|
 Deaf
Characters in
Fiction
Juvenile
Miscellaneous
( Recent
discoveries)
My
notes on the deaf characters in red.
Reading
Ages 9-12
Read
any of these? Let us know what you think of the books &
deaf characters. email
|
Amazon
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Canadian
Cultural Society of the Deaf - The
Smart Princess and Other Deaf Tales
THE
SMART PRINCESS - a young princess who would one day be queen,
and how she deals with her Aunt Belle, who refuses to learn
sign language to communicate.
EARTH
2 - a group of deaf astronauts and hearing team mates end
up on another planet.
MY
LIFE CHANGED - a young girl teased for being deaf until goes
to Newfoundland School for the Deaf.
MY
TIGER - deaf girl with a vivid imagination.
BEST
FRIENDS - shows all sizes or handicaps can work togehter and
commnicate.
|
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Deborah
Abbott & Henry Kisor - One
TV Blasting and Pig Outdoors
Conan describes life with his
father who lost his hearing at the age of three. |
|
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Joan
Aiken - Dangerous Games
Additon to Joan Aiken's award-winning
Wolves series. Dido Twite has been sailing the high seas, chasing
after Lord Herodsfoot, who is scouring the globe for new and
interesting games. Dido's search has taken her to Aratu, a mysterious
spice island where foreigners seldom venture—maybe because
of the deadly pearl snakes and sting monkeys there. . She
soon makes friends among the Forest People and learns of a plot
to overthrow the island's king, who lives—deaf and sick—at
his palace on the Cliffs of Death. Will Dido and her friends
be able to reach him in time? |
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Jean
F. Andrews (Flying Fingers Series) The
Ghost of Tomahawk Creek ~ The Flying Fingers Club ~
Hasta Luego, San Diego ~ Secret in the Dorm Attic
(Juvenile/Teen) The
Flying Fingers Club series. A deaf boy who takes up solveing
mysteries with his sister and friends.
(Read
this entire series. Lots of deaf characterization, signing
and emotions with the deaf and the hearing who surround
him. Good Job!)
|
| Out
of Print |
Jean
Andrews - Ed's off-day
(Jeff Andrews, Illustrator)
If
you know of this title or deaf character, please email the
info to me at info@myshelf.com
|
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Ben
M. Baglio - Doggy
Dare
(Animal Ark Pets, 12) Mandy and
James meet deaf boy, whose mom won't let him go places. The
kids decided to train a stray dog to be hearing dog. |
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Claire
H. Blatchford - Nick's
Mission
~ Nick's
Secret
Mystery type series for kids.
12 year old deaf Nick deals with a summer of speech therapy,
snorkeling, and a mystery of kidnapping and smuggling.
Nick's
Secret: Nick befriends a mysterious girl who is training
and protecting a pack of valuable sheepdogs on her own. |
| 
Amazon
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Claire
H. Blatchford - Going With the
Flow (First Person)
When Mark changes schools in
mid-year, he is angry, lonely, and embarrassed by his deafness,
but he soon begins to adjust. |
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Claire
H. Blatchford - All
Alone (Except for My Dog Friday)
A twelve-year-old girl who has
lost her hearing, her friends, and a stray sheep dog she hoped
could be her own, realized through the prompting of an inner
voice that to be a friend, she must reach out to others. |
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Symara
Nichola Bonner - River of Hands:
Deaf Heritage Stories
For children ages 7 to 11,
this landmark anthology, written and illustrated by young Deaf
people, introduces kids to Deaf characters in a fun way. Within
each story are quirky illustrations, how-to handsigns, vital
lifestyle information and interesting history on devices for
the Deaf.
All the authors and illustrators are winners
of The Ladder Awards, a competition held for members of the
Deaf community. The nine featured in this book were selected
from across Canada -- from Newfoundland to British Columbia.
|
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Christina
Bridges - The Hero
Matt, a hearing boy, and
Jacob, a deaf boy, are best friends and do many things together,
but when they witness a robbery it is Jacob's special ability
to read lips that makes him the hero. |
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Nancy
Butts - Cheshire Moon
A compelling semi-supernatural
story of a deaf girl's adjustment to a hearing world which won't
bend to her disability. |
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Mary
Blount Christian - The Goosehill
Gang and the May basket mystery
Pete decides that the
family next door are "weirdos" because they never
speak, but learns along with the other members of his gang that
the family is not weird but handicapped. |
| Amazon |
Christine
Burk, Lora Riethmeier (Illustrator) - Prudence
Parker And a Sign of Friendship
Two seven-year-old girls find themselves
smothered in sunshine, and knee deep in sand, during their family
vacations. Prudence Parker is an imaginative and excitable seven-year-old,
whose encounters with physically disabled children make way
for valuable lessons in communication and empathy. Haley is
deaf. Frustration turns to triumph when Prudence uses her limited
knowledge of sign language as the segue for a new friendship
with Haley. Flattered by Prudence's animated enthusiasm, Haley
graciously uses a "follow the leader" type game to
teach Prudence a new vocabulary. |
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Barbara
Corcoran - A Dance to
Still Music
Takes place in 1931. Deafened
by an illness, fourteen-year-old Margaret refuses to accept
her condition and runs away in fear that her mother's remarriage
may mean she'll be sent to a boarding school for the deaf. |
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Raewyn
Caisley - The Quiet World (Voyages.)
When he learns that his younger
brother can't hear, David wants to experience what it is like
to be deaf. |
| out-of-print |
Ellen
Douglas - Deland Rosamond's
Violin
Includes a deaf character, Marcia
Graham |
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Joyce
Dunbar, Jane Ray (Illustrator) -
Moonbird
Written by a Deaf author, Orla
is the deaf child of the kind and queen. The magical Moonbird
teaches Orla how to speak with his hands and listen with his
eyes. |
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Cheryl
Ann. Goldfeder - The Girl Who Wouldn't
Talk
If
you know of this title or deaf character, please email the
info to me at info@myshelf.com
|
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Frances
O'Roark Dowell - Dovey
Coe
When accused of murder in her
North Carolina mountain town in 1928, Dovey Coe, a stronged-willed
twelve-year-old girl, comes to a new understanding of others,
including her deaf brother. |
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Ruth
Hallman - Breakaway
Kate and her boyfriend Rob who
has recently become deaf run away to Georgia where Rob can learn
to live independently without interference from his mother.
|
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Ron
Hamilton, Peggy B. Deal (Illustrator) - Alan
and the Baron
If
you know of this title or deaf character, please email the
info to me at info@myshelf.com
|
| |
Emily
Hanlon - The Swing
An 11-year-old deaf girl and
a 13-year-old boy with family problems seek refuge at a swing
which has come to have a special meaning for each of them. |
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Lorraine
Hunter Hare - Make Room for the Hollyhocks/Where
the Birds Don't Sing
"Where the Birds Don't Sing"
– At four years old Jonathan is left deaf after a measles epidemic.
His mother is dead and his father Caleb, decided to set aside
his own grief and dedicated his life to his only son. Takes
place in the early 1900s. |
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Jo
Harper - Deaf Smith: : Scout,
Spy, and Texas Hero
(9 to Teen) A weekend camping
trip continue to haunt members of an Austin, Texas scout troup
when they return home. |
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Lil
Hess - Good Luck Dog
A Tibetan terrier named Kah-Loo
is dognapped, sold to a research laboratory, and adopted by
an unsuitable owner, before finally finding a happy home with
a deaf girl. |
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Karen
Hirsch, Carl Egenberger (Illustrator)
-
Becky
A deaf child lives
with a hearing family while she attends school and enables them
to become conscious of problems facing the deaf. |
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Candri
Hodges - When I Grow Up
Jimmy, who is deaf, attends Career Day where
he meets deaf adults with varied and interesting careers, who
communicate using sign language. Includes diagrams illustrating
signs for some of the words in the text. |
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Angela
Elwell Hunt - Deadly Chase
Colonial Captives Series
- While continuing her voyage to America, Kimberly encounters
not only a deaf girl who attempts to save a baby whale but also
a Jewish boy who accepts Christ. |
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Edith
Fisher Hunter, Bea Holmes (Illustrator) - Child
of the Silent Night
The story of Laura Bridgman, the
first deaf and blind child to be taught to communicate with
the outside world, some fifty years before Helen Keller. |
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Lucille
R. Kraiman - Thanks A Lot
Jordan is in a new school that
doesn't use sign. |
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Nancy
Smiler Levinson - Annie's World
Annie, who has been nearly deaf
since she was seven, must leave her school and be mainstreamed
into a public high school, an adjustment which she finds difficult
but ultimately not impossible to handle. |
| |
Margo
Lundell, Irene Trivas (Illustrator) - A
Girl Named Helen Keller
The Kellers are devastated to
discover that their two-year-old girl is both blind and deaf
after a severe illness. Determined to help her live like other
children, the Kellers hire Anne Sullivan, a teacher from a school
for the blind. (Hello Reader! Series) |
Amazon |
Lenore
Look, Anne Wilsdork (Illustrator) - Ruby Lu,
Empress of Everything
The story is about second grader
Ruby Lu when she befriends her deaf cousin, Flying Duck. Ruby
Lu believes that the great thing about Flying Duck and her family
emigrating from China to live with her family is that life is
exciting and new; yet, everything is different! The house is filled
with new foods that seem strange. Also, Flying Duck is deaf, and
Ruby Lu doesn't know any Chinese Sign Language! Readers learn
how she manages squeezing in all of the new responsibilities that
come with a larger family into her schedule that is already packed
with swimming lessons, the Plum Club and summer school.
|
Amazon |
Marlee
Matlin - Deaf Child Crossing
Despite
the fact that Megan is deaf and Cindy can hear, the two girls
become friends when Cindy moves into Megan's neighborhood, but
when they go away to camp, their friendship is put to the test. |
Amazon |
Marlee
Matlin & Doug Cooney - Nobody's
Perfect
(Ages 9-12) Megan has spent
forever planning her positively purple birthday sleepover.
She's even made glittery purple invitations for every girl
in her class. Then a new girl, Alexis, joins their class.
Alexis seems perfect: She's smart, pretty, and rules the soccer
games on the playground. But no matter how hard Megan tries
to be a friend to Alexis, the new girl is aloof or rude. At
first, Megan thinks Alexis is shy. Then Megan starts to
fear that Alexis is treating her differently because she's
deaf. When the girls are forced to collaborate on a science
fair project, Megan learns the truth -- and realizes that
nobody's perfect.
Thank you Sharon P-W for sending us this title.
|
| out-of-print |
Diana
Maupin - Deaf Eagle and the Bank Robber
If
you know of this title or deaf character, please email the
info to me at info@myshelf.com
|
| |
Ann
M. Martin - Jessi's Secret Language
(Baby-Sitters Club, No.16) -
Jessi makes her mark on the BSC when she studies American Sign
Language and learns how to communicate with the club's new client,
a deaf boy. |
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Elisabeth
MacIntyre - Purple Mouse
A handicapped girl learns
that her struggle has made her a stronger & happier person. |
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Lynn
E. McElfresh - Can You Feel
the Thunder
Seventh-grader Mic's older sister,
Stephanie, is deaf and blind. Straightforward about the messy
daily cost of Stephanie's disabilities, and McElfresh is pitch-perfect
on the odious combination of forced sweetness and guilty politeness
that people are prone to use with disabled people and their
families |
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Marissa
Moss (Illustrator)
- Amelia Lends a Hand
Amelia has a deaf neighbor.
She learns sign. This book also contains eight pages of perforated
sign language cards. |
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Donna
Jo Napoli - Friends Everywhere
(Aladdin Angelwings, No 1)
The Little Angel of Friendship needs to earn a few more
feathers to get his flying wings. He has to help a girl
named Patricia make new friends. She is deaf and has moved to
a new town. |
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Evangeline
Nicholas - Selena Who speaks
in silence
– deafness and friendship. |
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John
Neufeld - Gaps in Stone Walls
Deaf twelve-year-old Merry Skiffe,
who lives on Martha's Vineyard in the 1880s, runs away from
home because she is suspected of having committed a murder.
|
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Jean
Davies Okimoto, Doug Keith (Illustrator) - Place
for Grace
With the help of a hearing-impaired
man, a little dog finally manages to graduate from a training
school for hearing dogs. |
Amazon listed with titles |
Deb
Piper Jake's
the Name, Sixth Grade's the Game ~ Those
Sevy Blues
Here is a humorous,
first-person account by a deaf boy mainstreamed into the sixth
grade of a public school. He speaks of what it is like for him
and of his perceptions of others' reactions to him. |
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Penny
Pollock- Keeping It Secret
Mary Lou (nicknamed "Wisconsin")
went to a new school, and nobody knew about her hearing aid.
She hated almost everything about school, from the spelling
bees to mean Jason. It was not until Field Day that she learned
everyone knew about her hearing aid! |
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Patrick
J. Quinn - Matthew Pinkowski's
Special Summer
Matthew moves to Stillwater,
MN where he meets some special friends. A deaf girl who is one
of the main characters. |
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Patrick
J. Quinn - Signs of Spring
Signs Of Spring features
a deaf youngster as its main character and hero. Twelve year-old
Eddie lives successfully with his deafness. Eddie moves from
the big city to the remote forests of northern Minnesota. There
he learns some hard lessons about the true meaning of home and
gains first-hand knowledge of his Native American Ojibwe culture. |
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Maureen
Cassidy Riski and Nikolas Kalkow - Patrick
Gets Hearing Aids
(All Ages ) Patrick is
a hearing impaired bunny. Yep, I said bunny. It's an
adorable book. |
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Bill
Richardson - After Hamelin
Penelope is 101 years old, but
she can remember the story like it happened yesterday. On the
morning of her eleventh birthday, she wakes to discover she
can no longer hear. It is on this same day that the Piper returns
to Hamelin to spirit the children away in an evil act of revenge
upon the townspeople. Spared because she is deaf to the Piper's
bewitching tune, Penelope is left to grieve the loss of her
friends and beloved sister Sophy until Cuthbert, the wise man
of the village, reveals that Penelope possesses the unusual
gift of deep dreaming. |
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Mary
Riskind - Apple Is My Sign
(Sandpiper Houghton Mifflin Books)
- A 10-year-old boy returns to his parents' apple farm for the
holidays after his first term at a school for the deaf in Philadelphia. |
 Amazon |
Pete
Seeger, Paul DuBois Jacobs, and R. Gregory Christie - The
Deaf Musicians
The main character Lee is a
jazzman who plays piano. His bandleader lets him go when Lee
loses his hearing. He attends a school for the deaf to learn
sign language where he meets Max, who plays the saxophone.
While discussing their musical interests, a bass player named
Rose joins in and they soon make-up a band and begin performing
for audiences in the subway.
This book was honored by the ALA for
embodying "the artistic expression of the disability
experience"
|
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Susan
Shreve - The Gift of the Girl Who
Couldn't Hear
Eliza's friend Lucy can't hear,
but wants to sing. Two friends, one of whom is deaf, help each
other when tryouts are held for a seventh-grade production of
"Annie." |
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Nancy
Simpson Levene - Crocodile Meatloaf
(The Alex Series) As she becomes
friends with Rachel, a deaf girl who has joined her sixth grade
class, Alex begins to feel that God has given her a mission
to protect Rachel from the boy who is tormenting her. |
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Jody
Sorenson - The Secret Letters
of Mama Cat
During her first year in junior
high, Meredith deals with several crises, including moving to
Texas, the departure of her sister to a boarding school for
the deaf, and the death of her grandmother. |
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Eleanor
Spence - The Nothing Place
Takes place in Australia. Learning
to accept his partial deafness is bad enough, but having to
adjust to a new neighborhood and a bunch of do-good friends
is almost too much for Glen. |
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Barbara
Luetke-Stahlman - Hannie
A novel for children about Hannah,
a hearing girl, and her two deaf sisters. |
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Richard
Steel - Touchdown
(Take Ten Mystery) Football and deafness
Butch is deaf, and Ben is blind. But together they make up the
eyes and ears of the whole town. One of their friends dies suddenly
in the middle of an important football game, and Butch and Ben
are sure it wasn't an accident. |
Amazon |
Andrea
Stenn Stryer, Bert Dodson (Illustrator) - Kami
and the Yaks
When a Sherpa family discovers
that their yaks are missing, Kami, a spunky deaf child, sets
off to find the wandering herd.
|
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Theodore
Taylor - Tuck Triumphant
Fourteen-year-old Helen, her
blind dog Friar Tuck, and her family face some dramatic challenges
when they discover that the Korean boy they have adopted is
deaf. |
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Jean
Ure - Muddy
Four Paws (We Love Animals)
When Clara and Jilly first
see the suitcase in a ditch, they don't expect it to yelp. The
noisemaker turns out to be Mud, an abandoned dog--and they really
want to keep him. Deafness plays into this somehow… not sure
how. |
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Jan
Wahl - Jamie's Tiger
(Tomie de Paola, Illustrator)
After he is ill with German measles, Jamie learns to cope with
his loss of hearing |
Amazon |
Augusta
Waite
- Two
Boys Go Fishing
If
you know of this title or deaf character, please email the
info to me at info@myshelf.com
|
| |
Elizabeth
Webster -
Johnnie
Alone
Originally published: in serial from,
under the title Johnnie Dumbo, in My Weekly, 1982.
The main character, Johnnie, is deaf. Johnnie is made deaf through
abuse by his stepfather. When his fatherstep father is killed,
Johnnie runs. |
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Margaret
Windsor - Pretty Saro
Sarah Jean seems to get along
better with horses than with other kids, until the realization
that she is hearing impaired brings her a hearing aid and friends.
|
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Elizabeth
Yates, Gloria Repp - Hue and Cry
(Light Line Ser)
Jared Austin, staunch member
of the mutual protection society that defends his 1830s New
Hampshire community against thieves, tries to temper justice
with mercy when his deaf daughter Melody befriends a young Irish
immigrant who has stolen a horse. |
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Elizabeth
Yates, Gloria Repp - Sound Friendships:
The Story of Willa and Her Hearing Dog
Sound Friendships is the story
of Willa Macy, who lost her hearing when she was fourteen years
old, and Honey, a golden retriever, who helped her to discover
a new world of independence and security. It is also a story
about Hearing Dogs--their background, training, special abilities,
and the unique relationship they develop with their owners in
working to surmount the barriers of a physical handicap. |
| |
Linda
Yeatman - Buttons:
The Dog Who Was More Than a Friend
After becoming separated from
his human family, a mother and little boy who are both deaf,
a puppy is trained as a hearing ear dog and is eventually reunited
with his owners. |
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Jane
Yolen - 2041
: twelve stories about the future by top science fiction
writers
( Science fiction) The story:
Ear / Jane Yolen includes major deaf characters.
Summary: Twelve fictional stories about school life, fads, inventions,
and cultural activities in the future by such authors as Connie
Willis, Peg Kerr, and Bruce Coville. |
| |
Joy
Zelonky -
I
Can't Always Hear You
(Barbara Bejna with Shirlee
Jensen, Illustrator) When Kim, a hearing-impaired girl, begins
going to a regular school after having been in a special one,
she finds that she isn't as different as she had feared because
everyone she meets has individual differences, too. |
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