Even though I’m over the target age for CeCe Bell’s autobiographical graphic novel, I enjoyed it immensely.
First of all, El Deafo is so very funny, with its cartoon comic strip depictions of the characters as humans with these cute rabbit ears standing upright on their head.
Secondly, reading this book taught me just a little bit about what one person’s experience of growing up with hearing loss after losing her hearing to meningitis at age four. CeCe Bell humorously and sadly describes some of the difficulties of childhood with hearing impairment, not just from a speech comprehension stand point, but also the perspective of social isolation because she was different and because it was hard for her to interpret speech in group settings.
El Deafo taught me that people with hearing impairment often read lips to understand what is going on. On page 29, CeCe explains that “SOUND FROM HEARING AID + VISUAL CLUES FROM LIPS = UNDERSTANDING.” She illustrates the confusion that can occur because people’s lips look the same when people say similar words. She gives the example of “MOP, MOB, MOM, BOP BOB, POP OR POM?”
On Page 30, CeCe explains essuential clues for lip reading: visual, context, and gestural.
Pages 31 – 32 Have CeCe explaining what factors make it more difficult to read someone’s lips:
- MUST SEE PERSON’S FACE AT ALL TIMES.
- EXAGGERATED MOUTH MOVEMENTS ARE CONFUSING.
- SHOUTING IS NOT GOOD.
- MUSTACHES AND BEARDS ARE BAD NEWS! (SORRY, DAD.)
- HANDS IN FRONT OF MOUTH ARE ALSO BAD NEWS.
- WHEN IT GETS DARK, GIVE UP [ON LIP READING]
- GROUP DISCUSSIONS ARE IMPOSSIBLE.
These lip-reading pointers remind me that I must never position closed captions over a speakers lips, even while moving captions to avoid obscuring a lower-third.
Pages 36 – 37 Bummer of listening to music on the radio with other kids, and not being able to understand what is being said.
Page 39 Explains the Phonic Ear
Pages 72 – 73 Inappropriate English subtitles are better than no subtitles.
Pages 73 – 81 Watching TV without subtitles is not a good time.
Pages 81 – 84 ABC After School Special about Girl with Phonic Ear and “El Deafo” is born.
Author’s Note at end:
CeCe explains that there are all kinds of ways to be deaf. She gives good insights to help people with typical hearing to find out some experiences that are part of being deaf.
CeCe concludes her note by triumphantly stating that “Our differences are our superpowers.”
El Deafo is a valuable story for captioner and non-captioner alike. Highly entertaining, funny, and thought-provoking. Also, it’s really popular with the little readers, especially the throw-up scene on page 2.
El Deafo was published in 2014 by Amulet Books. It’s 233 laugh-inducing pages long.
Did I mention that El Deafo won a John Newberry Medal?
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