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Cece Bell comments on El Deafo
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From: Merri Lindgren <mlindgren_at_education.wisc.edu>
Date: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 12:39:32 -0600
Thank you to Cece Bell for taking the time to respond to questions submitted to the CCBC-Net discussion about her book El Deafo. The questions and Cece's answers are below.
1) One question that kept coming up in the in-house CCBC book discussion was -- why rabbits? Participants wanted to know why your characters are portrayed as rabbits. They had lots of interesting theories. Can you enlighten us?
Rabbits have giant ears and they are able to hear well. Being the only rabbit in the book whose ears don't work seemed like a good metaphor to me. I was very self-conscious about my hearing aid cords, and I felt like I really stood out. Showing the hearing aid cords going up past my head to my rabbit ears (instead of just up to the sides of my head, as they did with human/kid Cece) makes for a good visual metaphor for that feeling. Also, I'm not the greatest drawer of hands, and drawing rabbit paws instead of human hands had a lot of appeal! And finally, rabbits are cute. You can't go wrong with rabbits.
From Jennifer Groff
2) One thing that particularly strikes me about El Deafo is the terrific depiction of different kinds of friendships (and the agonizing manipulation that can undermine some almost-tween-girl relationships). I'm wondering, has CeCe Bell had any responses from (or Conversations with) young readers that focused more on the friendship/frenemy angle and less on the experiences of a child with deafness?
It's a great read, and thanks to the author/illustrator for developing the perfect format for the story.
Hi Jennifer! Thanks so much for your excellent question and for your kind words about the book. I have had quite a few conversations with kids and adults alike who don't have hearing loss, but are having (or did experience) all those friendship woes. People who are deaf/hoh say things like, I'm finally seeing myself in a book! People who aren't are say things like, I feel like this, too! Everyone's got something that makes them feel different or isolated, and everyone has strong desires to feel connected. I'm really pleased that so many have connected with the book in some way. I'm also really happy to be showing people who don't have a disability that kids with disabilities are going through so many of the same things that they are.
From Janet Wong, author
3) EL DEAFO is one of my favorite books of the year (and I read over 200 books for my work on the NBGS (Notable Books for a Global Society))
What are the most common questions and comments that you have received from young readers? I'm eager to know which parts of EL DEAFO have resonated most--or sparked the most discussion.
Hi Janet! Thank you so much for your question. It was great to meet you at NCTE! I'm really pleased you enjoyed the book so much. The rabbit question is the number one question, by far. Others include: Are you still friends with Martha? Did you marry Mike Miller? Did you really fool your teacher like that? Did you ever get caught? Did you really wear your bathing suit all the time like that? Does the Phonic Ear still work? Did you really hear your teacher in the bathroom? Will you get a cochlear implant? (That one's from adults.) More of the questions are about the friendships than about deafness. The deaf/hoh kids I've met seem to have fewer questions. They want to say, I've got hearing aids, too! I know what you're talking about! They're living it, so they know what I'm talking about.
From Miriam Lang Budin, Head of Children's Services, Chappaqua Library 4)First of all, I'd like to say that I love EL DEAFO. You so brilliantly convey the difficulties of people with profound deafness who are trying to fit into the hearing world. But you've achieved a more universal story than that. Its heart is about our desires to be accepted and included--something we struggle with whether we are hearing or deaf.
I wonder how your social life changed (if it did) as you got older. Is there a sequel coming about your middle school year?
Hi Miriam! Thank you so much for your question, and for your kind words!
My social life changed quite a bit. Martha was actually 2 grades behind me (we were only about a year and a couple of months apart in age), so she stayed in elementary school while I went on to middle school. This was a very difficult adjustment. There was only one middle school in town, so that meant that kids from all the elementary schools joined up there. So while I started middle school feeling like I had very few friends, I ended up meeting two girls from a different elementary school (and from a very different socio-economic class), and they became my best friends for a long time. They were wonderful and were a lot like Martha in a lot of ways. My main problem socially was not so much about the hearing aids/Phonic Ear (I still used the Phonic Ear but it was a much smaller model). It was more about the fact that I was way behind in my physical development, and completely uninterested in boys, makeup, clothes, etc. I was basically still a kid while all the other girls were becoming women. It was a weird time, but having those two important friendships helped so much. I'd love to do a middle school sequel. Just need to complete a bunch of projects first before I can start up another graphic novel!
I am thankful for your book!
THANK YOU! I'm thankful for everyone who's read the book!
From Rob Reid, professor, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
4) Could you just pass on - Thank you/thank you for creating El Deafo! I can't wait to share it with my university students, most of the them elementary education, special education, and library science students.
Rob, thank you so much! I'm thrilled that you will share the book with your university students. I hope they'll dig it!
-- Merri Lindgren, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) School of Education / UW-Madison 608-263-3930 mlindgren_at_education.wisc.edu Visit the CCBC at our new location: Room 401 Teacher Education 225 N. Mills Street Madison, WI 53706 www.ccbc.education.wisc.edu(http://www.ccbc.education.wisc.edu)
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Received on Mon 01 Dec 2014 12:39:32 PM CST
Date: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 12:39:32 -0600
Thank you to Cece Bell for taking the time to respond to questions submitted to the CCBC-Net discussion about her book El Deafo. The questions and Cece's answers are below.
1) One question that kept coming up in the in-house CCBC book discussion was -- why rabbits? Participants wanted to know why your characters are portrayed as rabbits. They had lots of interesting theories. Can you enlighten us?
Rabbits have giant ears and they are able to hear well. Being the only rabbit in the book whose ears don't work seemed like a good metaphor to me. I was very self-conscious about my hearing aid cords, and I felt like I really stood out. Showing the hearing aid cords going up past my head to my rabbit ears (instead of just up to the sides of my head, as they did with human/kid Cece) makes for a good visual metaphor for that feeling. Also, I'm not the greatest drawer of hands, and drawing rabbit paws instead of human hands had a lot of appeal! And finally, rabbits are cute. You can't go wrong with rabbits.
From Jennifer Groff
2) One thing that particularly strikes me about El Deafo is the terrific depiction of different kinds of friendships (and the agonizing manipulation that can undermine some almost-tween-girl relationships). I'm wondering, has CeCe Bell had any responses from (or Conversations with) young readers that focused more on the friendship/frenemy angle and less on the experiences of a child with deafness?
It's a great read, and thanks to the author/illustrator for developing the perfect format for the story.
Hi Jennifer! Thanks so much for your excellent question and for your kind words about the book. I have had quite a few conversations with kids and adults alike who don't have hearing loss, but are having (or did experience) all those friendship woes. People who are deaf/hoh say things like, I'm finally seeing myself in a book! People who aren't are say things like, I feel like this, too! Everyone's got something that makes them feel different or isolated, and everyone has strong desires to feel connected. I'm really pleased that so many have connected with the book in some way. I'm also really happy to be showing people who don't have a disability that kids with disabilities are going through so many of the same things that they are.
From Janet Wong, author
3) EL DEAFO is one of my favorite books of the year (and I read over 200 books for my work on the NBGS (Notable Books for a Global Society))
What are the most common questions and comments that you have received from young readers? I'm eager to know which parts of EL DEAFO have resonated most--or sparked the most discussion.
Hi Janet! Thank you so much for your question. It was great to meet you at NCTE! I'm really pleased you enjoyed the book so much. The rabbit question is the number one question, by far. Others include: Are you still friends with Martha? Did you marry Mike Miller? Did you really fool your teacher like that? Did you ever get caught? Did you really wear your bathing suit all the time like that? Does the Phonic Ear still work? Did you really hear your teacher in the bathroom? Will you get a cochlear implant? (That one's from adults.) More of the questions are about the friendships than about deafness. The deaf/hoh kids I've met seem to have fewer questions. They want to say, I've got hearing aids, too! I know what you're talking about! They're living it, so they know what I'm talking about.
From Miriam Lang Budin, Head of Children's Services, Chappaqua Library 4)First of all, I'd like to say that I love EL DEAFO. You so brilliantly convey the difficulties of people with profound deafness who are trying to fit into the hearing world. But you've achieved a more universal story than that. Its heart is about our desires to be accepted and included--something we struggle with whether we are hearing or deaf.
I wonder how your social life changed (if it did) as you got older. Is there a sequel coming about your middle school year?
Hi Miriam! Thank you so much for your question, and for your kind words!
My social life changed quite a bit. Martha was actually 2 grades behind me (we were only about a year and a couple of months apart in age), so she stayed in elementary school while I went on to middle school. This was a very difficult adjustment. There was only one middle school in town, so that meant that kids from all the elementary schools joined up there. So while I started middle school feeling like I had very few friends, I ended up meeting two girls from a different elementary school (and from a very different socio-economic class), and they became my best friends for a long time. They were wonderful and were a lot like Martha in a lot of ways. My main problem socially was not so much about the hearing aids/Phonic Ear (I still used the Phonic Ear but it was a much smaller model). It was more about the fact that I was way behind in my physical development, and completely uninterested in boys, makeup, clothes, etc. I was basically still a kid while all the other girls were becoming women. It was a weird time, but having those two important friendships helped so much. I'd love to do a middle school sequel. Just need to complete a bunch of projects first before I can start up another graphic novel!
I am thankful for your book!
THANK YOU! I'm thankful for everyone who's read the book!
From Rob Reid, professor, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire
4) Could you just pass on - Thank you/thank you for creating El Deafo! I can't wait to share it with my university students, most of the them elementary education, special education, and library science students.
Rob, thank you so much! I'm thrilled that you will share the book with your university students. I hope they'll dig it!
-- Merri Lindgren, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) School of Education / UW-Madison 608-263-3930 mlindgren_at_education.wisc.edu Visit the CCBC at our new location: Room 401 Teacher Education 225 N. Mills Street Madison, WI 53706 www.ccbc.education.wisc.edu(http://www.ccbc.education.wisc.edu)
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Received on Mon 01 Dec 2014 12:39:32 PM CST
