Using Middle grade and YA Novels to Learn about Deaf and Deaf Culture

Using Middle grade and YA Novels to Learn about Deaf and Deaf Culture by Anne "Bird" Cramer

Bird Cramer has been a consistent contributor over the years. A review of here posts demonstrate her wide range of knowledge about YA Literature and Literature in general. Take a look at her previous posts:
Shakespeare
http://www.drbickmoresyawednesday.com/weekly-posts/too-much-of-a-good-thing-a-condensed-version-of-the-world-of-shakespeare
Science Fiction
http://www.drbickmoresyawednesday.com/weekly-posts/the-many-sides-of-science-fiction-by-anne-cramer 
Indigenous Peoples
http://www.drbickmoresyawednesday.com/weekly-posts/indigenous-peoples-are-the-experts-of-their-own-realities-and-histories-by-ann-cramer
Mental Health with A. S. King
http://www.drbickmoresyawednesday.com/weekly-posts/mental-health-and-healing-through-the-novels-of-as-king-by-bird-cramer

​Bird, A middle school teacher and the school's Literacy Coordinator, Bird teaches a little bit of everything at a small independent school in the Finger Lakes Region of Upstate New York.

​This past school year, my students and I began a journey to rectify the underrepresentation of Deaf culture in our school library. We read over 20 novels and narrowed them down to nine with honorable mentions. Before I start, I am compelled to mention that each of these stories is just one person’s reflections on d/Deaf culture as there is not ONE way to represent a multitude of people. The National Association of the Deaf reminds us that deaf communities are:  

“diverse with people identifying as Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, Hard of Hearing, and Late-Deafened. There are variations in how a person becomes deaf, level of hearing, age of onset, educational background, communication methods, and cultural identity.  How people identify themselves is personal and may reflect identification with the deaf communities, the degree to which they can hear, or the relative age of onset.”

For the purpose of clarity, I will use the names as described by the authors. 

These novels offer duel purposes: for Deaf and hard of hearing individuals, they provide much needed mirrors and gateways into our classrooms and provide windows into the culture for the rest of us as well as providing space to reflect on our own perceptions and misconceptions of Deaf culture. Hopefully, they will inspire a dialogue on how to become better allies or advocates. 

Song For A Whale introduces us to Iris, who possesses an innate talent for fixing radios. She also is Deaf and dreams of attending a Deaf school, but her mother fears that she will lose her daughter to the community and refuses to allow Iris to attend.  These actions generate feelings of isolation for her until she reads about Blue 55, a hybrid whale who sings at 55 Hz. Because of this difference, Blue 55 is rejected by other whales. Iris deeply feels his plight as she comprehends what it is like to be outside of her ‘pod’ so she sets off on a quest from Texas to Alaska to play Blue 55 a song she writes just for his wavelengths. Students can research 52, the whale who inspired Kelly, an interpreter, to write this story. 

Another novel based upon real events, is Show Me A Sign by Ann Claire LeZotte and its follow-up novels Set Me Free and Sail Me Away Home. Set at the turn of the 19th Century, heroine Mary Lambert is a direct descendant from the first Deaf family who arrived on the Mayflower. They settled in Martha’s Vineyard and created Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language, a language used by both Deaf and hearing individuals all over the island. All three books incorporate intriguing historical facts on Deaf culture and their different languages. They conclude with historical information on various topics such as the first deaf schools, Laurent Clerc, The Wampanoag Tribe,and The Indian Child Welfare Act. Throughout the novels, Mary struggles with the confines of female gender roles as well as what happens when one is “othered” for the very essence of themselves. Throughout the three novels, Mary addresses these prejudices and triumphs as she defies the judgements and imposed limitations projected upon her.

​Your’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner. A gifted graffiti artist, Julia Prasad is caught covering a slur with a graffiti mural. She is kicked out of the Kingston School for the Deaf and mainstreamed at the local high school, where she is ostrazied as the only deaf student. Meanwhile, Julia’s tags are being tampered with, adding to her feeling of being silenced. At school, Julia’s teachers and staff are not properly trained to accommodate students nor is the local police force, who stop Julia (who had been out tagging) and ask for her to put her hand up, rendering both parties helpless as they cannot communicate and she cannot explain why. Along with a guest appearance from Bansky, Julia uses her art to create community with her peers and a teacher while also falling back into the good graces of her mothers. 

​The Silence Between Us finds Deaf teen Maya relocating from the East Coast to Denver, CO, for her brother’s Cystic Fibrosis treatment. This transition means Maya must leave her School for The Deaf to attend a hearing school. She grapples with her feelings around this transition and her sacrifices for her brother’s care. She deals with relationship troubles, issues with her mother, and nosy classmates wondering why she does not have cochlear implants. Maya’s relatable journey is one that culminates in joy of her culture and in her success in advocating for herself both with her family and in her scholastic endeavors. 

Words In My Hands describes the journey a person takes to find where they belong. Set in a dystopian future, Piper, who identifies as deaf, struggles to co-exist in the hearing world. Her mother refuses to use Auslan as she perceives deafness leading to financial hardship. Meanwhile, Australia slides deeper into food and gas shortages as the government further pushes its residents into food scarcity through making gardening illegal. However, through exploring her Deafness, Piper embarks on a political campaign surrounding community gardens, creating financial and food security for herself and her mother. The novel serves as Piper’s art journal and is filled with expressive images that embrace her transition into Deaf culture and into political art. 

​Give Me A Sign and On The Bright Side, written by Anna Sortino, feature characters learning how to navigate their final years at home. They broach the absurdity of insisting a d/Deaf individual use only one languge instead of being bilingual, leave space to select the language which enhances communication best. Give Me A Sign is an homage to the summer camp experience, first romances, and fighting for causes. This novel delicately addresses the how perceptions of well-intentioned individuals can “other”. In On The Bright Side, Ellie’s Deaf school closes and she returns to the isolation of her hometown. Throughout the book, she journeys outside of her comfort zone to construct a new community that leads to her falling in love, enrolling in college, and moving into her first apartment. 

Honorable Mentions:

• 2023 Alex Award winner True Biz (my favorite)
• Five Flavors of Dumb
• A Quiet Kind of Thunder
• “The Isolation of Being Deaf In Prison” in Disability Visilibity (Adapted for Young Adults): 17 First-Person Stories For Today

There are multitudes of reasons to read these novels in your classes and, at a time where so many educators are thinking about resiliency, each of these protagonists teaches a master class in resiliency, determination, and empathy. We also can see ourselves in the characters, whether in the teacher who is learning the best practices to accommodate students, in the feelings of being an outcast, or in the delight we experience when we are truly accepted for who we are and who we might become. These books shed light on one of the many cultures in our classrooms and represent voices that need to be heard.
 
National Association of the Deaf. (2024). Community and Culture- Frequently Asked Questions. National Association of the Deaf. https://www.nad.org/resources/american-sign-language/community-and-culture-frequently-asked-questions/