Introduction
Cecelia Carolina Bell is an American author and illustrator born in Richmond, Virginia. She attended College of William and Mary as an art major and went on to get a graduate degree in illustration and design at Kent State University. She became a freelance illustrator and designer for an array of projects before beginning her career as a full time author illustrator.Bell is married to children's author Tom Angleberger. She won the Newbery Medal Honor and Eisner Award for her book El Deafo.
El Deafo
El Deafo is based on Cece Bell's own childhood as she grows up deaf. She wanted there to be a handbook for hearing people so they knew how to understand and communicate with deaf people without being disrespectful. It eventually evolved into graphic novel where children who were deaf could see themselves positively represented in a book. Cece uses the imagery of everyone illustrated as rabbits as a visual metaphor. When she was growing up, she felt like the only rabbit whose ears didn't work. The title comes from the idea that she feels powerful like a superhero with the assistance of her Phonic Ear, the hearing aid she uses in order to hear her teachers at school.