Hearing Loss and Deafness Booklist

An inspiring picture book true story of the inspiring life of deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie.

Evelyn began to experience hearing loss at ten years old. She loved music, and did not want to give up on her passion because of her deafness. Trying different instruments helped, and she switched to percussion, where the vibrations could help her to feel the music with her body. Over time, Evelyn became an award-winning percussionist and opened doors to making music education more accessible for others.

The beautiful and evocative artwork captures the optimistic tone of the story and highlights the idea of ‘feeling’ the music.

Callie and Bo are best friends. Together they have set up SPUD – the Super Perceptive Undercover Detectives. With the help of Callie’s pet Mynah bird, Bo, this is the second case the girls are hoping to solve. Bo’s special talent is that he can talk, communicating with Callie through her “slugs” (hearing aids) and the three are a great team.

On a school trip to the Tower of London, Bo stows away in Callie’s rucksack and the adventure begins. Two people are acting suspiciously and SPUD are on a mission to solve the case of the theft of precious gold coins from one of the exhibits. Bo’s ability to communicate with both his human friends and the ravens who guard the Tower allow them to get right into the investigation. As the story unfolds, the investigation takes them all over the museum as they chase their suspects. They even get to work with real detectives!

The author, Karen Owen, has been partially deaf since childhood and uses this series to bring relatable characters that children with hearing loss can identify with. In the character of Callie, this is very much a superpower rather than a disability.The black and white illustrations by Louise Forshaw are a great addition to the story.

This is a fun, easy read and a good introduction to the detective genre for readers aged 6+.

We adore this moving graphic novel memoir about deafness by Cece Bell.

Cece Bell retells her memories of being a young child, when she experienced hearing loss after being ill with meningitis. In this graphic novel retelling of her life, characters are redrawn as charming anthropomorphic bunnies – although, after a few pages, you forget that they are not just people. Despite the challenges of her condition, Cece approaches life with positivity and bounce.  A throwaway comment by another child called her ‘El Deafo’ sparks the creation of a fun alter-ego, empowering her to think like a superhero would about her hearing aid (which she sees as cool gadgets that give her extra powers). Other themes covered in the story include friendship, moving class and celebrating differences.

Readers will whizz through this thought-provoking and unique graphic novel.  There’s also an author note that gives a little more background about Cece Bell’s life.

This is a brilliant book. I absolutely loved every page and couldn’t put it down. The story tells of 12-year-old Iris, who is the only deaf person at school and finds friendship in amongst the crackles and vibrations of the broken radios that she is a genius at fixing. Through the novel, the author demonstrates what day-to-day life is like for Iris and how she copes with forming friendships and being part of school when her communication is different to the rest of the community.

Her life changes when, in what looks like an ordinary lesson, she learns about Blue 55. Blue 55 is a whale that travels the oceans looking for another whale to hear his song. For reasons well explained in the book, his song is like no other whale and so he is alone. Iris is determined to help him and has the technical know-how to reach out to him. The novel charts her progress on this trip of a lifetime. Running parallel to the main story are those of Iris’ grandma, grieving after the loss of her husband and a story by Blue 55 himself.

The book deals with the complex issues of communication, friendship, grief and loneliness with sensitivity and heart. The author also describes whale relationships and communication with authority and clarity. It certainly made me want to book an Arctic cruise! At the back of the book is an interesting ‘Author’s Note’ which explains the true stories behind this fictional account and the real ‘Blue 55’.

This would make a fabulous ‘read-aloud’ book in Y4-6 classrooms as well as a good novel for 10 and 11 yr olds to get stuck into. It would support topics on sound science, wildlife, travel, global issues, friendship, grief, ourselves and others…and so many more. An absolute must for all UKS2 classrooms.