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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