List of children's books featuring deaf characters
Approximately 466 million people or 5% of the worlds population has disabling hearing loss (term defined and used by the World Health Organisation) and 34 million of these are children. [1] Despite approximately one third of people over 65 years of age being affected by disabling hearing loss [2] deaf adult characters are under significantly under represented in children's books; even within books which do include a deaf character. There have been several studies into how Deaf children are portrayed in children's literature.[3][4][5][6] Historically children's books have generally conformed to an outdated cultural view of Deaf people, which resulted in books which portray those characters who happen to be Deaf as in need of saving or to be pitied. In more recent times society has improved attitudes towards d/Deaf people and this has led in part to better representation in literature. This article highlights some of the books which reflect the diversity found within the deaf community.
There have been several campaigns such as "toy like me" and "in the picture" (by Scope UK) to encourage toy manufacturers and children's publishers to more accurately reflect society. [7][8] In response to these campaigns there has been a gradual increase in the quality and quantity of Deaf characters in children's books. BookTrust, a UK children's charity have issued advise for writers, illustrators and publishers on how to naturally include Deaf and disabled characters in children's books.[9]
The term 'Deaf' is generally used to refer to a linguistic and cultural minority group who use sign language and are members of Deaf culture. The term 'deaf' or 'hard of hearing' is commonly used to refer to individuals with partial deafness or hearing loss. People who identify as hard of hearing or small 'd' deaf are generally not members of the Deaf sign language using community. This distinction is useful in academic settings where precision is needed but for the purpose of this article the term 'deaf' is used to include characters with any level of deafness/hearing loss and instead their communication styles, use of hearing technology or none and cultural setting such as living with a hearing family or being part of the Deaf Sign Language using community to enable to the reader to form their own judgements on where the character falls on the Deaf/hearing culture continuum. As in real life many fictional characters participate at least in part in both Deaf and hearing cultures and manage cross cultural relationships.
Board books for young children featuring D/deaf characters[]
Books are listed by publication date, although books are only included in the list if they have a deaf character some books also contain illustrations of other disabled characters and so when present this information has also been included in the table. Deaf adult characters are highlighted in Bold.
| Title (Series) | Author/Illustrator | Deaf and disabled characters / Awards won | Year 1st Published | Child's Age | Book type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This old Man | Claire Keay | The illustrations include a medical professional wearing a hearing aid. | 2019 | 2-6 yr | Board book & soft cover |
| Baby Loves the Five Senses: Hearing! (Baby Loves Science) | Ruth Spiro,
Irene Chan |
The illustrations include a child wear a hearing aid and another wearing a cochlear implant the book also includes a reference to ASL. | 2019 | 0-2 yr | Board book |
| Round and Round the Garden | Annie Kulber | The illustrations include a character with hearing aids, a child with glasses and a child with an arm splint. | 2018 | 0-2 yr | Board Book |
| Zoom, Zoom, Zoom | Annie Kulber | The illustrations include a child with a hearing aid, a child wearing an eye patch, a child with glasses, another using a wheelchair.[10] | 2018 | 0-2 yr | Board Book |
| Sleeping Bunnies | Annie Kulber | The illustrations include a child with a hearing aid, a child with glasses and a child with a walking frame,. | 2018 | 0-2 yr | Board Book |
| Sleep Tight, Teddy! (New Chatterboox) | Jo Byatt | The central character in this book wears a cochlear implant on her right side.[11] The illustrations also show her cochlear implant charging station on her bedside table. Earlier editions have different illustrations and they don't include any deaf characters. | 2018 | 0-3 yr | Board Book |
| Feeling Great! (Just Like Me!) | Ailie Busby | The illustrations include a toddler using a hearing aid.[12] Earlier editions have different illustrations and they don't include any deaf characters. | 2018 | 0-2 yr | Board Book |
| Farm (Wheels at work) | Cocoretto | The illustrations include a character wearing a hearing aid in each ear whilst riding a quad bike. | 2017 | 1-4 yr | Board Book |
| Clive is a Librarian (Clive's Jobs) | Jessica Spanyol | The illustrations include Wilfred wearing a hearing aid and Anisa wearing a leg splint and another child wearing glasses. | 2017 | 1-3 yr | Board Book |
| Clive is a Waiter (Clive's Jobs) | Jessica Spanyol | The illustrations include Wilfred wearing a hearing aid and Anisa wearing a leg splint and another child wearing glasses. | 2017 | 1-3 yr | Board Book |
| Clive is a Teacher (Clive's jobs) | Jessica Spanyol | The illustrations include Wilfred wearing a hearing aid and Anisa wearing a leg splint child and another child wearing glasses. | 2017 | 1-3 yr | Board Book |
| Sing (Amazing Me!) | Carol Thompson | The illustrations include two children wearing hearing aids and another child wearing glasses. | 2017 | 1-3 yr | Board Book |
| Baby Talk | Auditory Verbal UK | In this picture book all the photo's which are of babies and young children wearing hearing aids or cochlear implants. | 2016 | 0-2 yr | Thick Card |
| Goat goes to Playgroup | Julia Donaldson Nick Sharratt | The illustrations include a Monkey wearing a hearing aid, Monkey features several times during the book.[13] | 2015 | 2-5 yr | Board Book & soft cover |
| Autumn (Seasons) | Ailie Busby | The illustrations include a child wearing a hearing aid, a child wearing 'Boots and a Bar' which implies the child had Talipes (Club foot) and another child with a built up shoe. Part of a series which won a Practical Preschool Silver award (UK) 2015. | 2015 | 0-3 yr | Board Book |
| Spring (Seasons) | Ailie Busby | The illustrations include a child with a hearing aid, children wearing glasses and a child wearing a wrist splint. Part of a series which won a Practical Preschool Silver award (UK) 2015. | 2015 | 0-3 yr | Board Book |
| Wind (Whatever the weather) | Carol Thompson | The illustrations include a child wearing a hearing aid and a child with Down's syndrome.[14] Part of a series which won Practical Preschool Silver award Year. | 2014 | 1-4 yr | Board Book |
| Sun (Whatever the weather) | Carol Thompson | The illustrations include a child signing 'SUN' in BSL, a child with Down's syndrome, another child wearing a protective helmet and a child with a nasal oxygen cannula and a walking frame.[15] Part of a series which won Practical Preschool Silver award. | 2014 | 1-4 yr | Board Book |
| Jump! (Little movers) | Carol Thompson | The illustrations include a child wearing a cochlear implant, a child wearing leg splints and another child wearing a safety helmet. This book was included in Guardian's top 10 most inclusive books in 2013.[16] | 2013 | 1-3 yr | Board Book |
| Blankies | Carol Thompson | The illustrations include a child with a hearing aid and child another wearing an eye patch. | 2012 | 0-3 yr | Board Book |
| Mary had a Little Lamb (Classic Books with Holes) | Marina Aizen | The illustrations include a child wearing a hearing aid and another child using a wheelchair.[17] | 2012 | 3-6 yr | Board Book & Soft Cover |
| School (First Time) | Jan Lewis | The illustrations include a child with a hearing aid, a child wearing a leg splint and another child uses tripods. | 2012 | 2-6 yr | Thick Card |
| Performance (First Time) | Jan Lewis | The illustrations clearly show a teacher wearing a radio aid/FM system presumably for the benefit of a deaf child, but thought there are several female children wearing square hairclips which could be interpreted as hearing technology there is no clear illustration of a child wearing a hearing aid or cochlear implant etc. The illustrations also include a child with their leg in a cast and using crutches. | 2012 | 2-6 yr | Thick Card |
| What Can I feel (Small senses) | Annie Kulber | The illustrations include a child wearing a hearing aid. Selected for Bookbug Baby Pack by the Scottish Book Trust. | 2011 | 0-3 yr | Board Book |
| What Can I taste (Small senses) | Annie Kulber | The illustrations include a child wearing a hearing aid and another child wearing a leg splint. | 2011 | 0-3 yr | Board Book |
| What Can I hear (Small Senses) | Annie Kulber | The illustrations include a child wearing a hearing aid and another child wearing an eye patch. | 2011 | 0-3 yr | Board Book |
| What Can I see (Small senses) | Annie Kulber | The illustrations include a child wearing a hearing aid. | 2011 | 0-3 yr | Board Book |
| Vet (First Time) | Jess Stockham | The illustrations include a child wearing a hearing aid, a child wearing glasses and another child with a guide dog. | 2011 | 2-6 yr | Thick Card |
| Doctor (First Time) | Jess Stockham | The illustrations include a receptionist wearing a hearing aid and a child wearing a hearing aid visits the Doctor. Another child has eczema. Part of a series which won a Bizziebay Silver Award in 2010.[18] | 2011 | 2-6 yr | Thick Card |
| Pat-a-Cake | Annie Kulber | The illustrations include a child wearing a hearing aid. Part of a series which won a Practical Pre-School Gold Award 2014 (UK). | 2010 | 0-2 yr | Board Book |
| You and Me (New Baby) | Rachel Fuller | The illustrations include a child wearing a hearing aid. | 2009 | 1-3 yr | Board Book |
| Baby sitter (First Time) | Jess Stockham | The illustrations show the babysitter and child signing 'DUCK' to each other in BSL. This book has won a Practical Pre-School Bronze Award (UK) 2009, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, Best Book Award Gold (USA) 2010[19] and won a Bizziebaby Silver Award (UK) 2011.[18] | 2009 | 2-6 yr | Tough Card |
| Big Day Out (First Time) | Jess Stockham | The illustrations include two background characters signing, whilst waiting in a queue to buy tickets, the adult is signing 'TICKET' in BSL and the child is signing 'EXCITED' in response. The pictures also include the hearing loop sign used in the UK. This book was a joint winner of a Practical Pre-School Bronze Award (UK) 2009 and a Bizziebaby Silver Award 2011.[18] | 2009 | 2-6 yr | Tough Card |
| Together (Just Like Us!) | Jess Stockham | The illustrations include a young child wearing a hearing aid whilst playing in the sand and another child wearing a safety helmet. Part of a series which won a Practical Parenting Gold award. | 2008 | 1-3 yr | Board Book |
| Making Friends! (Just Like Us!) | Jess Stockham | The illustrations include a child with a hearing aid and a child with Downs syndrome. Part of a series which won a Practical Parenting Gold award. | 2008 | 1-3 yr | Board Book |
| I'm a Little teapot | Annie Kulber | The illustrations include a child wearing a hearing aid. Part of a series which won a Practical Pre-School Gold Award (UK) 2014. | 2007 | 0-2 yr | Board Book |
| Bounce & Jiggle (Baby Gym) | Sanja Rešcek | The illustrations include a baby with a hearing aid.[20] This book won a Practical Pre-School Bronze Award (UK) 2008. | 2007 | 0-2 yr | Board Book |
| Touch and Tickle (Baby Gym) | Sanja Rešcek | The illustrations include a baby with a hearing aid and a wheelchair-using parent or carer.[21] This book has won the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Best Book Award Gold, Myra Robertson Baby Book of the year 2009, Practical Pre-School Bronze Award 2008 and Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Special Needs Adaptable Product Award. | 2007 | 0-2 yr | Board Book |
| Little Ocean Explorers (Little explorers) | Anthony Lewis | The double-sided character which can be inserted into each scene, features a girl wearing a hearing aid on a retainer cord on one side and a boy without a hearing aid on the other side. | 2007 | 1-4 yr | Board Book |
| See-Saw! Nursery Songs (Nursery Time) | Annie Kubler | The illustrations include a child wearing a hearing aid and another with a cochlear implant. | 2006 | 1-3 yr | Board Book |
| Peek-a-Boo! Nursery Games (Nursery Time) | Annie Kubler | The illustrations include an adult wearing a hearing aid and a child wearing a leg splint. | 2005 | 2-3 yr | Board Book |
| Noo-Noo! (My New Baby) | Carol Thompson | Thie illustrations include a baby wearing a hearing aid and another baby wearing an eye patch. | 2009 | 0-2 yr | Tough Card |
Picture books with D/deaf characters[]
The books are listed in date order. D/deaf writers and authors are highlighted in bold.
| Title | Author/Illustrator | Deaf characters | Child's Age | Year 1st Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Can Bears Ski? | Raymond Antrobus | The central character baby Bear is deaf and gets hearing aids in the book. The storyline incorporates some deaf awareness tips. | 3-6 | 2020 |
| Mila gets her Super Ears | Ashley Machovec | The central character Mila tells the story of how her hearing loss was detected when she was a baby and how aged two she became eligible for and had cochlear implant surgery. | 2020 | |
| Zola Gets Hearing Aids | Narita Snead,
Dawn Campbell |
The central character Zola has a hearing aid fitted in the story. | 5-12 | 2020 |
| Mikah's Wandering Feet (Mikah Can! 2) | Tabitha J Page- Alexander Kulieshov | Mikah monkey is deaf, he lives in a Zoo enclosure with his family and uses sign language (Auslan) to communicate with his family. | 3-10 | 2020 |
| Bessie Needs Hearing Aids | Jenna Harmke,
Toby Mikle |
The central character Bessie, a rabbit, has hearing aids fitted in the story. | 2020 | |
| Maxi's Super Ears | Maggie Klein | The central character, Maxi has his first set of hearing aids fitted aged 3. This is a central part of the story. | 2020 | |
| The Quest for the Cockle Implant | Maya Wasserman, Lucy Rogers | The main character a mermaid, Angel, is Deaf and wears bilateral cochlear implants, the book also features another deaf character called Merkitty and they communicate in BSL. The storyline incorporates some Deaf awareness tips and a BSL version is available on ITV's Signed Stories app. The book was published by the NDCS in the UK. | 2020 | |
| Ling Ling Bird, seen and heard: A joyous tale of firendship, acceptance and magic ears! (The Adventures of Ling Ling Bird) | Tanya Sauders | The main character is a Bird called Ling Ling who is profoundly deaf and has "Magic ears" (cochlear implants) and speaks clearly now after many hours of speech therapy. [22] | 6-8 | 2020 |
| Sammy and His Super Ears | Kay Hoffman Brocato,
Cameron Wilson |
One of the main characters, Sammy the turtle wears cochlear implants. | 8-12 | 2019 |
| Just Read! | Lori Degman | One page has an illustration showing a child signing 'I LOVE YOU' in ASL with the text, "I read with my voice or my hands, using signs". The illustrations also feature a child reading a book in braille. | 4-7 | 2019 |
| Super Kena: A Girl Make Fiece with Hearing aids | Becky Cymbaluk, Zuzana Svobodova | The main character is a female superhero called Super Kena who wears two hearing aids. | 2019 | |
| The Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm Tree | Angeliki Stamatopoulou-Pedersen, Tety Solou | One of the main characters is Jacob and attends a mainstream school, he wears hearing aids. | 2019 | |
| Preemie Powered: The Story of SoundWave | Maria Addison Gray | The main character 'recruit' wears two blue hearing aids. | 2019 | |
| What did you say? | Dr Zeenat Abdulshakur, Tajmul Riyaz Tajmul Rizwan,
Tazmeen Rukhsana Tajmul Rizwan |
The main characters are Ray and Rui who are identical twins. Ray has ANSD, wears hearing aids and uses speech to communicate. | 2019 | |
| Deafinitely Awesome: The Story of Acorn | Mary L. Motley,
Timy Sullivan, Jenny Campbell |
The central character, Acorn the dog is Deaf and once this is identified, the people caring for the dog taught him to understand sign language. | 2019 | |
| Deaf Cinderella | Adonia Smith Maureen Klusza | The Cinderella in this story is Deaf and uses ASL to communicate. | 2019 | |
| The Brave Princess and Me | Kathy Kacer,
Juliana Kolesova |
This book is based on part of the life of Princess Alice of Battenberg who was born deaf and used sign language, speech (English, German and Greek) and lip reading to communicate.[23] | 5-6 yr | 2019 |
| This Old Man | Claire Keay | The illustrations include a medical professional wearing a hearing aid. Is also available as a board book. | 2-6 yr | 2019 |
| Happy To Be Me | Emma Dodd | The illustrations include a BME young boy wearing a bright blue hearing aid in his right ear. There is also another child wearing glasses and a child sitting in a wheelchair.[24] | 3-5 yrs | 2019 |
| Ninita's Big World: The True Story of a Deaf Pygmy Marmoset | Sarah Glenn Marsh, Stephanie Fizer Coleman | This story is about a deaf monkey. | 4-7 yr | 2019 |
| There's Only One You | Kathryn Heling, Deborah Hembrook, Rosie Butcher | The illustrations of this book include a girl with curry ginger hair wearing two hearing aids. There is also a character wearing glasses, and another one using a forearm crutch and another using a wheelchair. | 3-7 yrs | 2018 |
| The Rock that Couldn't Roll | Jay Miletsky,
Erin Wozniak |
The illustrations include a 'rock' called Leesie wearing a BAHA[25] on a light pink soft band. | 4-8 yr | 2018 |
| My Happy Place | Amy Crockford,
Daniel Butler |
The main character Amy is 10 years old and Deaf and uses ASL to communicate. | 2018 | |
| The Monster at the Park | Leah Carroll,
Ekaterina Voytes |
The character Magi wears a cochlear implant on her right side. She is one of the central characters. | 2018 | |
| Ezekiel Help Clean the House (Ezekiel the Deaf Therapy Dog) | Mary Lyons,
Tom Lyons |
The main character, Ezekiel is Deaf and his owners instruction him in ASL. | 2018 | |
| Violet's Story | Frances Clark | The central character Violet, loses her hearing as a child then gets a cochlear implant. | 5 + yr | 2018 |
| Silent Star: The Story of Deaf Major Leaguer William Hoy | Bill Wise,
Adam Gustavson |
Book on the life of William Hoy who became deaf after having meningitis, aged 3. | 6-11 yr | 2018 |
| Elephant and the Lost Blanket | Alex Nadioo | The central elephant character in this story wears bilateral hearing aids and the tiger is wearing bilateral cochlear implants. | 2018 | |
| Boy | Phil Cummings, Hane Devries | The central character is Deaf and uses sign language (Auslan), writing and gestures to communicate. | 2018 | |
| Mikah's Big Move (Mikah Can! 1) | Tabitha Page Alexander Kulieshov |
Mikah monkey was born deaf and uses sign language (Auslan) and the BANZSL alphabet.[26] | 3-7 yr | 2018 |
| Meet Justin: A Story About a Hearing Impairment (Someone Special Books) | Heather McCarthy, Kate Ryan | Justin has "hearing impairment" and the book contains some deaf awareness tips at the back. (Only available as a Kindle edition.) | 2017 | |
| Silent Days, Silent Dreams | Allen Say | This biography of James Castle who was born 2 months premature and was deaf and Autistic was an accomplished artist despite difficulties with communication as he never learned to read or write, use sign language or speech. The Book does not contain images of James work. This book won the ALA Schneider Family Book Award for Young children in 2018.[27] | 8-12 yr | 2017 |
| National Geographic Readers: Helen Keller (Level 2) (Readers Bios) | Kitson Jazynka | Picture book biography of Helen Keller. | 5-8 yr | 2017 |
| Proud to be Deaf | Ava Beese,
Lilli Beese, Nick Beese, Romina Martí |
The central character, Ava is Deaf and wears hearing aids and also uses British Sign Language to communicate. The book features also features her parents who are both Deaf and many other Deaf role models. | 6-8 yr | 2017 |
| Helen's Big World (Big Words): The Life of Helen Keller | Doreen Rappaport, Matt Tavares | A picture biography of Helen Keller who became Deaf-Blind aged 19 months and used a mixture of the Rochester method, ASL, speech and braille. | 6-9 yr | 2017 |
| The Gingerbread Witch | Paul Miller | One of the twins which are the main characters, is called Anders and is Deaf and uses ... to communicate. | 2017 | |
| Fairy Magic | Cerrie Burnell,
Laura Ellen Anderson |
The main character wears a BAHA hearing aid on a softband.[28] | 3-6 yr | 2017 |
| A Bear Hug at Bedtime | Jana Novotny-Hunter Kay Widdowson | The main character wears a hearing aid.[29] | 3-7 yr | 2017 |
| And so, Ahmed hears | Dawn Doig | Central character Ahmed can't hear speech before being fitted with his hearing aids. | 2017 | |
| Marvelous Mary: Deaf with Cochlear Implants | Emily Christensen | The central character Mary uses sign language, speech and bilateral cochlear implants to communicate. | 2017 | |
| Jake and Jasmine to the Rescue | Karen Harlow,
Sandra Aguilar |
Jake is one of the two main characters, he is deaf and has a cochlear implant. | 4-7 yr | 2017 |
| Emma's Ears | Gianna Righi | The central character Emma was born profoundly deaf and then gets a cochlear implant after trailing her hearing aid. | 5-6 yr | 2016 |
| Max and His Hearing Aids | Emily Mikoski | The central character Max wears hearing aids. (Kindle edition only) | 2016 | |
| Ranvir Cannot Hear | Genevieve Yusuf,
Shermain Philip |
Ranvir the Elephant who is the central character is Deaf. | 2016 | |
| Dodger Dog Meets Shea: Volume 3 (Adventures of Dodger Dog) | Karen Gee,
Kim Wymer |
The main character Dodger meets Holly a Deaf dog and they learn to communicate. | 2016 | |
| The Sound of All Things | Myron Uhlberg,
Ted Papoulas |
The parents in this book are both Deaf and use ASL to communicate, this book is written from the perspective of one of their hearing children. This book has won several awards including Notable Books for a Global Society 2017,[30] Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2017,[31] CCBC Choices 2017,[32] Best Children's Books of the Year (Starred) 2017.[33] | 6-10 yr | 2016 |
| The William Hoy Story: How a Deaf Baseball Player Changed the Game | Nancy Churnin,
Jez Tuya |
William Hoy is Deaf and uses ASL to communicate. This book has won several awards including Storytelling World Resource Award Honor Book 2017,[34] New York Public Library Best Books for Kids 2016,[35] Best Children's Books of the Year 2017[33] and Louisiana Young Readers' Choice list 2018.[36] | 4-8 yr | 2016 |
| Daisy and Ted's Awesome Adventures | Alex Nadioo | Daisy, one of the main characters, wears a hearing aid. | 4-7 yr | 2016 |
| The Little Deaf Squirrel | Mrs. Barbara Richford | The central character is a Deaf character | 5-6 yr | 2016 |
| Simone | Sonya B. P. Giridhar | Simone, the central character uses an FM system to hear the teacher. Her ears are covered by her hair in the illustrations so you can't see the cochlear implant or hearing aids. | 2016 | |
| My Friend is Deaf | James Kerwin,
Marie Kerwin |
One of the two main characters James is Profoundly Deaf and uses Auslan to communicate. | 2015 | |
| The Elephant in the Room | Jim Bombicino,
Gildas Chatal |
The central character Skyler has hearing loss and wears hearing aids and uses speech to communicate. | 2015 | |
| Mike & the Deaf Student (The Walk a Mile in My Shoes Club) | Sharon Straka Hendricks | In the book David, the Deaf student is bullied but after spending a day Deaf he learns some sign language (ASL) and then stops bullying David. | 5-9 yrs | 2015 |
| Maxi's Super Ears | Maggie Klein | The central character Maxi, gets hearing aids. | 2015 | |
| Goat Goes to Playgroup | Julia Donaldson,
Nick Sharratt |
The illustrations show a monkey wearing a hearing aid. | 2015 | |
| I Am Helen Keller (Ordinary People change the world) | Brad Meltzer | A picture book biography of Helen Keller. | 2015 | |
| The Five of Us | Quentin Blake | There are five main characters and one is deaf.[37] | 5-7 yr | 2014 |
| Young Thomas Edison | Michael Dooling | This book is a biography of Thomas Edison. He became Deaf (totally deaf on his left and hard of hearing on his right side) aged approximately 9–12 years old. He used speech and lip-reading to communicate.[38] | 2014 | |
| Hands & Hearts: With 15 Words in American Sign Language | Donna Jo Napoli Amy Bates (Il | The Mother and Daughter in this story use ASL to communicate. | 2014 | |
| The Mitten String | Jennifer Rosner Kristina Swarner | One of the main characters Bayla is Deaf in the story she cares for her baby. | 3-7 yr | 2014 |
| Harmony Hears a Hoot | Fara Augustover | The central character Harmony gets a hearing aid and uses an FM system at school. | 2014 | |
| Kylie Gets a Cochlear Implant | Marilyn C. Rose | The main character Kylie loses her hearing after an illness aged six and after lip-reading and using sign language for 2 years (without trailing hearing aids) had a cochlear implant.[39] | 2013 | |
| Dachy's Deaf (Dinosaurs Friends) | Jack Hughes | The central character Dachy is deaf and uses a hearing aid. | 8-12 yr | 2013 |
| Helen Keller's Best Fried Belle | Holly M. Barry,
Jennifer Thermes |
The central character of this book is Helen Keller who became deaf-blind after an illness at 19 months old. In the book, she uses ASL fingerspelling, braille and speech to communicate. | 4-8 yr | 2013 |
| My Magic Ears | Bob Kennedy | The central character has bilateral cochlear implants fitted in the book. | 2013 | |
| Max and George Make New Friends | Matthew Robins | One of the central characters Max is Deaf and uses BSL to communicate. | 2013 | |
| Annie and Helen | Deborah Hopkinson, Raul Colón | This book is about the life of Helen Keller (Deaf-Blind) and her teacher Annie Sullivan (Blind.) | 4-8 yr | 2012 |
| Silent Star: The Story of Deaf Major Leaguer William Hoy | Bill Wise,
Adam Gustavson |
A picture book biography of William Hoy[40] who became Deaf after having meningitis aged three. | 6-11 yr | 2012 |
| Helen's Big World: The Life of Helen Keller (Big Words) | Doreen Rappaport,
Matt Tavares |
A picture book biography of Helen Keller. | 6-8 yr | 2012 |
| Let's Hear it for Almigal | Wendy Kupfer | The central character Almigal has lost her hearing and then gets bilateral cochlear implants. Mom's Choice Gold Award Winner for Values and Life Lessons. | 5-7 yr | 2012 |
| Can You Hear a Rainbow? | Jamee Riggio,
Heelan Nicola Simmonds |
The central character Chris is Deaf uses sign language, hearing aids, lip-reading to communicate. | 5-8 yr | 2012 |
| Sophie's Tales: Overcoming Obstacles | Melanie Paticoff | The central character, Sophie is a dog with hearing loss who uses a cochlear implant. | 2012 | |
| Freddie and the Fairy | Julia Donaldson,
Karen George |
The fairy is the story has difficulty hearing speech with clarity and the illustrations show a bow in the fairy but no clearly visible hearing technology. | 3-5 yr | 2011 |
| Samantha's Fun FM and Hearing Aid Book! | Samantha Brownlie | The main character, Samantha wears a hearing aid and uses an FM unit. | 2011 | |
| Gracie's Ears | Debbie Blackington | The main character, Gracie has hearing loss and gets hearing aids. | 2011 | |
| John Gets Ready for School | Joanne Zellweger,
Andy Elliot |
One of the main characters, John has a hearing aid on his left ear and a cochlear implant on his right side and communicates using speech. | 2010 | |
| Dad, Jackie, and Me | Myron Uhlberg,
Colin Bootman |
The Father in the story is a Deaf ASL user. This book has won American Library Association Schneider Award, the 2006 Storytelling World Award, the IBBY Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities, and International Reading Association Teacher's Choice Award | 4-8 yr | 2010 |
| The Cloud | Hannah Cumming | The illustrations include two background characters signing to each other. | 2010 | |
| Rivers' Walk | Natalie Johnson | The Rabbit gets hearing aids, | 2010 | |
| Sunny and her Cochlear Implants | Susanna Dussling | The central character Sunny is deaf and initially, she uses hearing aids and then moves onto cochlear implants. | 2010 | |
| Sophie's Tales: Learning to Listen (Sophie's Tales) | Melanie Paticoff | The main character Sophie is deaf, she has hearing aids initially then uses a cochlear implant to 'learn to listen.' | 2010 | |
| Julia's Words | Judith L. Roth,
Brooke Rothshank |
One of the two main characters, Julia is Deaf and uses ASL to communicate | 6-10 yrs | 2009 |
| Now I Can Hear | Connie Losacano,
Matthew Graves |
The main character gets hearing aids and then can hear sounds. | 2009 | |
| A Birthday for Ben | Kate Gaynor | The central character Ben is Deaf, he goes to a mainstream school and uses hearing aids, sign language and speech to communicate?. This book was awarded a silver medal at the Moonbeam children's books awards in 2009. | 2009 | |
| The Printer | Myron Uhlberg,
Henri Sorensen |
The Father is Deaf and uses ASL to communicate. Some of his Father's colleagues are also Deaf ASL users. | 4-8 yr | 2009 |
| I Am Deaf | Jennifer Moore-Mallinos,
Marta Fabrega |
The main character Lana is Deaf and uses a combination hearing aids, FM system, lip reading and ASL to communicate. | 6-9 yr | 2009 |
| Enrique Speaks with His Hands | Benjamin Fudge,
Tim Edmonson |
The central character Enrique was born deaf and then he is taught sign language by he meets other Deaf children. | 3+ yr | 2008 |
| Helen Keller: The World in Her Heart | Lesa Cline-Ransome,
James Ransome |
This book is a picture book biography of Helen Keller. | 5-9 yr | 2008 |
| Abby Gets a Cochlear Implant | Maureen Cassidy Riski | The central character Abby wears purple hearing aids and has progressive hearing loss and then gets cochlear implants. The book focuses on the process of the cochlear implant assessment and then the aftercare. | 2008 | |
| My Heart Glow: Alice Cogswell, Thomas Gallaudet, and the Birth of American Sign Language | Emily Arnold McCully | Based on the true story of how Deaf education in America was developed, Alice becomes Deaf after illness aged 2. | 6-9 yr | 2008 |
| A Day at the Park (Hattie and Friends) | Lesley Bremington,
Karen Middleton |
One of the main characters Hattie is deaf and the illustrations show her wearing a cochlear implant. | 2008 | |
| Friends, Like You | Melissa Griswold,
Cynthia Fisher |
The two main characters Molly and Max both are Deaf, Molly uses a cochlear implant and Max wears hearing aids. Their teacher uses an FM system to help them hear. | 2007 | |
| Lucy: Loud and Clear | Laila Lavan,
Beatriz Iglesias |
The central character is using a hearing aid and uses sign language to communicate.[41] | 5-6 yr | 2007 |
| My Hearing Loss and Me: We Get Along Most of the Time | John F Anderson Jr,
William Bushell |
The books central character Jack uses a cochlear implant and spoken language to communicate. | 4-12 yr? | 2004 |
| Jason and the Blind Puppy | Dawn McMillan, Warwick Bennett | The main character Jason is deaf and wears hearing aids and uses sign language to communicate.[42] | 7+ yrs | 2004 |
| Missing! | Dawn McMillan | The main character Jason is deaf and wears hearing aids and uses sign language to communicate.[42] | 2004 | |
| I'm the Boss of my Hearing Loss | Amy Knoll | The central character uses hearing aids and speech to communicate. | 2004 | |
| Moses Sees a Play | Issac Millman | The main character who uses ASL to communicate teaches some signs to a new child, then the children see a performance put on by the Little theatre of the deaf. | 4-8 yr | 2004 |
| Moses Goes to the Circus | Isaac Millman | The main character Moses uses ASL to communicate with his hearing family and teaches his young sister some ASL. | 4-6 yr | 2003 |
| Secret Signs: Along the Underground Railroad | Anita Riggio | The central character Luke is Deaf and uses sign language to communicate | 5-7 yr | 2003 |
| Lucy | Sally O. Lee | The central character has single sided deafness. | 2003 | |
| Moses Goes to a Concert | Isaac Millman | The main character who uses ASL to communicate goes with his deaf classmates to see a concert, one of the musicians is also deaf. | 5-8 yr | 2002 |
| Helen Keller and the Big Storm | Patricia Lakin,
Diana Magnuson |
This book tells the story of part of Helen Keller's life. | 6-7 yr | 2002 |
| Moses Goes to School | Isaac Millman | The main character Moses, uses ASL to communicate goes to a school for the Deaf. | 5-8 yr | 2000 |
| Zoo Keeper: Katy Is Deaf (Making It) | Eleanor Archer | The central character Katy is Profoundly Deaf and uses BSL to communicate. Based on a true story[43] | 2000 | |
| Elana's Ear, Or How I Became the Best Big Sister in the World | Gloria Roth Lowell, Karen Stormer Brooks | One of the main characters Elana, the newborn baby is Deaf and wears hearing aids. | 2000 | |
| The Den (Rigby star guided reading scheme) | Monica Hughes,
Julie Anderson |
The illustrations show the main character who is a young girl wearing a hearing aid on her right ear. | 3- 5 yr | 2000 |
| A Screaming Kind of Day | Rachna Gilmore,
Gordon Sauve |
The main character Scully is deaf and wears hearing aids. This book won the 1999 Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Literature | 6-7 yr | 1999 |
| Dina the Deaf Dinosaur | Carole Addabbo Valentine | The central character Dina is Deaf and then learns sign language after she has run away from her hearing parents which don't know and won't learn sign language. | 1997 | |
| Rosa's Parrot | Jan Wahl Kim Howard |
The central character Rosa struggles to hear speech without the help of her parrot that repeats phrases loudly. | 1999 | |
| The Quiet World (Voyages Series) | Raewyn Caisley, Leanne Fleming | The main characters baby brother is born deaf. The main character wants to experience deafness for himself so stuffs his ears with cotton balls and wears headphones for a day, he thinks that his brother is going to be a football star. | 1996 | |
| Cosmo Gets an Ear | Gary Clemente Eugene Yelchin |
The central character Cosmo gets hearing aids in the story. | 1994 | |
| Dad and Me in the Morning | Patricia Lakin Robert C. Steel |
The central character is Deaf and he tells the story. He uses ASL and lip-reading to communicate. | 4-8 yr | 1994 |
| One TV Blasting and a Pig Outdoors | Deborah Abbott, Henry Kisor,
Leslie Morrill |
Written by Henry Kisor (Deaf after a period of illness aged 3) and his wife (hearing) about the family dynamics where one parent has hearing loss. The Father in the family went to a mainstream school and has excellent literacy skills and uses iip-reading and speech to communicate. | 4-8 yr | 1994 |
| Silent Observer | Inez MacKinnon,
Christy MacKinnon |
This book was compiled by Inez MacKinnon about Christy MacKinnon's childhood, Christy created the illustrations. Christy became Deaf after an illness aged two.[44][45] | 1993 | |
| The Spelling Window | Dawn L. Watkins | One of the main characters Seth is Deaf who communicates using speech and ASL. | 1993 | |
| Mandy | Barbara D. Booth | The main character Mandy is Deaf and uses ASL and lip reading to communicate. | 4-8 yr | 1991 |
| A Picture Book of Helen Keller (Picture Book Biography) | David A. Adler,
John Wallner, lexandra Wallner |
A picture book biography of Helen Keller's who was deaf-blind after an illness aged 19 months. | 4-8 yr | 1990 |
| I'm Deaf and It's Okay | Lorraine Aseltine,
Evelyn Mueller, Nancy Tait |
The main character is Deaf he signs and wears hearing aids and he meets an older Deaf child in the book. | 4 + yr | 1986 |
| I Have a Sister. My Sister is Deaf | Jeanne Whitehouse Peterson | One of the main characters is profoundly Deaf, Asian does not use hearing technology and uses lip-reading and gestures to communicate This book was a Coretta Scott King Award Honor Book (1979) and a Reading Rainbow Selection Children's Books of 1977 (Library of Congress). | 4-8 yrs | 1984 |
| Alan and the Baron | Ron Hamilton,
Peggy B. Deal |
The main character is a Deaf boy who uses sign language to communicate. Published by the National Association of the Deaf. | 1983 | |
| Jamie's Tiger | Jan Wahl,
Tomie dePaola |
Jamie the central character becomes deaf after having German Measles. | 1978 | |
| A Button in Her Ear (Concept book) | Ada Bassett Litchfield | The central character wears hearing aids with a body-worn box typical of the technology worn by deaf children in the 1970s. | 1976 |
Comics with D/deaf characters[]
The Comics are listed in date order.
| Title | Author / Illustrator | Deaf characters | Child's Age | Year 1st Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avatar Volume 3: The Cracks of My Carven | Juan Miguel Aguilera, Rafael Fonteriz | The central character Manuel Gomez is a police detective that was born "deaf mute", he communicates using special glasses. | 2019 | |
| Iron Man: Sound Effects 2014 #1 | Marvel Comic's | It features Sapheara a superhero with bilateral pink cochlear implants and Superhero Blue Ear with 2 blue hearing aids. This comic was created in partnership with the Children's Hearing Institute.[46] | 8-11 yrs | 2014 |
| Avatar Volume 2: Claws in the Wind | Juan Miguel Aguilera, Rafael Fonteriz | The central character Manuel Gomez is a police detective that was born "deaf mute", he communicates using special glasses. | 2009 | |
| New Averagers #27 | Deaf superhero, Echo was born Deaf and uses ASL, Indian sign language, art and performance and lip-reading to communicate. | 2007 | ||
| New Averagers #11 | Deaf superhero character Ronin (also known as Maya Lopez and Echo). | 2005 | ||
| Avatar Volume 1: A Look into Abyss | Juan Miguel Aguilera, Rafael Fonteriz | The central character Manuel Gomez is a police detective that was born "deaf mute", he communicates using special glasses. | 2003 | |
| Batman Beyond: Hear No Evil | Random House | The villain Shriek uses deafness as a shield and uses sound as a weapon. | 2002 | |
| Daredevil issue 9 | Marvel Comics | The superhero Echo was born Deaf and uses both ASL and a Native American system for communicating between tribes speaking different languages.[47] | 1999 | |
| Daredevil: Parts of a Hole
Volume 2, #9-15 |
One of the characters Maya Lopez, also called Echo & Ronin, is deaf and as she gets older becomes a part of the Deaf community. Echo was born Deaf and uses ASL, Indian sign language, art and performance and lip-reading to communicate. | 2003 | ||
| Daredevil: Echo - Vision Quest Volume 2, # 51-55 | One of the characters Maya Lopez, also called Echo & Ronin, is deaf and becomes part of the Deaf community. Echo uses ASL, Indian sign language, art and performance and lip-reading to communicate. | 2004 | ||
| The Listener | Elizabeth Laird, Pauline Hazelwood | One of the characters is deaf and helps when a neighbour is injured. | 1997 | |
| Justice League of America #163 | DC Comics | The Amazing Allergo (musician) loses his hearing which then caused him to become evil. | 1970 | |
| Life With ARCHIE-The Sound of Silence #119 | Archie the main character befriends a deaf character and teaches her to lipread. | 1970? |
Graphic Novels with D/deaf characters[]
The graphic novels are listed in date order.
| Title | Author | Deaf characters / Awards won | Child's Age | Year 1st Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| That Deaf Guy: A Wild Ride! | Matt Daigle | This comic book includes a series of comics featuring Desmond who is Deaf and uses ASL to communicate.[48] | 2014 | |
| El Deafo | Cece Bell | This loosely autobiographical book is about Cece who wore hearing aids at school and used lip-reading and speech to communicate. The book won the 2015 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Kids (ages 8–12)[49] and a Newbery Honor in 2015. | 8-12 yrs | 2014 |
| Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller (The Center for Cartoon Studies Presents) | Joseph Lambert | This book is about the lives of Helen Keller (Deaf-Blind) and her teacher Annie Sullivan who was Blind. | 10+ yrs | 2012 |
| Helen Keller: Courageous Advocate (Graphic Biographies) | Scott R. Welvaert, Cynthia Martin, Keith Tucker | This book is a biography of Helen Keller and her adult life advocating for the Blind community. | 9-12 yrs | 2006 |
Middle grade books with D/deaf characters[]
The readers of these books are expected to be approximately between the ages of 8 and 12 years of age. Deaf authors names are highlighted in Bold. The books are listed in date order.
| Title | Author | Deaf characters / Awards won | Readers Age | Topic's, Themes | Year 1st Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lizzie & Lucky: The Mystery of the Missing Dog | Megan Rix,
Tim Budgen |
The central character, Lizzie (8) is deaf. In the book she lives at home with her deaf parents, they all wear colourful bilateral hearing aids and at-home use BSL to communicate. Accessibility is gently addressed when the characters experience communication difficulties such as trying to lip-read in the dark, when people don't speak clearly or turn away mid-sentence and not everyone uses or understands BSL. They make a video relay call to the police through a BSL interpreter. | 6 - 8 yrs | Dog lovers, Detective | 2021 |
| Lizzie & Lucky: The Mystery of the Missing Puppies | Megan Rix,
Tim Budgen |
The central character, Lizzie (8) is deaf. In the book she lives at home with her deaf parents, they all wear colourful bilateral hearing aids and at home use BSL to communicate. [50] | 6 - 8 yrs | Dog lovers, Detective | 2021 |
| Normal: One Kid's Extraordinary Journey | Magdalena Newman, Nathaniel Newman | This book is an autobiography of Nathaniel (15) life, he has severe treacher collins syndrome and has had 67 operations to him be able to breathe, eat and hear better, the book includes graphic information on his treatment. He wears BAHA hearing aids. This book is co-written with his Mum. | 10-14 yrs | Treacher collins syndrome Autobiography | 2020 |
| Now Hear This: Harper soars with her magic ears | Valli Gideons, Harper Gideons, Priscila Soares | The central character Harper has one Cochlear implant and one hearing aid. It discusses different communication methods including speech and ASL and different hearing technology including Baha hearing aids, | 7-12 yrs | Deaf awareness | 2020 |
| TURBO Racers: Escape Velocity | Austin Aslan | The central character is a 12-year-old CODA. Both his parents are Deaf ASL users. He is fluent in ASL. | 8-12 yrs | Racing | 2020 |
| Harriet Versus the Galaxy | Samantha Baines | The central character Harriet (10) wears hearing aids and uses speech to communicate. When she finds herself defending the human race against extra-terrestrial characters with her Gran she discovers that her hearing aids as well as amplifying sound can also tune into the wavelength of many languages. There is a non-binary character called Robin also in the book.[51] Harriet lives with her Gran whilst her Dad is away driving lorries and there is no mention of her Mother. The book has lots of black and white illustrations. | 7 - 11 yrrs | Space adventure | 2019 |
| Joss: Touch the Sky - Book 2 (Girl of the Year 2020) | Erin Falligant
Maike Plenzke |
This book is made by the company 'American doll' and so a matching doll is also available. The main character Joss (10) was born profoundly deaf in her left ear and some hearing in her right ear. She wears a hearing aid on her right ear (sometimes with a headband.) She predominately uses speech to communicate at School but her Mum uses ASL when communicating with her and her friends and brother sign to her when she isn't wearing her hearing aid e.g. when she's on the beach. She takes her hearing aid out for some activities such as surfing and uses an FM system at the cheerleading gym. She requests that her friends face her when speaking to her and sit on her right side and sometimes she needs to ask them to repeat themselves etc. | 8 - 10yrs | Friendship, Surfing And Family | 2019 |
| Joss - Book 1 (Girl of the Year 2020) | Erin Falligant
Maike Plenzke |
This book is made by the company 'American doll' and so a matching doll is also available. The main character Joss (10) was born profoundly deaf in her left ear and some hearing in her right ear. She wears a hearing aid on her right ear (sometimes with a headband.)[52] She predominately uses speech to communicate at School but her Mum uses ASL when communicating with her and her friends and brother sign to her when she isn't wearing her hearing aid e.g. when she's on the beach. She takes her hearing aid out for some activities such as surfing and uses an FM system at the cheerleading gym. She requests that her friends face her when speaking to her and sit on her right side and sometimes she needs to ask them to repeat themselves etc. | 8 - 10 yrs | Friendship, Surfing And Family | 2019 |
| Toad Attack! | Patrice Lawrence,
Becka Moor |
Rosa is one of the two main characters wears a hearing aid and uses sign language and lip-reading to communicate. She has two Dads. This book has a dyslexia-friendly layout. | 8 - 10 yrs | Mystery, Friendship | 2019 |
| The Sound of Silence, Growing up with Deaf parents | Myron Uhlberg | This book is an adaptation of Myron Uhlberg's memoir 'Hands of My Father' containing details of his childhood as the hearing Son of Deaf parents. | 9-12 yr | Autobiography | 2019 |
| TURBO Racers: Trailblazer | Austin Aslan | The central character is a 12-year-old CODA. Both his parents are Deaf ASL users. He is fluent in ASL. | 8 - 12 yr | Racing | 2018 |
| You Don't Know Everything, Jilly P! | Alex Gino | The central character is a 12-year-old girl and her parents have a baby, Emma, that is born deaf. The book includes their initial feelings of grief and consultations with professionals where they are encouraged to consider a CI and not to use gestures or ASL with their baby. The main Deaf character is Derek[53] who is Deaf, Black and uses ASL as his first language. He attends California School for the Deaf. There are several other Deaf characters in the story. | 8-12 yr | Racism & Attitudes towards difference including Deafness. | 2018 |
| Diary of a Hard of Hearing Kid | Isaiah John Baier | This memoir is written by 11 years old Isaiah,[54] he became deaf after having meningitis at 20 months olds and wears a hearing aid on one ear and a cochlear implant on the other side and uses speech when communicating. | 8+ yrs | Humorous / autobiographical 11 year olds diary | 2018 |
| Left Out | Tim Green | The central character Landon (12) is Deaf and has cochlear implants and uses speech to communicate. | 8-12 yr | Sports fiction - American Football | 2017 |
| Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess | Shari Green | The central character Macy (12) is Deaf and uses ASL to communicate as well as note writing. This book won the ALA Schneider Family Book Award, for Middle Grade Books in 2018[27] and has been shortlisted for many other awards. | 8-12 yr | Friendships & family life | 2017 |
| Echo Comes Home | Megan Rix | The central character Jake (11) became deaf after having meningitis as a younger child. He wears attends a mainstream school and wears hearing aids and uses lip reading and ASL to communicate better. He is lonely and longs for a hearing dog. | 9-11 yrs | Animal lovers | 2016 |
| Feel the Sound | Evangeline Duran Fuentes | One of the main characters Jake (12) became deaf after having meningitis. He uses ASL to communicate with his Mum and in the story, he teaches two friends ASL. He does not wear hearing aids. | 9-12 yrs | Friendships and relationships | 2015 |
| Destiny And Faith Get Stuck In The Country (Destiny and Faith series) | Teddy O'Malley,
Angie Dickens |
One of the characters Dustin is Deaf and uses ASL to communicate. There is another character called Cissy who is blind. | 6-9 yrs | Friendship and Adventure | 2015 |
| Silence in the Wild: A Summer in Maine | Dale C. Jellison | The central character Jake (12) wears a hearing aid. He loses his hearing aid when he gets left alone in a remote area. | 7-12 yrs | Friendship and Adventure
Set in 1986 American Camp |
2014 |
| Destiny and Faith Go To Twincentric Academy! (Destiny and Faith series) | Teddy O'Malley, Angie Dickens | One of the characters Dustin is Deaf and uses ASL to communicate. | 6-9 yrs | Friendship and Adventure | 2014 |
| Destiny And Faith’s Summer Adventures
(Destiny and Faith series #2) |
Teddy O'Malley, Angie Dickens | One of the characters Dustin is Deaf and uses ASL to communicate, other characters sign fluently despite never meeting a Deaf person before. | 6-9 yrs | Friendship and Adventure | 2014 |
| Wonder | R. J. Palacio | The central character August (10) has a craniofacial syndrome called treacher collins syndrome and has had 27 surgeries to correct the facial anomalies he was born. He also wears BAHA hearing aids. In the book, he starts attending the local mainstream school where he is bullied. This book is written from a variety of perspectives. This book is required reading for 4-5 graders at schools across the USA. The book was made into a film but in the film, August still has the craniofacial syndrome but no longer has hearing loss so does not wear BAHA hearing aids. This book is a New York Times bestseller and is on Time Magazine's 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time and on the Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews List of Best of Children's Books amongst many others. | 8-12 yrs | Learning to accept others | 2012 |
| The Salt-Stained Book (Strong Winds Trilogy #1) | Julia Jones, Claudia Myatt | The main character Donny (13) is a CODA, his Mother is Skpe is Profoundly Deaf and dyslexic and uses BSL to communicate.[55] | 9 yrs + | Sailing | 2011 |
| A Ravelled Flag(Strong Winds Trilogy #2) | Julia Jones, Claudia Myatt | The main character Donny (14) is a CODA. His Mother Skpe is Profoundly Deaf and dyslexic and uses BSL to communicate. | 9 yrs + | Sailing | 2011 |
| Young Thomas Edison | Sterling North | This book is a biography of Thomas Edison. He became deaf at approximately 8–12 years of age. Study notes[56] | 5-11 yrs | American History | 2009 |
| Mask of the Jackal | Christine Harris | One of the main characters Jordy is deaf. In the book, Jordy uses Auslan to communicate. | 9-12 yrs | Thriller | 2008 |
| Rally Caps | Stephen Culter,
Jodi Cutler |
One of the main characters in the book Luca (10ish) is Deaf and has a cochlear implant. | 8-12 yrs | Sports Fiction -Baseball | 2007 |
| The Smart Princess and Other Deaf Tales | Keelin Carey Kristina Guevremont
Nicole Marsh |
This collection of short stories written by Canadian Deaf children, the book includes several different Deaf characters, including Deaf friends, sign language and an adult that discourages sign language. | 8-12 yrs | Friendships And Deaf identity | 2007 |
| Changes for Julie 1974
(American Girl: Julie #6) |
Megan McDonald | One of the main characters Joy (9) is deaf and uses lip-reading, ASL and unclear speech to communicate whilst attending the local mainstream school. | 8 yrs+ | Set in 1970s America | 2007 |
| Feathers | Jacqueline Woodson | The central characters brother is a Deaf ASL user called Sean, he is also a Black African-American. This book won a Newbery Honor in 2008.[57] | 9-12 yrs | Set in the 1970s / race / region and understanding difference | 2007 |
| Nobody's Perfect
(Deaf Child Crossing #2) |
Marlee Matlin | The central character Megan (9) is Deaf ASL user and she attends a mainstream school and has a Sign language interpreter with her at School. A secondary character Justin is autistic and Megan teaches him some ASL. | 8-12 yrs | Friendship | 2007 |
| Deaf Culture Fairy Tales | Roz Rosen,
Yiqiao Wang |
This collection of 20 adapted classic short stories eg. Beauty and the beast, each story has been adapted to include Deaf characters or characters that sign in ASL in every story.[58] Some characters are "mute" and other have speech lessons. | ? | Deaf culture / ASL Fairy tales | 2007 |
| Leading Ladies (Deaf Child Crossing #3) | Marlee Matlin | The central character Megan (9) is Deaf ASL user and she attends a mainstream school and has a Sign language interpreter with her at School. Lizzie (9) her best friend from camp transfers to her School and is a main character, she is Deaf and an ASL user too. | 8-12 yrs | Friendship / sign language | 2007 |
| Singing Hands | Delia Ray | The central character Gussie (12) is one of three hearing children born to a Deaf Couple (CODA.) Her Father, Reverend Davis is Deaf as is her Mother. They are both ASL users. In the story, she takes part in a trip with Alabama School for the Deaf. As the book is set in the Deaf community there are several other Deaf characters including Abe a Black Deaf child who attends Alabama School for the Deaf. The book is partially based on the author's Mother's CODA's experience. This book was a Book Sense Summer 2006 Children’s Pick, A 2007 Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, Named to the 2007 Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year List
and a Kansas’ William Allen White Award Nominee, 2008-09. |
10-14 yrs | Set in America in the 1940s / Racium | 2006 |
| Smart Princess:And Other Deaf Tales | Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf | This compilation of five short stories was written by Deaf young people and Deaf young adults that won the Ladder Awards competition. This collection of five short stories feature a range of Deaf characters. including a young princess Lyla who would one day be queen, and how she runs away from her Aunt Belle, who refuses to learn sign language. In another story, a Deaf child is teased in her mainstream school for being Deaf until she moves to the Newfoundland School for the Deaf, the group of Deaf and hearing astronauts end up on a planet where hearing people have special needs. | 7 - 9yrs | 2005 | |
| Teamwork at Camp Tiago
(Keystone Stables #4) |
Marsha Hulber | One of the main characters Jonathan is Deaf and uses ASL to communicate. The book is set on an American special needs Summer camp and one of the other main characters lives in foster care and has completed a crash course in ASL so can communicate with Jonathon. This book contains a Christian message. This book was reprinted in 2009 under the new title Summer Camp Adventures. | 9-12 yrs | Foster care, Horse care,
Animal Lovers |
2005 (reprinted in 2009) |
| Helen Keller: A photographic story of a life | Leslie Garrett Annie Tremmel Wilcox | This book is a biography of Helen Keller, she became Deaf-Blind at 19 months old after an illness. She initially was taught through a manual alphabet and then learned to speak and 'read lip' through touching the speaker's lips. She was also proficient in braille. | 10-14 yrs | Biography America 1980s onwards | 2004 |
| Deaf Child Crossing (Deaf Child Crossing #1) | Marlee Matlin | The main character Megan (10) is Deaf and uses ASL and "voice that sounded different to others" to communicate. One of her friends learns some ASL. | 8-12 yrs | Friendship | 2004 |
| Who was Helen Keller | Gare Thompson, Nancy Harrison | This is a biography of Helen Keller. Part of a #1 New York Times bestselling series. | 8-12 yr | Biography America 1980s onwards | 2003 |
| Amelia Lends a Hand (Amelia's Notebooks #12) | Marissa Moss | One of the main characters Enzo is Deaf and uses ASL to communicate. He doesn't hear the main character when she calls to him, but he later teaches her ASL. Journal style Book, it contains plenty of doodle style pictures. Printed by American Girl. | 9-12 yrs | Friendship | 2002 |
| Deafness (Living with) | Emma Haughton | This book factual approaches deafness through looking at the lives of a group of deaf children and one deaf adult; it discusses BSL different levels of hearing loss, technology and its limitations and touches on BSL, through deaf culture isn't really discussed properly. | 10-12 yrs | Deaf children | 2002 |
| The Mystery of the Totems (Flying Fingers Club Book 5/5) | Jean F. Andrews | One of the two main characters is a boy called Matt who is Deaf and uses ASL to communicate. | 8-12 yrs | Friendship & Detective group | 2001 |
| Super-Tuned! | Heather Hammonds | The central character Nick has hearing aids and uses speech and lip-reading to communicate. His hearing aid tunes into a boat in distress. | 5-9 yrs | Rescues | 2001 |
| River of Hands | Shron Kirsh | This collection of four short stories by young Deaf authors and illustrators includes Deaf character in each story and references to sign language. The contributors have all won the ladder awards. A project of Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf | 7-11 yr | Short stories | 2000 |
| Doggy Dare
(Animal Ark Pets #12) |
Ben M. Baglio (pseudonym Lucy Daniels) | One of the main characters, Joey is deaf and isn't allowed much dependence by his Mother so some children train a stray dog to be a hearing dog so they can keep him. The books originally were published in England, under the pseudonym Lucy Daniels in 1988.) | 6-8 yrs | Animal lovers | 2000 |
| Nick's Secret
(Nick's Mission #2) |
Claire H. Blatchford | The central character Nick (14) became Deaf aged 6 after having meningitis and communicates using lip-reading and speech. He has regular speech therapy sessions and attends a mainstream school.[59] | 9 -12 yrs | Children's Mystery series | 2000 |
| Dovey Coe | Frances O'Roark Dowell | One of the main characters Amos (13) is deaf and uses ASL to communicate with the dogs. He goes on to become a sign language teacher as an adult. The main character is accused of murder. This book won the William Allen White Children's Book Award (2013) and Edgar Award, Best Children's (2001). | 10-12 yrs | Historical Mystery set in the 1920s America | 2000 |
| Can You Feel the Thunder | Lynn E. McElfresh | One of the main characters Stephanie is DeafBlind. The book is told from her younger brother's (13) perspective and his mixed feelings about his older DeafBlind sister. She uses touch and tactile signed manual alphabet to communicate. | 9-14 years | Accepting a family member | 1999 |
| Dangerous Games
(The Wolves Chronicles #5) |
Joan Aiken MBE | The Islands King is Deaf. This book is also published in the UK under the title Limbo Lodge. | 12-15 yrs | Fantasy historical fiction | 1999 |
| Going with the Flow | Claire Blatchford | The central character Mark (11) is the only deaf child in his mainstream school. He became deaf after having meningitis aged 3, he wears hearing aids and has an ASL interpreter in class with him. | 8-10 yrs | Friendship, angry and loneliness | 1998 |
| Hannie |
Barbara Luetke-Stahlman | Two of the main characters are Deaf sisters. Based on the true story and written by Hannah's Mother. | 11 yrs | Deaf siblings | 1996 |
| Tuck Triumphant (Tuck #2) | Theodore Taylor | One of the main characters is a Chok-do wo is adopted and is from Koren. He is referred to as "deaf-mute". The dog Tuck is blind. | 9 yrs + | Adoption Friendship | 1996 |
| Gaps in Stone Walls | John Neufield | The central character Merry (12) is Deaf and uses sign language to communicate. This book is set in Chilmark Martha's Vineyard in the 1880s, where at least a fifth of the population had hereditary deafness so sign language was widely used by Deaf and hearing people across island life. So the book contains a range of characters which sign, some Deaf, some hearing. | 10-14 yrs | Murder mystery | 1996 |
| The Deadly Chase (The Colonial Captives #2) | Angela Elwell Hunt | The book lightly touches on the history of slave trading and is set on a transatlantic boat filled with children soon to be sold into slavery. One of the characters is a deaf girl who tries to save a baby whale. This book also has a religious theme: a Jewish boy accepts Christ and becomes a Christian. | 10-13 yrs | Historical fiction set in 1627 | 1996 |
| Cheshire Moon | Nancy Butts | The central character Miranda (aged 13) is Deaf and uses ASL, lipreading and speech to communicate. Her parents insist that she speaks instead of signing. | 10+ yrs | Fantasy | 1996 |
| Signs in Success
Profiles of Deaf Americans |
Ron Podmore | This book is the biographies of five different Deaf Americans including Marlee Matlin and the first Deaf president of Gallaudet University I. King Jordan. | 8+ yr | Biography's | 1995 |
| Deaf Communities
A Worldwide Perspective |
Jack Olson | This books explorers Deaf experiences in different countries. | 11-13 yrs | Deaf culture | 1995 |
| Thanks A Lot! | Lucille Kraiman | The central character Jordan is moved from a School for the Deaf, where sign language is used, to a mainstream school with a deaf student cannot sign and uses speech to communicate. | 8-18 yrs | Friendship | 1995 |
| Nick's Mission
(Nick's Mission #1) |
Claire H. Blatchford | The central character Nick (13) became Deaf aged 6 after having meningitis and communicates using lip-reading and speech. He has regular speech therapy sessions and attends a mainstream school.[59] | 9-12 yrs | Children's mystery series | 1994 |
| The Ghost of Tomahawk Creek (Flying Fingers Club 4/5) | Jean F. Andrews, | One of the two main characters is a boy called Matt who is Deaf and uses ASL to communicate. | 9 - 12 yrs | Friendship & detective group | 1993 |
| Laurent Clerc: The Story of His Early Years | Cathryn Carroll, Harlan L. Lane | This fictionalised autobiography of Laurent Cleric covers his early life a Deaf student in France and then how he came to co-found the first Deaf for the Deaf in North America and develop new teaching methods including the use of ASL. Published by Gallaudet University Press. | American Deaf History | 1991, reprinted in 2002 | |
| Hasta Luego, San Diego
(Flying Fingers Club Book 3/5) |
Jean F. Andrews | One of the two main characters is a boy called Matt who is Deaf and uses ASL to communicate. Printed by Gallaudet University Press. | 8 - 12 yrs | Friendship & detective group | 1991 |
| Secret in the Dorm Attic, The (Flying Fingers Club Book 2/5) | Jean F. Andrews | One of the two main characters is a boy called Matt who is Deaf and uses ASL to communicate. This book is set in Matts residential Deaf school so includes other Deaf characters. Printed by Gallaudet University Press. | 9-12 yrs | Friendship & detective group | 1990 |
| Jessi's Secret Language
(The Baby-Sitters Club #16) |
Ann M. Martin | One of the main characters Matt (young child) was born Deaf, he uses ASL to communicate. He teaches his babysitter ASL and they teach other interested children as well. | 8-12 yrs | Friendships | 1988 |
| The Flying Fingers Club (The Flying Fingers Club Book 1/5) | Jean F. Andrews | One of the main characters is Matt is Deaf and uses ASL to communicate. He teaches the central character Donald, who has a learning disability, to sign in ASL. Gallaudet University Press. | 9-12 yrs | Friendship & detective group | 1988 |
| All Alone (Except for My Dog Friday) | Claire Blatchford | The central character Margret (12) is deaf and she is sure that no-one understands what it's like to be deaf apart from the dog. | 9-12 yrs | Isolation & Animals | 1983 |
| Hero | Christina Bridges | One of the two main characters Jacob is Deaf. His ability to read lips makes him the 'hero' of the story, | 7-12 yrs | Friendship & detective story | 1982 |
| Apple is my sign | Troy Howell, Mary Riskind | The central character Harry (10) is Deaf and is sent the residential Mr Bertie's School for the Deaf, in Philadelphia. His family are Deaf and sign ASL discreetly in public. His family live on an Apple farm so his Sign name is Apple. The book is set at the residential Deaf School where he meets other Deaf children including Landis who parents encourage him to talk and lipread.[60] | 10-12 yrs | Set in 1899, Adventure | 1981
republished in 1993 |
| Child of the Silent Night | Edith Fisher Hunter,
Bea Holmes |
This book is based on the true story of Laura Bridgman who became deaf-blind and lost her sense of smell/taste aged 2 after an illness (possibly scarlet fever.) She could read Braille and used tactile sign language to communicate. She spent most of her school and adult life at the Perkins Institution for the Blind. She was born fifty years before Helen Keller. | 9-12 yrs | A slightly fictionalised account of Laura Bridgman's life, 1829-1889 | 1963, reprinted in 1971 |
Young Adult books with D/deaf characters[]
The readers of these book are expected to be between the ages of 12 and 18 years of age. The books are in date order.
| Title | Author | Deaf Characters / Awards Won | Target Age | Gerne | Year 1st Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Impossible Music | Sean Williams | The central character Simon (18) becomes Profoundly Deaf after a stroke aged 18, initially he communicates through text messages and written messages and is initially reluctant to learn Auslan. Another main character, "G", also known as George, has recently become deaf and she also has tinnitus. | 14 yr+ | YA Relationships And Music | 2019 |
| This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story | Kacen Callender | One of the main characters Ollie (16) is deaf and in a gay relationship during the book, he uses ASL or written English to communicate. He is surrounded by hearing characters who use some ASL to communicate with him. This book was nominated for the Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Children's/Young Adult (2019.) | 14-18 yr | YA Romance / LGBTQ | 2018 |
| Opal (The Raven Cycle #4.5) | Maggie Stiefvater | One of the main characters Adam is deaf in his left ear. | 13 yr+ | YA Fantasy | 2018 |
| 27 Hours (The Nightside Saga #1) | Tristina Wright | One of the main characters Nyx is deaf and uses ASL to communicate. He has Cuban ancestry and is pansexual. | YA Science Fiction | 2017 | |
| Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology | Danielle Binks, Amie Kaufman, Melissa Keil, Will Kostakis, Ellie Marney, Jaclyn Moriarty, Michael Pryor, Alice Pung, Gabrielle Tozer, Lili Wilkinson | This collection of short stories includes Last Night at the Mount Solemn Observatory by Danielle Binks, which has a deaf character called King (18) that uses Auslan to communicate. This Anthology won the Australian Book Industry Award (ABIA) for Older Children Age 13+ (2018.) Teacher notes are available.[61] | 14+yrs | 2017 | |
| Smelly Hearing Aids and Fishy Lips: A deaf teenagers Journal | Marc Heyez[62] | The central character Egg (17) is a teenage deaf boy "living in a hearing society" who uses lip-reading, hearing aids and speech to communicate. He has speech lessons in the book. | 14-18 yrs | Set in 1983 Canada
Comedy / Fiction |
2017 |
| You're Welcome, Universe | Whitney Gardner | The central character Julia is Deaf and has two Deaf Mums and is of Indian descent, she uses ASL, lip-reading and written English to communicate and she starts the story attending Kingston School for the Deaf and then attends a mainstream school.[63] Her friend Jordyn is also deaf and has a cochlear implant and uses both her voice and ASL to communicate. Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award for teenagers in 2018.[27] and Official Selection, Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year and Official selection, Tayshas Reading List. | 14 yr+ | YA Realistic Fiction / Art | 2017 |
| Being Jazmine (Invisible book 3) | Cecil Paterson | The central character Jazmine (14 years old) starts the book wearing hearing aids but stops wearing them and develops friendships with Deaf Auslan users in this book.[64] In the book, she attends deaf camp and makes friends with lots of Deaf Auslan users. | 13-16 yrs | YA Friendships And Deaf Identity | 2017 |
| A Quiet Kind of Thunder | Sara Barnard | One of the two main characters Rhys is Deaf and uses BSL to communicate. The other main character Steffi has been a selective mute for much of her life and the characters use BSL to communicate with each other. | Romance / Mental Health | 2017 | |
| Tone Deaf | Olivia Rivers | The main character Ali Collins is 17 years old and became Deaf at the age of 10 following a brain tumour, she uses lip-reading, speech and ASL to communicate. | YA Romance, Music | 2016 | |
| The Ghost Rebellion
(Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences #5) |
Pip Ballantine,
Tee Morris, Philippa Ballantine |
One of the characters in this book is deaf and uses sign language. They are an active operative of the Ministry. | Science Fiction, Steampunk | 2016 | |
| The Raven King
(The Raven Cycle #4) |
Maggie Stiefvater | One of the main characters Adam is deaf in his left ear. This book was a Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Nominee for Adult Literature (2017) and Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2016). | YA Fantasy | 2016 | |
| Talk Under Water | Kathryn Lomer | One of the two main characters Summer (16) has been deaf since birth and uses Auslan and written English to communicate. In the story, one of the other main characters learns Auslan. | YA Romance & Family | 2015 | |
| There Will Be Lies | Nick Lake | One of the main character Shelby (17) and profoundly deaf and uses lip-reading and ASL to communicate. | YA Mystery / Fantasy | 2015 | |
| Song of Summer | Laura Lee Anderson | One of the two central characters is Carter, he is Profoundly Deaf and was adopted by a family which is part of the New York Deaf community. His Dad is Deaf, his Mum is stay-at-home and an ASL interpreter and his Sister (9) has a cochlear implant which works well. Carter has had unsuccessful cochlear implant surgery, uses ASL to communicate. He often feels left out of the conversation when with hearing people. One of the main characters learns ASL in the book.[65] | 12 yrs + | YA Music / Romance | 2015 |
| Silence | Deborah Lytton | One of the two main characters is Stella (15), in the story becomes deaf after a head injury which takes place during the book. She uses speech to communicate and gets a cochlear implant in the story. The other main character Hayden has a stutter. Described as a Clean Romance Book. Both the main characters have "damaged childhoods". | 12 + yrs | YA Romance | 2015 |
| A Handful of Spells | Kimberley A. Shaw | The central character Caitlin is deaf and uses speech and lip-reading to communicate. She goes to the school for witches, and there are attempts to assist her hearing using magic - the effect is similar to wearing hearing aids and does not cure or completely restore her hearing, as she still has many misunderstandings. | YA Fantasy | 2014 | |
| Flying to the Fire
(Flying #2) |
Elyse Salpeter | One of the two main characters, Danny (13), is Deaf and uses ASL to communicate combined with some lip-reading and speech. | YA Action / Thriller / Afterlife | 2014 | |
| Waiting for a Sign | Esty Schachter | One of the main characters, Ian (17) is Deaf and uses lip-reading and ASL to communicate, he attends a residential deaf school called Hawthorne School for the Deaf. The central character is his hearing sister and she is a fluent ASL signer, this book explores the relationships within families when one member is Deaf. | 12 yrs + | YA Fiction Deaf culture | 2014 |
| Blue Lily, Lily Blue (The Raven Cycle #3) | Maggie Stiefvater | One of the main characters Adam (17-18) is deaf in his left ear. Adam is bisexual. This book has been nominated for these awards, Locus Award Nominee for Best Young Adult Novel (2015), Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Nominee for Adult Literature (2017), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2014) | 14 yrs + | YA Fantasy / Parnormal / LGBTQ | 2014 |
| Invisible (Book 1) | Cecil Paterson | The central character Jazmine aged 12, sometimes wears a hearing aid and uses lip-reading and speech to communicate. This book was a semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough novel award in 2014. | 10-17 yr | YA Romance | 2014 |
| Invincible (Invisible book 2) | Cecil Paterson | The central character Jazmine (13) sometimes wears a hearing aid and uses lip-reading and speech to communicate. | 9-16 yrs | YA | 2014 |
| The Fifth Vertex (The Sigilord Chronicles #1) | Kevin Hoffman | The central character Urus was born Deaf and uses sign language to communicate. The book started with him attempting to commit suicide, he later becomes the hero of the story with his magical powers, which develop as a result of his suicide attempt. | YA Fantasy | 2014 | |
| The Dream Thieves | Maggie Stiefvater | One of the main characters Adam is Deaf in his left ear and is in a homosexual relationship in this book. This book has been nominated for several awards including the Locus Award Nominee for Best Young Adult Novel (2014), Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Nominee for Adult Literature (2017), Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee (2015), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction (2013). | YA Fantasy | 2013 | |
| Sounds of Silence | Phillip Tomasso III | The central character Marco becomes deaf aged 12 after being ill with meningitis, he then attends a residential Deaf School whilst learning ASL. | YA Fiction | 2013 | |
| My Haunting Love | J.S. Wilsoncroft | The central character, Calista (16) is deaf and starts the book by moving away from the school for the Deaf she attends so then she attends a mainstream school. She uses ASL to communicates and so does the Ghost in the story. | YA Ghost | 2013 | |
| Dragonswood
(Wilde Island Chronicles #2) |
Janet Lee Carey | The central character Tess (17) is deaf in one ear which is swollen and cauliflower-shaped as a consequence of repeatedly being beaten by her Father. The book is set in the Middle Ages. | YA Fantasy | 2012 | |
| Goodbye Tchaikovsky | Michael Thal | The central character David (12) a violist suddenly becomes profoundly deaf. In the story, he learns ASL and lip-reading. | 8 yrs + | YA Music | 2012 |
| The Raven Boys | Maggie Stiefvater | One of the main characters Adam is Deaf in his left ear. This book has been nominated for several awards including Bram Stoker Award Nominee for Best Young Adult Novel (2012), Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Nominee for Adult Literature (2017), Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee (2015), Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee (2014), The Inky Awards for Silver Inky (2013). | YA Fantasy | 2012 | |
| Invincible Summer | Hannah Moskowitz | One of the main characters Gideon was born deaf and uses a form of sign language to communicate. | YA Romance | 2011 | |
| Whisper | Chrisse Keighery | The central character Demi (16) became profoundly deaf when she had meningitis aged 14. She uses lip-reading speech and Auslan to communicate, she now attends a college for the Deaf and has a Deaf friend called Stella who uses Auslan to communicate and is proud to be Deaf. | YA Romance | 2011 | |
| Wonderstruck | Brian Selznick | Both the main characters are Deaf, Ben born deaf in his left ear then comes profoundly deaf after being hit by lighting, he uses speech and written English to communicate. Rose is born Deaf and communicates using ASL and some lip-reading and speech.[66] The story is told in pictures when telling Rose's story. This book was won the Schneider Family Book Award - Middle School Winner 2012. This book was made into a film in 2017 called Wonderstruck. | YA Fiction | 2011 | |
| Five Flavors of Dumb | Antony John | This books main character Piper is Deaf and uses ASL to communicate. The family has a hereditary deafness and her new baby sister is born deaf and has cochlear implant fitted.[67] Winner of a 2011 Schneider Family Book Award.[68] | 12 yrs + | YA Romance
/ Music |
2010 |
| Freak City | Kathrin Schrockle | One of the two main characters, Leah is deaf from birth and uses speech, lipreading and sign language to communicate. This book has been translated from German by Tammi Reichel and in 2019 a film based on the book will be launched entitled Freak City. | YA Romance | 2010 Reprinted in 2014 | |
| The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin | Josh Berk | The central character Will, transfers from a Deaf School to a mainstream school and uses lip-reading and sign language to communicate. | YA Fiction | 2010 | |
| T4: A Novel in Verse | Ann Clare Lezotte | The central character Paula (13) is Deaf from an early age and used gestures to communicate before learning sign language in the book. The T4 program aimed to sterilize and/or kill thousands of Jews with disabilities. | 12 yrs + | Set in Nazis Germany | 2008 |
| Read My Lips | Teri Brown | The central character Serena is deaf and wears hearing aids and uses lip-reading and speech to communicate. Reading lips sometimes causes some confusion. | YA Romance | 2008 | |
| At Face Value | Emily Franklin | The central character is taught ASL by Linus who is a hearing child of Deaf parents or a CODA. | 12 + yrs | YA Romance | 2008 |
| The King Commands: (Tales of the Borderlands #2) | Meg Burden | The Deaf character Finn has a more prominent role in this book. He uses Sign language to communicate with his family, he also occasionally uses lip reading and telepathy powers as many of the other characters in the book are also telepathic. | 11-15 years | YA Fantasy | 2008 |
| The White Darkness | Geraldine McCaughrean | The central character Sym (14) is deaf, she wears hearing aids and uses speech and lip-reading to communicate. This book was a Michael L. Printz award winner (2008) and Whitbread Children's Book Award (2005). | YA Adventure | 2008 | |
| Northlander
(Tales of the Borderlands #1) |
Meg Burden | One of the characters in the book is called Finn, he is Deaf and uses Sign Language to communicate with his family, he also occasionally uses lip reading and telepathy powers as many of the other characters in the book are also telepathic. This book has was awards Book of the Year, YA Fiction by ForeWord Magazine and International Reading Association Notable Book. | 12 yrs+ | YA Fantasy | 2007 |
| Hurt Go Happy | Ginny Rorby | The central character Joey (13) became deaf when she was 6 years old following abuse and wears hearing aids and uses speech and lip-reading (with limited success) to communicate. Her mother doesn't let her learn to sign but in the story, she learns ASL.[69] This book has won the Schneider Family Book Award for Teen Book (2008) and was a Missouri Truman Readers Award Nominee (2009.) | 12yrs + | YA Realistic Fiction/ Animal testing, rights | 2006 |
| Dr Sylver and the Repository of the Past (The Sylver Chronicles #2) | Paul Kercal | One of the main characters Charlotte is deaf, she attends a mainstream school. | 12-16 yrs | YA Christian novel, teenage pregnancy, depression and self harm | 2006 |
| Dr Sylver and the Library of Everything (The Sylver Chronicles #1) | Paul Kercal | One of the main characters Charlotte is deaf, she attends a mainstream school. | 12-16 yrs | YA Christian novel, bullying | 2004 |
| The Raging Quiet | Sherryl Jordan | One of the main characters Raven is deaf. This book is set in the Medieval time period, he is frequently misunderstood but does develop a signed/gestural communication system with one of the other characters. | 12 - 14 yrs | YA Historical Romantic Fiction | 2004 |
| Of Sound Mind | Jean Ferris | The central character Theo is a CODA and he is bilingual in English and ASL. He is the only hearing person in his family and his brother and his parents are Deaf and communicate using ASL. There is another CODA in the book called Ivy. | 12-17 yrs | 2004 | |
| Read My Lips | Jana Novotny Hunter | The central character Cat (teenager) became Profoundly deaf after having meningitis when she was five. In the story, she had learnt to speak before she lost her hearing but as she now lives in a residential Deaf school she no longer uses her voice. The students at the Deaf School are divided some use spoken English to communicate others use sign language. Cat's best friend is a Deaf sign language user. There is also another main character Joey which has transferred from another school and uses a total communication approach (speech and sign similarly). In the book, there is a School debate on speaking vs. signing vs. total communication. The writer has two siblings were profoundly deaf, her parents were hearing. | 12-14 yrs | Romance | 2002 |
| Finding Abby | Virginia M. Scott | One of the main characters Abby becomes deaf aged 14 after meningitis and dies aged 16. The book explores Abby's feeling about becoming deaf. | 13 yrs + | 2000 | |
| Balancing Act | Virginia M. Scott | The central character Beth (15) became deaf and has balancing difficulties after a childhood illness. | YA Family Relationships | 1997 | |
| Mary Mehan Awake (Becoming Mary Mehan Book 2) | Jennifer Armstrong | The central character falls in love with Henry, left deaf by the war, after exposure to loud explosions. He communicates by writing notes and she describes sound for him. | 11yrs+ | Historical fiction, set in America | 1997 |
| A Sudden Silence | Eve Bunting | The central characters brother Bry (16) is deaf and is killed in the presence of the main character by a hit and run driver. He could not hear the car coming from behind and uses lip-reading and sign language to communicate. This book has won the California Young Readers Medal for Young Adult (1992) and Oklahoma Sequoyah Award for YA (1991). | 12 yrs+ | Murder mystery / Alcoholism | 1988 reprinted in 2007 |
| Bird-eyes | Madelyn Arnold | One of the main characters is Anna, who is a Deaf widow admitted to a mental hospital in the 1960s for depression. She is 'not allowed' to sign by the authorities but does teach the central character to sign. This book won the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Debut Fiction (1988.) | LGBQ / Mental Health | 1988, reprinted in 2000 | |
| Belonging | Virginia M. Scott | The main character Gustie is 15 when she becomes deaf in her right ear after having meningitis. The book is about her adjusting to her new circumstances. Gustie uses a hearing aid and lip reading to communicate and then learns to fingerspell. In the book, she gets a boyfriend meets her boyfriend's brother and her boyfriend's sister-in-law who are both Deaf. She returns to her mainstream School where her friends are unkind. She has a notetaker at School. Published by Gallaudet University Press | YA Romance / Friendships | 1986 |
Books for Adults with D/deaf characters[]
| Title | Author | Deaf Characters / Awards Won | Target Age | Gerne | Year 1st Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal: A Mother and Her Beautiful Son | Magdalena Newman | This book is the autobiography of the Mother of a teenage son with severe treacher collins syndrome, a craniofacial condition which affects his ability to breath, hear or eat. In the book he has 67 surgeries and wears BAHA hearing aids. | Autobiography | 2020 | |
| Dark Pines (Tuva Moodyson Mystery 1) | Will Dean | The central character Tuva became deaf after having meningitis as a child and now an adult she wears hearing aids and uses lip-reading and speech to communicate. | Crime thriller | 2018 | |
| Friend (With Benefits) Zone | Laura Brown | Both the main characters, which are in a romantic relationship are deaf. | Romance | 2017 | |
| Diary of a Beautiful Disaster | Kristin Bartzokis | This book is the autobiography of a lady with treacher collins syndrome, a craniofacial condition which can also cause hearing loss. She wears a BAHA hearing aid and uses speech to communicate. In the book she some awful medical experiences following surgery. | Autobiography | 2017 | |
| Levi (Forbidden Desires #2) | Justine Elvira | A small character, a child, is Deaf and uses ASL to communicate | 18 + yrs | Erotic Fiction | 2017 |
| Silent Fear | Lance Morcan, James Morcan | This book is set in a fictional University for the Deaf - so most of the characters are Deaf or can use BSL to communicate. | Horror | 2017 | |
| And Fire Came Down (Caleb Zelic #2) | Emma Viskic | The central character Caleb is Profoundly Deaf since being a young child and uses lip-reading and Auslan to communicate. There are also other characters who use sign language. | Australian Crime / Mystery | 2017 | |
| Deafness Gain | Michael Uniacke | This second book in the autobiography of Michael Uniacke tells how he as an adult explores his deaf identity and joins a deaf community of non-signers.[70] | Autobiography | 2016 | |
| The Silent Book: A Deaf Family and the Disappearing Australian-Irish Sign Language | Bernadette T Wallis | Based on the true story of a deaf family in Victoria, Australia. Focusing on the Australian-Irish Sign language that was used by the Catholic Deaf Community that is no longer taught in Schools. |
Australian Deaf History | 2016 | |
| Signs of Attraction | Laura Brown | The main character Carli has hearing aids and uses speech to communicate and learns ASL in the book, another character Reed is also deaf.[71] They meet whilst studying at university. | 18-25 yrs | New Adult / Romance | 2016 |
| Rock Candy Kisses
(3:AM Kisses #5) |
Addison Moore | The central character Annie (19) was born Profoundly Deaf and uses lip-reading and ASL to communicate; during the book, her Mum encourages her to get a cochlear implant which she does and then rapidly develops very clear speech. Annie previously attended a school for the hearing impaired and is starting at Whitney Briggs University where she has an ASL interpreter in class. | New Adult / Erotic Romance | 2015 | |
| Resurrection Bay
(Caleb Zelic #1) |
Emma Viskic | The central character Caleb (in his 30s) is a deaf private detective. He became deaf aged 5 after having meningitis and uses lip-reading with strangers and Auslan to communicate with his friends. The book includes times when he can't follow what is being said and reminding others to move to ensure there face is well lit. This book has won several the 2016 Ned Kelly Award for Best First Fiction, Davitt Awards for Best Novel, Best Debut and Reader's Choice, iBooks Australia's Crime Novel of the Year and shortlisted for the UK Gold Dagger and New Blood Awards. Nominated for Barry Award for Best paperback. | Australian Crime Thriller | 2015 | |
| Graeme Clark: the man who invented the bionic ear | Mark Worthing | This book is a biography of Graeme Clark, the man who invented cochlear implants, although it is the story of his life there are deaf people in the book including his Father who had hearing loss. | Biography | 2015 | |
| Signs | Anna Martin | The central character Caleb (18) wears hearing aids, has social anxiety and doesn't feel part of the Deaf community. He uses a shorthand form of ASL to communicate at home with his parents. In the story, he's in a Gay relationship and the book includes explicit sex scenes.[72] He previously went to a special school but is now in a mainstream school. | 18 yrs + | New Adult, Erotic, LGBTQ Romance | 2015 |
| Not Fade Away: A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found | Rebecca A. Alexander, Sascha Alper | This autobiography is written by Rebecca. She has Usher syndrome type III which has caused her to have progressive hearing and sight loss from childhood, she uses | Autobiography | 2015 | |
| Different ways of being | Alan Balter | The book starts with Willa and Robert, a couple deaf from birth that are culturally Deaf couple have a child called Seth who then goes to Gallaudet University and has a Deaf boyfriend called Jacob. The Deaf characters and Seth ASL to communicate. As the book is set in the Deaf community there are other Deaf characters in the book. | Deaf culture, LGBTQ+ | 2015 | |
| Deafness Down | Michael Uniacke, Rachel Burt | This autobiography tells the story of Michael Uniacke's (6+) childhood, whilst deaf in a catholic mainstream school.[73] He also has three deaf siblings and one hearing sister. | Autobiography 1960s Australia | 2015 | |
| Maybe Someday
(Maybe #1) |
Colleen Hoover | One of the main characters Ridge (24) is Deaf and uses ASL to communicate. | New Adult Romance | 2014 | |
| What Is Visible | Kimberly Elkins | This book is based on the true story of Laura Bridgman who became deaf-blind and lost her sense of smell/taste aged 2 after an illness (possibly scarlet fever.) She could read Braille and used tactile sign language to communicate. She spent most of her school and adult life at the Perkins Institution for the Blind. She was born fifty years before Helen Keller. The book includes her periods of unhappiness, self-harm and anorexia. This book has won the David J. Langum Sr. Prize for American Historical Fiction (2014). | Historical Biography set in America 1829 –1889 | 2014 | |
| Finding Zoe: A Deaf Woman's Journey of Love, Identity, and Adoption | Brandi Rarus, Gail Harris | This is the true story of a Deaf couple where the Brandi was raised orally after becoming Deaf aged 6 and then later joined the Deaf community and her husband Tim was from a Deaf multigenerational family which used ASL to communicate. They had three hearing Sons before they adopted Zoe, a baby with progressive hearing loss. | Deaf Culture/ Adoption / Autobiography | 2014 | |
| The Art of Being Deaf: A Memoir | Donna McDonald | In this autobiography, Donna tells how she went to an oral deaf school aged five then onto mainstream schools where she used lip-reading and speech to communicate and then spent her adult life in the 'hearing world'. This book is published by the Gallaudet University Press. | Autobiography | 2014 | |
| Smart, Sexy and Secretive
(The Reed Brothers #2) |
Tammy Falkner | One of the two main characters, Logan became deaf after a childhood illness and uses speech to communicate. | 18 + | Romance | 2013 |
| Song Without Words: Discovering My Deafness Halfway through Life | Gerald Shea | This autobiography is by Gerald Shea who went deaf after an illness aged six went through his childhood and young adult years with undiagnosed until his hearing status was discovered when he went to a mandatory hearing test for a new job aged 34. He now wears hearing aids and uses lip-reading and speech to communicate | Autobiography | 2013 | |
| Tall, Tatted and Tempting
(The Reed Brothers #1) |
Tammy Falkner | One of the two main characters, Logan became deaf after a childhood illness and initially chooses not to talk but later uses speech to communicate. | 18 + | Romance | 2013 |
| What Did You Say? An Unexpected Journey Into the World of Hearing Loss | Monique E. Hammond | 2012 | |||
| Listening Closely: A Journey to Bilateral Hearing | Arlene Romoff | The author started to become deaf in her teenage years and had much later had bilateral cochlear implant surgery. | Autobiography | 2011 | |
| Kicking Up Dirt: A True Story of Determination, Deafness, and Daring | Ashley Fiolek, Caroline Ryder | This book is an autobiography of Ashley Fiolek's life and career, she was born Deaf and uses ASL to communicate. | 2011 | ||
| Deaf in DC: A Memoir (Gallaudet New Deaf Lives Book 9) | Madan Vasishta | This autobiography by Madan tells how he became deaf aged 11 and later went on to learn Indan sign language and ASL and become an associate professor at Gallaudet University. | Autobiography | 2011 | |
| Flying to the Light
(Flying #1) |
Elyse Salpeter | One of the two main characters, Danny (6), is Deaf and uses ASL to communicate combined with some lip-reading and speech. | Fantasy / Thriller | 2011 | |
| Breaking the Sound Barriers: 9 Deaf Success Stories | Julie Postance | Nine true stories, five parents of deaf children and four from deaf adults and the variety of paths they took in life. The stories include different communication choices including speech, Auslan and bilingual upbringings. | Biographies | 2009 | |
| St. Nacho's
(St. Nacho's #1) |
Z.A. Maxfield | One of this books two main characters is deaf. Shawn is part of a Deaf there group as is Kevin also Deaf. Shawn is also gay and uses lip-reading, written English and ASL to communicate. This book is very sexually explicit. | 18 + | LGBTQ / Romance | 2008 |
| Echo (Sensations #2) | Clint Kelly | One of the main characters Cody (13) is deaf, wears hearing aids and uses speech to communicate. | 18 yrs | 2007 | |
| Whitethorn Woods | Maeve Binchy | Melanie is the Deaf Character in the story and she appears towards the end of the book. She is Profoundly deaf, attended a school for the deaf (all girls) as a child and communicates in sign language and speech and enrols in a training program to later teach deaf children. | Irish Family Saga / Romance | 2007 | |
| Teaching from the Heart and Soul: The Robert F. Panara Story (Deaf Lives Series, Vol. 6) | Harry G. Lang | This biography is about Robert who became deaf aged 10 after having meningitis. He used ASL to communicate. | Biography | 2007 | |
| Neither–Nor: A Young Australian's Experience with Deafness (The Fifth Deaf Lives Series) | Paul Jacobs | This biography of Jason who became deaf aged 5, who uses speech and lip-reading to communicate. He attends university and plays in the Deaf Australian World Cup cricket team but never learns to sign. Published by the Gallaudet University Press. | Biography, Australia | 2007 | |
| Deafening | Frances Itani | The main character in this book, Grania O'Neill becomes Deaf after having Scarlet fever aged five. She initially lives at home, then attends Ontario School for the Deaf where she learns sign language and speech. This book won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book in Caribbean and Canada (2004). This book starts in Canada but follows characters to the United States, England, Belgium and France. | Set in WW1 (1915-19) Canada, | 2007 | |
| Buy a Watch, Get a Wife! | Rachel Brown | The main character, Rachel has a masters degree in Deaf Education and is an "elementary school hearing impaired teacher," her role includes ASL interpreting for deaf and hard of hearing students across the school. Her students and her relationship with them are included in the book. | Romance, Husband in US Army goes to Iraq | 2006 | |
| Isles of view | C. F. Brunner | One of the two main characters is Dan (Adult) he has been Profoundly deaf since he was a toddler and uses speech, lip-reading and sign language to communicate. The book focuses on the couple's relationship dynamics, as a deaf/hearing couple, which the author has first-hand experience of. | Love story, relationship conflict | 2006 | |
| Girl in the Shadow | V.C. Andrews | The central character comes to live with Echo (14) who is deaf and uses ASL to communicate and her elderly Grandmother. | Horror / Family saga | 2006 | |
| Deaf in Delhi: A Memoir (Deaf Lives Series, Vol. 4) | Madan Vasishta | This autobiography tells the story of Madan's life, how he went deaf at 11 after being ill with typhoid fever and the mumps. He starts life in India, aged 20 learns Indian Sign Language and later gains a Degree from Gallaudet college where he learnt ASL. | Autobiography | 2006 | |
| Silent Ears, Silent Heart: A Deaf Man's Journey Through Two Worlds | Blair LaCrosse, Michelle LaCrosse | The main character Christopher was born into a hearing family and the book documents follows his journey navigating the Deaf and hearing worlds. | Deaf culture and identity | 2003 | |
| Hear Again: Back to Life with a Cochlear Implant | Arlene Romoff | The author's experience of having a cochlear implant. | Autobiography | 2002 | |
| Havana Heat: A novel | Darryl Brock | The central character in this book is Luther "Dummy" Taylor was born deaf and used ASL to communicate. He was a successful baseball pitcher in the early 1900s. This semi-fictional account of his life includes a trip to Cuba where he meets children from the deaf School, La Escuela delOrejas and specifically forms a friendship with another deaf character called Luis (19) who also used ASL to communicate. The book is set in 1911 America. Later in the book he teaches and coaches at the, Illinois School for the Deaf and shortly before his death is honoured by Kansa School for the Deaf where he attended as a child. The book was awarded the Dave Moore Award in 2000. | Baseball Historical Fiction | 2000 | |
| Talk Talk | T.C. Boyle | Dana now in her 30s became deaf aged 4 after an infection. She is now a fiercely independent strong woman, who is an English teacher at a school for the deaf in San Roque. Her voice gives away that she is deaf and she also uses ASL to communicate. This book won the California Book Award for Fiction (Silver) (2006). | Suspense & Thriller / Crime | 2000 | |
| A Quiet World: Living with Hearing Loss | David Myres | The author's experience of hearing loss later in life. | Biography | 2000 | |
| Living Legends
Stories about Successful Deaf People, Book 2 |
Darlene Toole | Biographies of Danny Delcambre, Kathy Buckley, Ken Glickman, Bethany "Buffy" Hummel, Dr. Robert Davila and Laurene Gallimore. | Biography | 1998 | |
| Discoveries
Significant Contributions of Deaf Women and Men |
Anita Davis, Katharine Preston | Twenty Deaf people who have made significant contributions to their field of specialism. | 1998 | ||
| Melody | V.C. Andrews | The main character moves in with May (10) who's deaf and uses ASL to communicate and her family. | Family saga / Horror | 1996 | |
| Living Legends
Stories about Successful Deaf People, Book 1 |
Darlene Toole | Biographies of six Deaf people, Evelyn Glennie, Howie Seago, Dr. Shirley Allen, John Woo, Karen Meyer and Paul Ogden. | Biographies | 1996 | |
| A Maiden's Grave | Jeffery Deaver | The main event in this book is that a bus of eight deaf students (aged 8–17 years) are taken hostage with their teachers. Their children from the School for the Deaf all use ASL to communicate. This book was also made into a film called Dead Silence in 1997 and has sold | 18 yrs + | Suspense & Thriller | 1995, republished in 2001. |
| Silent Songs
(StarBridge #5) |
A.C. Crispin,
Kathleen O'Malley |
One of the main characters Tesa is a Native American woman that was born Deaf since birth, she uses sign language and sometimes communicates through a telepath. The is another deaf character with a different attitude to her deafness. | Science Fiction | 1994 | |
| Silent Dances
(StarBridge #2) |
A.C. Crispin, Kathleen O'Malley | The central character Tesa is a Native American woman who was born Deaf and uses sign language to communicate. | Science Fiction | 1994 | |
| My island: The True Story of a Silent Challenge | Maggie Gordon,
Hamish Rosie |
Autobiography of Hamish Rose who was profoundly Deaf and lived on the island of Orkney in Scotland, landscape artist and graphic designer. His illustrations are used in the book. | Autobiography | 1991 | |
| What's That Pig Outdoors?: A Memoir of Deafness | Henry Kisor | This book is an autobiography by Henry Kisor. He became deaf aged three after having meningitis and communicates by using lip-reading, written and spoken English. | Autobiography | 1990 | |
| Deaf Heritage - a Narrative History of Deaf America (Gallaudet Classics Deaf Studie) | Jack Gannon | Detailed American Deaf History | 1981 republished in 2012 | ||
| The Stand | Stephen King | One of the main characters Nick was born profoundly deaf and aged nine he was taught to lip-read, read and write by another "deaf-mute" called Rudy. Neither child uses sign language to communicate. The original 1978 book won several awards Locus Award Nominee for Best SF Novel (1979), World Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novel (1979), Gandalf Award Nominee (1979), Balrog Award Nominee for Best Novel (1979) (1980). | 18 yrs + | Postapocalyptic Horror/Fantasy | 1978 uncut version published in 1991 |
| In This Sign | Joanne Greenberg | The central characters Abel and Janice are both Deaf and use ASL to communicate. They are both members of the Deaf community and met at a school for the Deaf and Blind. They have a daughter called Margret who is hearing, as a CODA she often interprets for them at the bank etc and she feels the weight of this responsibility. In 1985 this book was made into a film called Love Is Never Silent. | Set in the 1920s ill the 1960s, Deaf Culture, Something of a CODA child's perspective | 1970 republished in 1984 |
See also[]
- British Sign Language
- American Sign Language Literature
- Disability in children's literature
- Disability in the arts
References[]
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- ^ Bailes, Cynthia Neese (2002-10-01). "Mandy: A Critical Look at the Portrayal of a Deaf Character in Children's Literature". Multicultural Perspectives. 4 (4): 3–9. doi:10.1207/S15327892MCP0404_2. ISSN 1521-0960.
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- ^ a b c JCARMICHAEL (2018-02-12). "2018 Schneider Family Book Awards recipients named". News and Press Center. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
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- ^ a b "Blatchford, Claire H. 1944- | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2020-01-13.
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Bio and contact". Marc Heyez. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
- ^ "Interview with Whitney Gardner about You're Welcome, Universe". Retrieved 2019-09-05.
- ^ Pajka,ph.d, Sharon (2017-07-10). "Deaf Characters in Adolescent Literature: New Book Out This Week: _Being Jazmine_ by Cecily Anne Paterson". Deaf Characters in Adolescent Literature. Retrieved 2019-08-16.
- ^ "Review: Song of Summer by Laura Lee Anderson". shelfishly-addicted. Retrieved 2020-01-18.
- ^ "Review: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick". Retrieved 2019-09-05.
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- ^ "Review: Hurt Go Happy by Ginny Rorby". Retrieved 2019-09-05.
- ^ "Book Review: Deafness Gain (Michael Uniacke)". www.wordgathering.com. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
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Further reading[]
- Brittain, Isabel. An Examination into the Portrayal of Deaf Characters and Deaf Issues in Picture Books for Children. Disability Studies Quarterly Winter 2004, Volume 24, No. 1.
External links[]
Categories:
- Lists of children's books
- Literature about deaf people
- Deaf culture
- Disability-related lists