''El Deafo'' is a

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

written and illustrated by Cece Bell. The book is a loose

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

account of Bell's childhood and life with her

deafness Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

. The characters in the book are all anthropomorphic bunnies. Cece Bell, in an interview with the ''

Horn Book Magazine ''The Horn Book Magazine'', founded in Boston in 1924, is the oldest bimonthly magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature. It began as a "suggestive purchase list" prepared by Bertha Mahony Miller and Elinor Whitney Field, proprietres ...

'', states "What are bunnies known for? Big ears; excellent hearing," rendering her choice of characters and their deafness ironic. The graphic novel was adapted into a three-part animated miniseries for

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

Plot

The book depicts the childhood of Cece Bell, who required the assistance of a Phonic Ear

hearing aid A hearing aid is a device designed to improve hearing by making sound audible to a person with hearing loss. Hearing aids are classified as medical devices in most countries, and regulated by the respective regulations. Small audio amplifiers s ...

while she was growing up to be the person who she is now. While the hearing aid enables her to hear the world around her, it also distances her from some children her own age because she is seen as "different". This causes both frustration and depression in Cece, as she is desperate to find a true friend but frequently feels that she has to accept poor treatment from others being afraid of losing what few friends she has. She deals with these feelings by treating her hearing aid as a superpower, as it gives her the ability to hear everything. For example, she hears private teacher conversations, as her teachers wear a tiny microphone that transmits sound to Cece's hearing aid; and not every teacher remembers to turn it off when they leave the classroom. She adopts the secret

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

"El Deafo". As time passes Cece grows more

assertive Assertiveness is the quality of being self-assured and confident without being aggressive to defend a right point of view or a relevant statement. In the field of psychology and psychotherapy, it is a skill that can be learned and a mode of communi ...

and opens up to the people around her, especially when she meets a new friend who doesn't seem to care that she wears a hearing aid. She also grows comfortable in confronting people that treat her differently because of her deafness, finding that many of them are largely unaware that their actions cause her emotional harm. Ultimately Cece opens up to her new friend and reveals her secret persona as "El Deafo", much to the delight of her friend, who agrees to serve as her sidekick. As she gets older, she realizes that she no longer has to hide her "superpower" with others.

Characters

* Cecilia 'Cece' Bell: Main character *Dorn: Cece's kindergarten teacher *Mrs. Lufton: Cece's 1st grade teacher *Mrs. Ikelberry: Cece's 3rd grade teacher *Mrs. Sinklemann: Cece's 5th grade teacher *Emma: Cece's 1st best friend *Laura: Cece's best friend in 1st and 2nd grade *Ginny Wakeley: Cece's new friend in 3rd grade *Martha Ann Claytor: Cece's best friend in 5th grade *Mike Miller: Cece's 1st crush and new neighbor *Babarah Bell: Cece's mother *George Bell: Cece's father *Ashley Bell: Cece's older sister *Sarah Bell: Cece's older sister *Mr. Potts: Cece's gym teacher *El Deafo: Cece's alter-ego

Awards

''El Deafo'' won a Newbery Honor in 2015. It also won the 2015 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Kids (ages 8–12).

Critical reception

Katherine Bouton, a writer from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', calls the book inspirational for those who are different.

Television adaptation

A three-part animated miniseries adaptation of the graphic novel was released on

on January 7, 2022. The miniseries features the voices of

Pamela Adlon Pamela Fionna Adlon (; ; born July 9, 1966) is an American actress. She is known for voicing Bobby Hill in the animated comedy series ''King of the Hill'' (1997–2010), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award. She also voiced Baloo in '' Jung ...

Jane Lynch Jane Marie Lynch (born July 14, 1960) is an American actress, comedian and author. She is known for starring as Sue Sylvester in the musical comedy series '' Glee'' (2009–2015), which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award. Lynch also gained recog ...

and Chuck Nice. The miniseries is narrated by author Cece Bell with music by

Waxahatchee Waxahatchee is an American indie music project, formed in 2010 by American singer-songwriter Katie Crutchfield (born 4 January 1989), previously a member of P.S. Eliot. The band is named after Waxahatchee Creek, in Alabama, where Crutchfield g ...

. Most of the dialogue is filtered through hearing aids.

References