The Newbery Medal is award to book for “the most
outstanding contribution to children's literature”. This year there were two
Newbery Honor books. One of the two named includes deaf author Cece Bell' s El Deafo. In September, I wrote a
review for the Washington Post and
posted this on
this blog.
Bell is a children's author and illustrator who has
written books such as Rabbit and Robot: The Sleepover (2014). El Deafo (2014) is her
memoir that covers some pretty serious issues that can be found in other
autobiographies written by deaf and hard of hearing authors. The graphic novel
includes bunny people (just the ears unlike Rabbit
and Robot that includes the main character with a bunny-body, teeth, etc.) who
recount her childhood struggles with hearing loss. The story tackles the
challenge of finding friends when you feel different; yet, the focus is on her
ears and how they don’t function the way they did as “a regular kid”.
While it reads more like an adult memoir about the
struggles of growing up with hearing loss, it is marketed to kids with recommended
ages 8-12. As I mentioned previously, if you're not familiar with graphic
novels, don't let the layout and pictures mislead you; they can contain some
heavy content. For example, the cover illustration is of “El Deafo”, Cece’s
alter ego, flying through a bright blue sky. Within the first few pages the
colors are muted to sage and hospital blue as Cece contracts meningitis and
subsequently loses her hearing. Bell portrays a frightening medical view of
deafness with three separate panels depicting large needles, one being inserted
into the child’s back. As always, I recommend that you screen the book before
recommending it to any young person.
Another winner that I want to recognize is no
stranger to this blog. The Coretta Scott King Book Award recognizes an African
American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young
adults. This year’s winner is Brown Girl
Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. In 2007, I interviewed
her about her book Feathers which
includes Sean,
the first African-American Deaf character who communicates through sign language in adolescent literature. I’m
still not-so-secretly hoping that Sean will find his way in another one of
Woodson’s books.
Congratulations to all of the winners! As always, I
encourage you to all pick up your pens, pencils, typewriters, word processors,
laptops, etc. and start writing! The portrayal of realistic deaf characters
benefits young readers who wish to find character role models with whom they
can relate and who wish to learn about a culture and community to which they
may not have been previously exposed. These books can pique students’ interests
so that they continue to read and learn about diverse cultures.
