Trying to make new friends in school isn’t easy, but CeCe Bell is having a harder time because of her deafness. CeCe gets a new hearing aid called the Phonic Ear, which helps her hear, but she doesn’t think that it will make it any easier for her to make the friends that she dreams of. CeCe’s predicament is made more defined by El Deafo’s illustrations, which show CeCe’s perspective in which everyone in the book is a rabbit. Therefore they all have large ears and excellent hearing but CeCe, being deaf, is the odd one out. CeCe dreams of using her deafness to her advantage and she imagines a superhero named El Deafo. CeCe tries to think of what this hero would do every time she faces a challenge and she tries to make a difference in her life. This book’s gorgeous illustrations, beautiful moral and meaningful analogies make this book stand out. I think that this book is incredible in every way and it can really change your perspective on life. The moral will make you respect other people for their hardships and the challenges that they face and, through much difficulty, overcome.
Petey the cat was trying to come up with an evil scheme, but first he needed to get rid of Police Officer Knight and his dog, Greg, who were the only beings who could get in his way. Petey tried to kill them and, fortunately, was not entirely successful. The problem was that Officer Knight was going to die from head injuries, and Greg the dog, from injuries on his body. Fortunately, the hospital nurse had a clever plan and she surgically attached Greg’s head to Officer Knight’s body. “Dog Man,” by Dav Pilkey, creator of Captain Underpants, is the story of how Dog Man tries to foil Petey’s evil plans. Every time that Dog Man thinks that he has finally stopped Petey, the dastardly cat gets away time and time again to deviously plot even more evil schemes. Can Dog Man finally stop Petey? Will Petey succeed in taking over the world? This story is aided by hilarious dog instincts, goofy and descriptive illustrations and zany and unpredictable plot points. You should read this story because of its funny plot that will leave you rolling in uncontrollable laughter and make you hate finishing this story. The perfect ending makes this story even more worth reading; this story is impossible to put down.
The Telgmeier family went on a road trip to see their cousins who live in Colorado. The drive from California to Colorado is hard even without any extra problems, but the Telgmeier’s drive was made all the more difficult by Raina, Amara and Will, who are the Telgmeier children. “Sisters” is the story of the hard road trip. Throughout the whole story, the siblings slowly learn how to deal with each other through their hardships and compromises. Their drive was not aided by the fact that Amara’s pet snake had mysteriously disappeared under the front seat of the Telgmeier’s car. The story is hilariously written, with many sudden twists that leave the reader laughing hysterically. The gorgeous illustrations add a lot to the story and help to make it all the more magnificent. The story line is aided by certain meaningful moments, like when the Telgmeiers sit down under the stars while camping out, and enjoy the beauty of nature together. “Sisters” teaches an excellent lesson about how a family sticks together in hard times, and the clever plot makes it well worth reading. I liked this incredible story because of the way that it slowly and brilliantly moves towards its climax and does so with extreme hilarity and meaningfulness.
By Josh Stiefel
Josh Stiefel is a Fifth Grader at Yeshivat Noam. He’s been known to devour books. He also likes school lunch.
