El Deafo

Bibliographic Citation

Bell, C. (2014). El Deafo (Illustrated ed.). Harry N. Abrams.

About the Book

This heart-warming autobiography is based on author Cece Bell. She walks us through her experience adjusting to becoming deaf after contracting meningitis at the age of 4. This book has humor, charm, and the depth of characters make this book easily relatable to any child who struggles fitting in or making friends.

El Deafo is a beautiful autobiography that teaches multiple meaningful themes such as acceptance, friendship, empathy, relationships, and family. These are significant themes that anyone can learn from. It is told in a fun graphic novel format with comic strips and dialogue bubbles that contribute to enhancing Cece’s superhero alter ego. The story and illustrations also help create the fun and lively tone the author uses throughout the novel to target a worldwide audience.

Connections

Book trailer:

Books with similar themes

• Marie Curie : A Graphic Novel by Kaara Kallen; illustrated by Rosie Baker

• Sisters by Raina Telgemeier

Other books by author:

• Rabbit & Robot : The Sleepover

• Chick and Brain. Smell My Foot!

Teaching ideas:

• This is a great book to use when teaching themes. It goes to show that stories can have more than one theme as long as you are able to support it with text evidence.

• This would also be a great book to teach about point of view and how it affects the account of events in a story.

• El Deafo is also an excellent novel to discuss characters, their traits, motivations, feelings, and the changes they undergo.

Requirement the book meets:

• Required book list