	J/COMIX/BELL	31479007343485	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Ipswich Public Library	YA GN BELL	32122002516429	Searching... Unknown
Summer Reading (Ipswich)	Searching... Ipswich Public Library	JG BELL	32122002964199	Searching... Unknown
Summer Reading (Ipswich)	Searching... Ipswich Public Library	JG BELL	32122002964181	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Littleton - Reuben Hoar Library	J F GN BELL/NEWBERY	39965002204419	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Littleton - Reuben Hoar Library	J F GN BELL/NEWBERY	39965002149168	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Littleton - Reuben Hoar Library	YA GN F BELL	39965002207982	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Lowell - Pollard Memorial Library	J GRAPHIC NOVEL BEL	31481005233031	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library	J GRAPHIC EL DEAFO	32124001850395	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Merrimac Public Library	J BEL GRAPHIC - MCBA 2016	32125000930526	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Methuen - Nevins Memorial Library	J-PB GRAPHIC BEL	31548003365054	Searching... Unknown
Summer Reading (Middleton)	Searching... Middleton - Flint Public Library	Y GN BELL/SR	32126001427199	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Middleton - Flint Public Library	J PB BEL/ GRAPHIC	32126001751432	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Newbury Town Library	J BEL GN	32127001157638	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Newburyport Public Library	J BELL / GRAPHIC	32128003653285	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Newburyport Public Library	J BELL / GRAPHIC	32128003653301	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... North Andover - Stevens Memorial Library	J BIO BELL - GRAPHIC	31478003373488	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... North Andover - Stevens Memorial Library	J BIO BELL - GRAPHIC	31478020015971	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... North Andover - Stevens Memorial Library	TEEN GRAPHIC BELL	31478010041938	Searching... Unknown
Book, No Holds	Searching... North Andover - Stevens Memorial Library	RAISE - J BIO BELL - GRAPHIC	31478003415578	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... North Reading - Flint Memorial Library	J GRAPHIC BEL	31550002181649	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Rowley Public Library	J GN BEL	32130000784162	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Salisbury Public Library	J GRAPHIC BEL	32131000716238	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Tewksbury Public Library	TEEN GRAPHIC EL DEAFO	32132002747155	Searching... Unknown
Summer Reading (Tewksbury)	Searching... Tewksbury Public Library	TEEN GRAPHIC EL DEAFO	32132002747254	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Tewksbury Public Library	J GRAPHIC NOVEL EL DEAFO	32132003098855	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Topsfield Town Library	YA GN/BELL	32133002566587	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Tyngsborough Public Library	J/GRAPHIC/BELL	32137001664210	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Tyngsborough Public Library	J/GRAPHIC/BELL/PB.	32137001687534	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Tyngsborough Public Library	J/GRAPHIC/BELL/PB	32137002153619	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... West Newbury - G.A.R. Memorial Library	J GRAPHIC BEL - MCBA 2016-17	32135001257993	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Westford - J.V. Fletcher Library	MG F BELL (GRAPHIC)	31990004312406	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Westford - J.V. Fletcher Library	(KINDNESS) YA F BELL (GRAPHIC)	31990004500141	Searching... Unknown
Book	Searching... Westford - J.V. Fletcher Library	J (GRAPHIC) BELL	31990004881186	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

El Deafo is a funny, deeply honest graphic novel memoir for middle graders. It chronicles the author's hearing loss at a young age and her subsequent experiences with a powerful and very awkward hearing aid called the Phonic Ear. It gives her the ability to hear--sometimes things she shouldn't--but also isolates her from her classmates. She really just wants to fit in and find a true friend, someone who appreciates her, Phonic Ear and all. Finally, she is able to harness the power of the Phonic Ear and become "El Deafo, Listener for All." And more importantly, declare a place for herself in the world and find the friend she's longed for.

Reviews (6)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 3--7--Almost a decade has passed since Bell published El Deafo, her Newbery Honor graphic memoir inspired by growing up "severely to profoundly" deaf since age four as a result of meningitis. Creating a superhero version of herself as El Deafo helped mitigate some of the challenges of being different, especially at school. Already an animated Apple series, the book now goes aural with a full cast adaptation. This utterly superb production also proves to be a transformative lesson in immersive empathy. Through a combination of thoughtful acting and meticulous technical control of volume and clarity, listeners can actually experience an approximation of being hearing-challenged, from garbled language to fading modulation. Sarah Tubert, who gets first billing as "the narrator" (so grateful for a full cast list!), is also deaf and is half of the What the Deaf? podcast duo. Kudos to the sensitive casting powers that be. VERDICT A must-have acquisition for every library.

Publisher's Weekly Review

A bout of childhood meningitis left Bell (Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover) deaf at age four, and she was prescribed a Phonic Ear, with a receiver draped across her chest and a remote microphone her teachers wore. Her graphic memoir records both the indignities of being a deaf child in a hearing community ("IS. THAT. AAAY. HEAR-ING. AAAID?") and its joys, as when she discovers that the microphone picks up every word her teacher says anywhere in the school. Bell's earnest rabbit/human characters, her ability to capture her own sonic universe ("eh sounz lah yur unnah wawah!"), and her invention of an alter ego-the cape-wearing El Deafo, who gets her through stressful encounters ("How can El Deafo free herself from the shackles of this weekly humiliation?" she asks as her mother drags her to another excruciating sign language class)-all combine to make this a standout autobiography. Cece's predilection for bursting into tears at the wrong time belies a gift for resilience that makes her someone readers will enjoy getting to know. Ages 8-12. Agent: Caryn Wiseman, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Horn Book Review

At the age of four, in 1975, Bell contracted meningitis, leaving her severely to profoundly deaf. In this characterful, vivid, often amusing graphic-novel memoir she recaptures the experiences of her childhood -- adapting to deafness, to others' attitudes toward it, and to the technology of the Phonic Ear, a cumbersome assistive device. At the heart of her story is an experience relevant to most children: the finding of the "True Friend," a falling out, and a reunion. Bell combines great humor and charm (her characters are all anthropomorphized bunnies) with emotional complexity and seriousness; her depiction of Cece's valiant struggles with loneliness, irritation, and embarrassment at the way people treat her is moving, utterly convincing, and authentic -- never "poor bunny." Her forthright humor works especially well in conveying the practicalities of Cece's mode of communication: "I sure can't lip-read a butt!" she says, looking at a speaker's back. This memoir is thus exceptionally informative and entertaining in relation to some aspects of deaf communication, but, most centrally and powerfully, it is exceptional for its perceptive, indomitable protagonist and complex story of friendship, growth, and classroom and family dynamics. deirdre f. baker (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

A humorous and touching graphic memoir about finding friendship and growing up deaf. When Cece is 4 years old, she becomes "severely to profoundly" deaf after contracting meningitis. Though she is fitted with a hearing aid and learns to read lips, it's a challenging adjustment for her. After her family moves to a new town, Cece begins first grade at a school that doesn't have separate classes for the deaf. Her nifty new hearing aid, the Phonic Ear, allows her to hear her teacher clearly, even when her teacher is in another part of the school. Cece's new ability makes her feel like a superherojust call her "El Deafo"but the Phonic Ear is still hard to hide and uncomfortable to wear. Cece thinks, "Superheroes might be awesome, but they are also different. And being different feels a lot like being alone." Bell (Rabbit Robot: The Sleepover, 2012) shares her childhood experiences of being hearing impaired with warmth and sensitivity, exploiting the graphic format to amplify such details as misheard speech. Her whimsical color illustrations (all the human characters have rabbit ears and faces), clear explanations and Cece's often funny adventures help make the memoir accessible and entertaining. Readers will empathize with Cece as she tries to find friends who aren't bossy or inconsiderate, and they'll rejoice with her when she finally does. Worthy of a superhero. (author's note) (Graphic memoir. 8 up) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

When cartoonist Bell was four years old, a case of meningitis left her severely deaf. In this graphic memoir, she tells readers about the friends and family who help her adjust, the frustration she feels when learning to communicate, and the devices she uses to assist her hearing, most notably the Phonic Ear, a large machine that connects to a microphone her teachers wear and amplifies sounds in her hearing aids. Aside from making school easier, the Phonic Ear gives Bell a superpower: when her teachers forget to doff the microphone, she can still hear them anywhere in the school (including the bathroom!). She keeps her newfound superpower a secret and daydreams about being El Deafo, a super alter ego whose deafness makes her powerful. Bell's bold and blocky full-color cartoons perfectly complement her childhood stories she often struggles to fit in and sometimes experiences bullying, but the cheerful illustrations promise a sunny future. This empowering autobiographical story belongs right next to Raina Telgemeier's Smile (2011) and Liz Prince's Tomboy.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2014 Booklist

New York Review of Books Review

IN THIS APPEALING graphic memoir by the children's book author and illustrator Cece Bell, young Cece is only 4 when she comes down with meningitis. She survives, but her hearing doesn't. At first, like any newly and suddenly deafened person, she retreats into herself, scared and confused ("I stay close to Mama, no matter where she is"). Her mother coaxes her into trying her new hearing aid, which has a box she wears on a strap around her neck. She looks in the mirror: "Hmmm. Not great ... but not bad, either. ... Those cords though." She hears much better but still has trouble understanding. Cece's friend asks her if she wants "shoes" (juice) or a "goat." Looking at the Coke bottle, she says, "I'll have the goat!" When she starts first grade in a mainstream school, she is given a "Phonic Ear." She can hear, very well, but it's the mid-1970s and the technology is clunky: The Phonic Ear is a big box Cece wears strapped to her chest, wires running from it up to her ears. Cece wears the receiver, and her teacher, Mrs. Lufton, wears a microphone and transmitter. Bell's full-page illustration of Cece wearing the Phonic Ear describes the elements of the device and also conveys Cece's wry, spunky sensibility. "Underside of Phonic Ear: Freeeezing cold in winter, hot and sweaty in summer; therefore, undershirt a MUST!" Toward the bottom of this self-portrait, an arrow points to: "Underpants! AVERT YOUR EYES!" Cece and all the otherwise human-seeming characters in "El Deafo" have rabbit ears (and rabbity noses), a witty visual metaphor for the outsize role ears play in the life of someone with hearing loss. Cece's life is full of the drama and trials of any schoolchild, but deafness complicates them, and she sometimes feels she exists in a bubble of loneliness. At a sleepover, when the girls turn out the lights, she loses the visual cues she needs to understand what her friends are talking about, and she calls her mother to take her home. Everything changes for the better when Cece discovers that her Phonic Ear gives her a superpower of sorts. Not only can she hear Mrs. Lufton in the classroom, but she can hear her in the teachers' lounge ("That Jimmy Malone is making my life hell! ") and even in the bathroom: "Tinkle tinkle," then "FLUSH!" "I have amazing abilities unknown to anyone!" Cece says to herself. She begins to think of herself as a superhero, El Deafo. At first she keeps her powers secret. But in fifth grade, she gains new popularity with her classmates when the Phonic Ear allows her to warn them that their teacher is approaching. Thanks to Cece they can quit goofing around before she enters the room. "For the first time ever," Cece announces, "El Deafo uses her superpowers for the good of others." In an author's note, Bell acknowledges that some deaf people embrace their deafness while others want to "fix" hearing loss. "They might think of their deafness as a difference, and they might, either secretly or openly, think of it as a disability, too." That's fair, and honest. It takes a bit of an inner superhero to get along as someone "special" in a classroom full of "normal" kids. Bell's book should be an inspiration for those who are "different," and it should help others to understand just what being different means. Required reading isn't always fun reading. "El Deafo" should be the first and is definitely the second. KATHERINE BOUTON is the author of "Shouting Won't Help," a memoir of adult-onset deafness.