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It is, at long last (2 months later than usual), CBCA Book Week again in Australia. I’m happy for any reason to celebrate books, and typically over here on the blog, I have asked fellow bloggers to contribute guest posts about books their kids love (see those past posts rounded up here for some great suggestions). This year, I decided to do something a little different and spend the week focusing on a few #OwnVoices books.
If you’re not familiar, #OwnVoices is a hashtag started by author Corrine Duyvis in 2015 for people “to recommend kidlit about diverse characters written by authors from that same diverse group.” Why does reading Own Voices books matter? To quote from this excellent Brightly article by Kayla Whaley…
Sometimes the characters and stories they (majority group authors writing outside their experience) create are wonderful! But many times, they’re rife with stereotypes, tropes, and harmful portrayals. Time and again, marginalized people have seen their stories taken from them, misused, and published as authentic, while marginalized authors have had to jump hurdle after hurdle to be published themselves.
If we want to understand the stories of many people, we must listen to many people’s stories.
So, this week, I have chosen to feature some Own Voices books that we have loved. These are just a drop in huge bucket of quality children’s books written by authors from non-majority backgrounds. For many, many more suggestions, follow the #OwnVoices hashtag on social media.
El Deafo by Cece Bell
Early this year, Miss 7 fell in love with the graphic novels of Raina Telgemeier. I went searching for other books in that genre for her. El Deafo by Cece Bell was recommended over and over. She has loved it at least as much as the Telgemeier books. (See evidence of just how very loved this book is, after being read many times by her and passed around to several classmates).
“El Deafo” is the nickname that Cece Bell gave her superhero alter ego when she was a child, after having become “severely to profoundly deaf” after an illness at age 4. The book is based on Bell’s childhood, as she and her family discover her deafness, how she navigated school and friendships, and eventually, the way in which her deafness gave her (or, rather, El Deafo) “superpowers.”
The story is told in comic format, in which the characters are stylized rabbits. In The Guardian, Bell says, “Rabbits were the perfect visual metaphor for my experience. Rabbits have big ears and amazing hearing. As the only kid in my school who was deaf, I felt like the one rabbit whose big ears didn’t work…“
Beginning with her early childhood, brief illness, and discovery of her deafness, through to about age 11, she goes through struggles of trying to understand others, difficulties in making friends, feeling on-display due to the large hearing aid she has to wear to school, and the blossoming of a first crush. Many of these problems really challenge her, as a kid who just wants to have friends, fit in, and be thought of as smart, rather than “the deaf girl.” At some point in school, however, she realizes that her special hearing aid, connected to a mic worn by a teacher, means she can hear things that other kids can’t. That revelation gives her a secret “superpower,” which turns her into El Deafo. She has to decide if she keeps El Deafo to herself, or if there is anyone in her life she trusts enough to share her with.
Bell makes the most of the graphic novel format, creating a visually unique world, that illustrates with and without words what Bell can and cannot hear and how she feels. Much of the story will be emotionally familiar to anyone who has worried about making friends, fitting in at school, or what to do about the crush next door. Cece’s deafness causes additional layers of complication, both with her own difficulty in understanding others, as well as in the way that others communicate and interact with her. So many people she encounters either try to infantalise her, communicate improperly with her, misunderstand her, or don’t understand her specific needs at all. Cece is such a winning character, and her story so compelling. It’s an un-put-downable treasure.
There is an excellent author’s note at the end, which gives context to Bell’s self-positioning in relation to the “deaf world,” and how she has chosen to navigate her deafness, which is entirely unique to her (as is any person’s journey with their own disability and/or culture).
Graphic novels are an excellent option for reluctant readers, and great for enhancing visual literacy. The emotional undercurrents in this book are somewhat mature (Cece is about 11 by the end of the book), though there is nothing that I would consider overtly adult content (no romantic relationships beyond a crush, no violence), so I would recommend El Deafo for about 8+.
El Deafo by Cece Bell is published by Abrams.
We were not gifted this book for review (self-funded).
Buy in Australia via Booktopia
I’ll be sharing more Own Voices books for a variety of ages for the rest of the week. Check back tomorrow for a beautiful picture book about noticing skin colour.