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Summer Reading 2024: Discovering Deaf Culture: Middle School Read: El Deafo

Rising 6th, 7th, and 8th graders are reading the graphic memoir El Deafo, by Cece Bell. "Holy hearing aid, Batman!"

Pages from El Deafo, by Cece Bell, courtesy of Abrams Publishing

Middle School Read: El Deafo, by Cece Bell

What's the book about?

What does it take for a student with hearing loss and a hearing aid to become a superhero?

Starting at a new school is scary, especially with a giant hearing aid strapped to your chest! At her old school, everyone in Cece’s class was deaf. Here, she’s different. She’s sure the kids are staring at the Phonic Ear, the powerful aid that will help her hear her teacher. Too bad it also seems certain to repel potential friends.

Then Cece makes a startling discovery. With the Phonic Ear she can hear her teacher not just in the classroom but anywhere her teacher is in the school—in the hallway . . . in the teacher’s lounge . . . in the bathroom! This is power. Maybe even superpower! Cece is on her way to becoming El Deafo, Listener for All.

But the funny thing about being a superhero is that it’s just another way of feeling different . . . and lonely. Can Cece channel her powers into finding the thing she wants most, a true friend?

"This warmly and humorously illustrated full-color graphic novel set in the suburban ‘70s has all the gripping characters and inflated melodrama of late childhood: a crush on a neighborhood boy, the bossy friend, the too-sensitive-to-her-Deafness friend, and the perfect friend, scared away." School Library Journal, starred review

There are other ways to experience the book - on Kindle or on a full-cast recording audiobook - see the box to the right.

Author Cece Bell Talks About Her Book, 'El Deafo'

NPR Interview: 'El Deafo': How A Girl Turned Her Disability Into A Superpower

What are some other ways to read or listen to the book?

El Deafo, by Cece Bell; Kindle edition on AmazonEl Deafo by Cece Bell

Kindle Edition

Available on Amazon

El Deafo, by Cece Bell, on Libro.fm

El Deafo, by Cece Bell on Audible.com

Narrated by: Sarah Tubert, Lexi Finigan, Jennifer Aquino, Fred Berman, Bailey Carr, Nicky Endres, Matt Godfrey, Avi Roque, Sanya Simmons

Length: 2 hrs and 32 mins 

Winner of the American Library Association’s 2024 Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production! The Newbery Honor-winning graphic novel, adapted for audio with a full cast and sound effects.

El Deafo, by Cece Bell, on Libro.fm

El Deafo, by Cece Bell on Libro.fm

Narrated by: Sarah Tubert, Lexi Finigan, Jennifer Aquino, Fred Berman, Bailey Carr, Nicky Endres, Matt Godfrey, Avi Roque, Sanya Simmons

Length: 2 hrs and 32 mins 

Winner of the American Library Association’s 2024 Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production! The Newbery Honor-winning graphic novel, adapted for audio with a full cast and sound effects.

         

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