If your kid has been begging to read it, though, eight and up is probably OK. Also, the story ends when Cece is a tween and has a crush on a boy from school, and the story is definitely written for tweens and teens. WHAT AGE CAN A KID READ IT? I said ten and up because I think kids younger than ten might not find the story very interesting. The line that the teacher reads is: 'His flesh is rotting off those mean bones, and maggots are creeping in his eye sockets and crawling out his nose holes.'Ĭece watches a movie where you see a character on a screen wearing a bikini.Īdults smoke cigarettes and drink wine once or twice.Ĭece's older sister smokes a cigarette in one scene. She is not seriously injured.Ĭece's teacher reads Cece's class a book. You see some blood dripping from her eye. While playing tag, Cece runs into a tree and hurts her eye. The girl is tied to a chair with a dog biting her foot.Ĭece watches a TV cartoon where you see a character threatening to hurt another character with an axe. There is no blood shown.Ĭece imagines tying a girl who was mean to her to a chair. She gets very sick and loses her hearing as a result of the illness.Ī dog bites Cece's leg.

VIOLENCE, SCARINESS, AND DISTURBING ILLUSTRATIONS (3/10)-Ĭece ends up in the hospital in the first few pages of the book. POSITIVE ROLE MODELS (3/5)- Cece is realistic and brave, and she tries hard to be a good friend, though she isn't perfect. POSITIVE MESSAGES (3/5)- There are good messages about being a good friend and finding friends who are fun and who care about you. Cece wears hearing aids, and there is some information about how some hearing aids work. Here are some other things that parents should be aware of:ĮDUCATIONAL VALUE (4/5)- There is a lot of information about what is what like for Cece to grow up deaf. The story has a great, satisfying ending, too.Ĭece Bell is a great illustrator and writer, and this is a book I definitely recommend to families. Cece is extremely likeable, and older kids and tweens will most likely love this book. The story is very funny, but also sad and serious sometimes.

The illustrations are fantastic (all of the characters are rabbits, which is something I've never seen in a graphic novel before). I found this book at a book store when I was around ten and since then, I have read it at least once every year. Before I say anything else, I want to say that El Deafo is one of the best graphic novels I have ever read.

El deafo 2