Some Fairies Wear Hearing Aids

Some Fairies Wear Hearing Aids by Penny Gill

A magical story for children with hearing aids or cochlear implants, their friends, classmates, and families. Piper and Paige are best friends - you might even say they are two peas in a pod! These clever girls are both deaf, use listening technology, and are always ready for adventure. When they decide to build a fairy house, they are in for a big surprise!

This charming yet simple story explores friendships between people with hearing loss, the journey from birth to listening through sensory devices, and the fun of creative play in nature. There is even an adorable hearing dog!

Some Fairies Wear Hearing Aids is a delightful story that provides "mirrors and windows" for children with hearing loss and their typically hearing friends, classmates, and families. The book includes "participation pages" at the end, with suggested activities.

Show Me A Sign

Show Me A Sign

By Ann Clare LeZotte

It’s 1805, and Mary Lambert is living on Martha’s Vineyard, an island off the coast of Boston.  Mary is deaf, as are many others on Martha’s Vineyard.  But everyone on the island, whether hearing or not, is fluent in sign language – it’s part of island culture.

When Andrew Noble arrives from the mainland, Mary begins to wonder if there is something unusual about the island.  Andrew is intent on doing scientific research into the “problem” of deafness on Martha’s Vineyard. He treats the deaf as though they are beneath him and refuses to address them directly, which islanders consider rude.

Andrew is determined to prove his worth as a scientist and as such, decides to return to Boston with a “live specimen”.  When Andrew kidnaps Mary and throws her aboard his ship, she is stunned.  But her shock grows after her arrival in Boston, where she learns that the deaf are treated like animals.  She cannot communicate with anyone and she begins to question her own value as a person.  Will she ever get back to the safety of her island home?

Show Me A Sign shows us the ways in which different cultures have often been treated as worthless and the impact that this treatment has on those cultures.  The book also touches on the lives of the First Nations people of Martha’s Vineyard, the Wampanoag, and the lives of freed black people.  The author also provides readers with a history of deafness on Martha’s Vineyard and the evolution of sign language around the world.  An amazing and timely story!

Highly recommended!

El Deafo

El Deafo

By Cece Bell

At age four, Cece loses her hearing and must start wearing hearing aids.  The hearing aids help, but Cece must still learn to lip read in order to understand what people are saying.  Much of the time she struggles to make sense of what's going on.  This makes school and friendships challenging.

Cece just wants to be like everyone else and in many ways, she is.  She goes to sleepovers, goofs off at school and develops a crush on Mike Miller.  But Cece also has to learn to become comfortable with her own deafness.

At school, Cece must wear special hearing aids while her teachers wear a microphone.  Cece discovers that she can hear her teachers clearly while they wear that microphone, no matter where they are in the school.  She often hears her teacher gossiping in the staff room and going to the bathroom.  Her ability to hear these things seems like a superpower to her, and soon Cece gives herself the superhero name El Deafo.

When Cece’s classmates learn about this power, she really becomes popular.  Now the students can have a party every time their teacher leaves because Cece can always warn them when she’s coming back!

El Deafo is a heartwarming graphic novel that celebrates what it’s like to be a little different.

 

Hello, Universe

Hello, Universe

By Erin Entrada Kelly

Virgil Salinas is a shy boy who finds himself the target of bullying by Chet “the Bull” Bullens.  Virgil desperately wants to stand up for himself, but he just doesn’t have the confidence to do it.  Even his parents call him “Turtle” because he is so quiet.  The nickname makes him feel bad about himself, but he can’t even muster the courage to ask his parents to stop using it.

Virgil starts going to see a psychic to help him solve his problems.  Her name is Kaori Tanaka, and although she is a kid too, she believes she can tap into the powers of the universe to help guide other people.

Valencia Somerset is another of Kaori’s “clients”.  Valencia is deaf, but is able to rely on hearing aids and lip reading to help her communicate.  She is also the girl that Virgil most wants to talk to, but of course, he’s too shy to do it.

Alone in the woods one day, Virgil encounters Chet, and ends up in a dangerous, even life-threatening situation.  When he doesn’t meet Kaori at the appointed time, she begins to look for him.  By coincidence, Valencia joins the search.  But Kaori doesn’t believe in coincidences.  Did fate intervene to bring these kids together?

Hello, Universe is a novel about friendship, bullying, confidence and the power of the universe to bring the right people together at the right time. If you are looking for a feel-good, uplifting novel, try this one.