New book by Deaf author- Smelly Hearing Aids and Fishy Lips: a Deaf teenager's journal (2017)

Smelly Hearing Aids and Fishy Lips: A deaf teenager's journal by Marc Heyez

Publisher; 1 edition (April 2017)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0995153205

ISBN-13: 978-0995153202

Paperback: 298 pages

Marc Heyez is a Deaf author from Canada.

Book Description:

Egg Flounder is your average teenage boy in all ways except for one thing: he is deaf. This is Egg’s journal of his “floundering” attempts to live in a hearing world: taking speech lessons from old Mrs. Tautog so not to sound like a “Frenchman with a cold”, coping with loud whistling hearing aids, squinting to lip-read his girlfriend in a dark disco and many other hilarious misfortunes.

He is a teen teetering between a child who sleeps in sailboat pajamas and an adult who dreams of being a pilot and lusts after an older girl. Being the skinny stickman figure, he pines to be the “burly bearded Canadian lumberjack for the world.” (Pet moose and beer would be optional.) He had but one friend, a tin-foil hat type who “rants and raves that the world will end on Tuesday but makes an appointment with a doctor on Thursday.”

We are treated with Egg’s absurd and surrealistic philosophical musings, his ad-libbed school presentations and just plain wonderings, such as why the biblical Adam is portrayed as having a belly button?

A creepy old house, ASL, and purple lemonade in Destiny and Faith's Summer Adventures

Destiny And Faith's Summer Adventures (Book #2 in the Destiny And Faith series) by Teddy O'Malley (Author, Illustrator) and Angie Dickens (Editor)  

Length: 61 pages

Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1490986316

Publisher: Jourden Cleghorn; 1 edition

Publication Date: April 3, 2014

 
I just stumbled across this book published in 2014. I admit that it was the back cover description that got my attention!

Dustin is the Deaf character in the story; although, the main characters “sign fluently…[even though they] had never actually met a Deaf person before” (p. 14).

Based on the illustration, the main characters appear to include some diversity in this series. The ASL alphabet chart is included at the end of the book.

Book Description:

It's summer!
Destiny and Faith come up with a great idea to keep busy during the summer. They try to get a job! They end up cleaning a dusty, possibly haunted, old attic, running a PURPLE lemonade stand, and most importantly, making a great new friend. Dustin happens to be Deaf, and Destiny and Faith put their knowledge of American Sign Language to the test! But can it help them land a job?

EXCERPT:
“I can't believe we're doing this,” Faith whispered from behind me. We were walking down our street in the dark. “Tiny, how did you drag me into this?”
“Shh!” I hissed. “The ghosts will hear us if you talk.”
“Have I ever mentioned that I'm afraid of the dark?” Faith asked me, nudging my shoulder.
“Only a bazillion times! And that's just tonight,” I snapped, getting frustrated. “If you're going to be a fraidy cat you might as well go home, and let me do this alone.”

“No way,” Faith said, standing tall. “I'm not letting my baby sister walk around in dark haunted houses by herself.”
“You're a saint,” I said sarcastically.
“Obviously, I am. I'm putting aside my fears for you, aren't I?”
“Sh! Did you hear that?” I asked.
“Hear what?” Faith tried to hide behind me.
“Never mind. I think it was just a stray cat or something.” I turned my flashlight on and flicked it around, trying to check out the noise.
“You had a flashlight this whole time, and you're just now turning it on?” Faith whined.
“I didn't want anyone to see us,” I hissed at Faith. “Stay here.”
“What? No! Don't leave me here in the dark.” Faith clung to my jacket.
“Just stay behind this bush,” I instructed her.
“Fine, but if I see a ghost I'm leaving without you.”
I shrugged and started to head toward the house.
“You're taking the flashlight?” Faith asked.
I rolled my eyes, and I handed it to her.
“Thanks,” she whispered.
“Now I'm going,” I hissed. I walked slowly along the bushes and looked in Dustin's windows. There he was. Old Mr. Jenkins! Seeing him made me so nervous that I tripped over a twig, causing it to snap.
“Uh oh,” I said.

About the author:

Teddy O' Malley was born in in Saint Louis, Missouri. She has traveled all over the United States and enjoys learning about new things and other cultures. She has enjoyed studying Spanish, German, and now Italian as well. She dreams of visiting a foreign country. Teddy O'Malley has also worked as a nurse assistant, aiding the disabled and the elderly.

"...demand for more disabled role models in children’s stories"

Earlier this week (02/21/17), the CEO of the National Deaf Children’s Society and Deaf Child Worldwide, Susan Daniels posted on Huffington Post UK about Daisy and Ted's Awesome Adventures (2016) by Alex Naidoo. Daniels explains:

The book follows a deaf girl and her hearing friend as they travel through time and space, meeting everyone from monsters and magicians to dragons and dinosaurs.

Daisy’s deafness sometimes poses challenges, but she always finds a creative solution - for example, using sign language on board a noisy pirate ship and asking aliens to tuck their tentacles away from their mouths when talking so that she can lip-read!

Daniels notes, “The book became an Amazon #1 best seller in its first week on sale and got really positive reviews on social media, so clearly there is demand for more disabled role models in children’s stories.”

While it does not appear that we have access to purchasing the book through Amazon here in the States, you may be able to go through the NDCS website.

The Huffington Post article can be found here: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/susan-daniels-obe/diversity-childrens-books_b_14900492.html

For more information about Daisy and Ted's Awesome Adventures (2016) by Alex Naidoo, visit the NDCS website here: http://www.ndcs.org.uk/awesomeadventures.html