Talking Slow and Loud makes it Worse: Deafness in Children's Literature

El Deafo by Cece Bell

El Deafo is a graphic novel written by Cece Bell. This adorable comic tells the story of Cece, a young girl who was born deaf, and who faces the challenge of going to school with children who aren’t like her. Cece finds herself self-conscious of her hearing aids, and the embarrassing cords attached to them. Along with the problems brought on by her hearing aids, Cece deals with finding the right friends, doing well in school, and crushing on a boy. As stated preciously, this is a graphic novel. And the characters are all bunnies! The illustrations are adorable, and I found they in fact universalize Cece, instead of pinpointing her and her disability to a certain look. Scholars Debbie Golos and Annie Moses discuss the way graphic novels and picture books are effective in the portrayal and education specifically regarding deaf characters in their article, "Representations of Deaf Characters in Children's Picture Books". Click here to check it out!

The way Bell portrayed a hearing disability was extremely informative, being that the story is told from Cece’s point of view. As a reader who knows very little about the deaf community, I was able to learn so much about someone who is deaf, and how best to speak to them…normal! Bell does an incredible job of educating, but also showing readers Cece is just like everyone else, crushing on guys, making new friends, and going to school. One great example of the educational factor of this book is Cece describing the way one of her friends speaks to her saying, "Ginny sure is nice! But how can I tell her that it's harder to understand her when she talks so loud and so slow?" (65). I would say this book is definitely geared at a grammar school age audience, however that is not to say an older reader would not enjoy the book. Deafness is one disability that children may not be as exposed to, and it is important to educate children on what it is like to be deaf, and that children with hearing disabilities are the same as you and I. The disability in this graphic novel serves as a way to show readers that everyone has their own struggles, whether they are as visible as hearing aids or not.