For students who struggle with hearing impairments, representation of someone going through the exact same thing as them can make a huge difference. In this post, I’m going to make a list of books that could be used in the classroom to help students feel heard, supported, and included.

El Deafo by Cece Bell

This book is in a graphic novel format, which makes it engaging for students to read. The story follows a girl named Cece who lost her hearing at a young age. Throughout the story, she finds challenges with her hearing aids, friendships, and adapting to a new lifestyle. Students can relate to other aspects of this book than just hearing loss, as it shows both the struggles and joys of being a kid.

The American Society for Deaf Children has released many classic stories with ASL accompaniment, including this video of Goodnight moon. This website has lots of other resources, such as colouring pages with ASL.

The channel ASL Kids Club Learn Sign Language has similar readings of stories, and many other videos of sign language tutorials as well.

Other books:

• Emma Every Day series by C.L Reid
• Hello, Universe Erin Entrada Kelly
• Dad and Me in the Morning by Patricia Lakin
• Freddie and the Fairy by Julia Donaldson
• Let’s Hear it for Almigal by Wendy Kupfer
• Proud to be Deaf by Ava, Lilli, and Nick Beese