El Deafo by Cece Bell (Newbery Honor 2015) Booktalk

When Cece was four years old, she got very sick with meningitis. Although she recovered from it, her hearing did not. She was deaf. At first her own family and doctor missed the signs, but once they figured it out, she got tested. She would have to wear hearing aids [show kids the Phonic Ear picture].

Problem solved - right? Wrong. Hearing is complicated - it's not just a question of making things louder. Hearing aids don't solve every problem for the deaf: there still may be sounds which a deaf person cannot hear. Some words sound muffled, even if they're "loud" enough. Cece would have to learn new strategies: how to lip read and how to guess from context what people might be saying to her.

But her Phonic Ear made her feel self-conscious and different. Imagine feeling as if people were always staring at you. Imagine that your teacher has to wear a microphone which sends sound to your hearing device. It's both a blessing and a curse.

And you know what Cece can do that no other student in her class can do? She can hear the teacher outside of class - away from the students - because the teacher keeps forgetting to turn her microphone of. She can hear her teacher in the restroom, in the teacher's lounge, you name it.

Being deaf can make friendships tricky, too. One of Cece's friends treats her like a slow-witted person. And the cute boy (on whom Cece has a crush) wants Cece to "spy" on her teacher and share that information. Read the Newbery Honor winner titled El Deafo by Cece Bell.

El Deafo by Cece Bell. 233 pages. Newbery Honor 2015. Amulet Books, 2014. Booktalk to grades 3-8. 

Book talk: Jane, the Fox, and Me

This is Helene. She has a defeated, hunted look about her. Her shoulders are often slumped.

The best part of Helene's day is reading Jane Eyre which she loves. She gets lost in it, and she loves Jane Eyre's strength and resilience.

The worst part of Helene's day is being around Genevieve, a snob and a bully. Genevieve and her friends write mean things on the walls about Helene's weight. They lie and say that Helene smells. They used to be nice to Helene.

But there are hints that things may change for Helene.

 She makes a brief -- but amazing -- connection with a shy fox, and there's a girl with equally bright eyes who rescues Helene from a lonely, harsh experience. Jane, the Fox, and Me by Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault.


Jane, the Fox, and Me by Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault. Graphic novel. 2012: Groundwood books. 101 pages. Booktalk to upper elementary, middle school.

Book talk: A Game for Swallows by Zeina Abirachad

Most of you have been at home alone while you waited for your parents to return home, right? It’s a fairly typical teen experience. But what if you had no way of contacting your parents when they were gone? What if you worried they’d get hit by sniper fire when returning home? In this graphic novel, Zeina drew us a map of how tricky it was to avoid the sniper near their apartment. 

Avoiding the sniper in A Game for Swallows

And what if the block and the area you lived in got bombed so regularly that all your neighbors would come join you in the foyer of your apartment because it was considered the safest spot? Imagine living with all your neighbors in a tiny room for hours and hours and even days. It’s a hard way to live, but Zeina and her little brother have grown up with this. They live in Beirut, Lebanon, during a time of civil war, a civil war which dragged on from 1975-1990. They know of people who have disappeared and were never seen again. But there’s humor in this novel: her neighbors – virtually family since they live in close quarters – are protective, loving, and quirky. If your world shrank to one room, would you be able to laugh?

A Game for Swallows: To Die, To Leave, To Return by Zeina Abirached. Graphic novel. 188 p. Booktalk to middle school, high school.

Booktalk: Frankenstein [graphic novel]; [Monsters; 3]

Victor Frankenstein discovered the key to creating life. When he decided to create a human, he got way more than he bargained for. He crafted one together using parts of dead bodies: he even disgusted himself in the process, yet he made a creature. But Frankenstein’s creature was not truly human. After all, is it human to turn against your maker, killing off his friends and loved ones? No wonder Victor Frankenstein sees his creation as a monster. But the monster is going to fight back. He wants a companion, and he’ll stop at nothing to get one. Can Victor Frankenstein actually make a second creature? This is a graphic novel adaption of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, adapted by Lloyd S. Wagner.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein [Campfire graphic novels], adapted by Lloyd S. Wagner. 2010: Kalyani Navyug Media. 68 p. Due to some gory content, I would hesitate to booktalk this to elementary school [5^th and under], but I do think it’s acceptable for middle school and high school.

Booktalk: Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians [All things library; 3]

Here’s a term you don’t often hear: “evil librarians.” Evil librarians?! Are you serious? In this graphic novel, Lunch Lady and her sidekick Betty discover a plot by the League of Librarians. They are four librarians who want to blow up a shipment of the brand new, ultra-cool video game consoles, the X-Station 5000. What a waste, right? These librarians are so opposed to video games that they’re willing to deal with high-powered weapons, like dictionaries! But don’t worry. Lunch Lady, as much as she loves reading, is not going to stand for that. And she has tools she’s going to use: taco-vision night goggles; the spork phone; hover pizzas; a sense of humor; a linguini lasso; and a huge celery stick. Can a world with both books and video games co-exist in peace and harmony? Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians by Jarrett J. Krosoczka.

Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. Unpaged. 2009: Alfred A. Knopf. Booktalk to intermediate grades [grades 2-5].