Cece Bell

Last updated

Cece Bell
Cece Bell (2024).jpg
Bell in 2024
Born (1970-12-26) December 26, 1970 (age 53)
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
OccupationWriter, cartoonist, illustrator
Education Paier College of Art
Genre Children's literature
Years active1991–present
Spouse Tom Angleberger
Children2
Website
cecebell.com

Cecelia Carolina Bell [1] (born December 26, 1970, in Richmond, Virginia) is an American author, cartoonist, and illustrator. Most well known for her graphic novel El Deafo , Bell's work has appeared in The Atlantic , Vegetarian Times , Newsweek , the Los Angeles Times , Working Woman , Esquire and many other publications.

Contents

Biography

Bell suffered hearing loss as a child due to a case of meningitis. As a result, she had to get used to using bulky and prominent hearing devices around her school-age peers.

Bell attended the Paier College of Art as an art major and went on to get a graduate degree in illustration and design at Kent State University in 1991. She became a freelance commercial artist, illustrator, and designer for an array of projects before beginning her career as a full-time author-illustrator.

Career

El Deafo

El Deafo is based on Bell's own childhood. She wanted there to be a handbook for hearing people so they knew how to understand and communicate with deaf people without being disrespectful. The project eventually evolved into a graphic novel where children who were deaf could see themselves positively represented in a book.

Bell uses the imagery of everyone illustrated as rabbits as a visual metaphor. When she was growing up, she felt like she was the only "rabbit" whose ears didn't work, in doing so she shows being deaf as a power. She also shows and talks about how being deaf isn't something negative. [2]

The title of the graphic novel comes from the idea that Cece 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. [3]

Personal life

Bell is married to children's author Tom Angleberger. [4]

Bell at the 2019 National Book Festival Cece Bell (48684844286) (cropped).jpg
Bell at the 2019 National Book Festival

Awards and honors

Bell won the Newbery Medal Honor [5] and Eisner Award [6] for El Deafo .

Five of Bell's books are Junior Library Guild selections: Sock Monkey Rides Again (2007), [7] El Deafo (2014), [8] Rabbit & Robot and Ribbit (2016), [9] Smell My Foot!: Chick and Brain (2019), [10] and Egg or Eyeball? (2020), [11]

In 2014, El Deafo was named one of the best books of the year by The Horn Book Magazine , [12] Kirkus Reviews , [13] the Los Angeles Public Library, [8] Publishers Weekly , and School Library Journal . [8] It was also a New York Times Notable Children’s Book. [8]

In 2019, Smell My Foot! was named one of the best books of the year by the Chicago Public Library and School Library Journal . [10]

Awards for Bell's writing
YearTitleAwardResultRef.
2012Rabbit and Robot: The Sleepover Cybils Award for Early Chapter BooksFinalist [14]
2013The Secret of the Fortune Wookiee (as illus.)NAIBA Book of the Year for Middle ReadersWinner [15]
2013Rabbit & Robot: The Sleepover Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Honor [16]
2014 El Deafo Cybils Award for Elementary and Middle Grade Graphic NovelWinner [17]
2014 El Deafo Goodreads Choice Award for Best Middle Grade and Children'sNominee [18]
2014 El Deafo Kirkus Prize for Young Readers' LiteratureFinalist [13] [19]
2015 El Deafo Guardian Children's Fiction Prize Longlist [20] [21]
2015 El Deafo Charlotte Huck Award Honor [22]
2015 El Deafo Children's Choice Book Award for Debut AuthorFinalist [23]
2015 El Deafo Eisner Award for Best Publication for Kids Winner [6]
2015 El Deafo Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work Finalist [24]
2015 El Deafo Judy Lopez Memorial AwardWinner [25]
2015 El Deafo Newbery Medal Honor [26] [5]
2016Rabbit and Robot and Ribbit Cybils Award for Early Chapter BooksFinalist [27]
2020Chick and Brain: Smell My Foot! Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Honor [16]

Publications

As author and illustrator

Standalone books

  • Busy Buddies: Silly Stuff That Goes Together (2006, Candlewick Press, ISBN   978-0-7636-2776-8)
  • Food Friends: Fun Foods That Go Together (2006, Candlewick Press, ISBN   978-0-7636-2777-5)
  • Bee-Wigged (2008, Candlewick Press, ISBN   978-0-7636-3614-2)
  • Itty Bitty (2009, Candlewick Press, ISBN   978-0-7636-3616-6)
  • El Deafo (2014, Harry N. Abrams, ISBN   978-1-4197-1020-9)
  • I Yam a Donkey! (2015, Clarion Books, ISBN   978-0-5440-8720-0)
  • Chuck and Woodchuck (2016, Candlewick Press, ISBN   978-0-7636-7524-0)
  • You Loves Ewe! (2019, Clarion Books, ISBN   978-1-3285-2611-3)

Sock Monkey trilogy (2003-2006)

  1. Sock Monkey Goes To Hollywood: A Star Is Bathed (2003, Candlewick Press, ISBN   978-0-7445-9850-6)
  2. Sock Monkey Boogie Woogie: A Friend Is Made (2004, Candlewick Press, ISBN   978-0-7636-2392-0)
  3. Sock Monkey Rides Again (2006, Candlewick Press, ISBN   978-0-7636-3089-8)

Rabbit & Robot duo (2012-2016)

  1. The Sleepover (2012, Candlewick Press, ISBN   978-0-7636-7935-4)
  2. Rabbit and Robot and Ribbit (2016, Candlewick Press, ISBN   978-0-7636-7935-4)

Inspector Flytrap trilogy (2016-2017)

  1. Inspector Flytrap with Tom Angleberger (2016, Amulet Books, ISBN   978-1-4197-0948-7)
  2. Inspector Flytrap in The President’s Mane Is Missing with Tom Angleberger (2016, Harry N. Abrams, ISBN   978-1-4197-0955-5)
  3. Inspector Flytrap in The Goat Who Chewed Too Much with Tom Angleberger (2017, Harry N. Abrams, ISBN   978-1-4197-0956-2)

Chick and Brain duo (2019-2020)

  1. Smell My Foot! (2019, Candlewick Press, ISBN   978-0-7636-7936-1)
  2. Egg or Eyeball? (2020, Candlewick Press, ISBN   978-1-5362-0439-1)

As contributor

As illustrator

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shannon Hale</span> American author (born 1974)

Shannon Hale is an American author primarily of young adult fantasy, including the Newbery Honor book Princess Academy and The Goose Girl. Her first novel for adults, Austenland, was adapted into a film in 2013. She is a graduate of the University of Utah and the University of Montana. She has also co-written with her husband, Dean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate DiCamillo</span> American childrens author

Katrina Elizabeth DiCamillo is an American children's fiction author. She has published over 25 novels, including Because of Winn-Dixie, The Tiger Rising, The Tale of Despereaux, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, The Magician's Elephant, the Mercy Watson series, and Flora & Ulysses. Her books have sold around 37 million copies. Four have been developed into films and two have been adapted into musical settings. Her works have won various awards; The Tale of Despereaux and Flora & Ulysses won the Newbery Medal, making DiCamillo one of six authors to have won two Newbery Medals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesléa Newman</span> American author, editor, and feminist

Lesléa Newman is an American author, editor, and feminist best known for the children's book Heather Has Two Mommies. Four of her young adult novels have been finalists for the Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature, making her one of the most celebrated authors in the category.

Stephen Mitchell is a poet, translator, scholar, and anthologist. He is best known for his translations and adaptions of works including the Tao Te Ching, the Epic of Gilgamesh, works of Rainer Maria Rilke, and Christian texts.

<i>Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons</i>

Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons (2003) is the first book in the Ologies series, written by Dugald Steer and created and published by The Templar Publishing Company in the UK, and published by Candlewick Press in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alison Croggon</span> Australian writer

Alison Croggon is a contemporary Australian poet, playwright, fantasy novelist, and librettist.

Flora Mary McDonnell, or Lady Flora Pennybacker is a British artist, illustrator and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PJ Haarsma</span> Novelist, childrens literature (born 1964)

Philip-Jon Haarsma, more commonly known as PJ Haarsma, is a Canadian-born producer and science fiction author best known for his creation of the Rings of Orbis universe, which encompasses The Softwire series of books. Haarsma created a free, online role-playing game, also called the Rings of Orbis, set in the same universe. Both the book-series and the game target young, often reluctant readers in an attempt to encourage them by rewarding them for reading. He is also the founder and CEO of Redbear Films, a production company that focuses on advertisements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abrams Books</span> American publisher of books and stationery

Abrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (HNA), is an American publisher of art and illustrated books, children's books, and stationery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robie Harris</span> American writer (1940–2024)

Robie Harris was an American author. She wrote more than 30 children's books, including the frequently challenged It's Perfectly Normal (1994) and It's so Amazing (1999).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Ellwand</span> English photographer, illustrator, and author

David Ellwand is an English photographer, illustrator, and author. He is a trained photographer, who has exhibited his landscape and abstract photographs throughout western Europe and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Angleberger</span> American childrens writer

Tom Angleberger is an American children's writer, best known for the Origami Yoda series. As of March 2013, more than 3.3 million copies of his books had been sold worldwide. Angleberger lives in Virginia with his wife, Cece Bell, who is also a children's author.

<i>El Deafo</i> 2014 graphic novel by Cece Bell

El Deafo is a graphic novel written and illustrated by Cece Bell. The book is a loose autobiographical account of Bell's childhood and life with her deafness. The characters in the book are all anthropomorphic bunnies. Cece Bell, in an interview with the Horn Book Magazine, states "What are bunnies known for? Big ears; excellent hearing," rendering her choice of characters and their deafness ironic.

William Grill is a British illustrator, whose first children's book, Shackleton's Journey, depicting Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, won the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2015.

Charlotte Voake is a Welsh children's illustrator who has won several awards including the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juana Martinez-Neal</span> Peruvian American childrens book author and illustrator

Juana Martinez-Neal is a Peruvian American children's book author and illustrator. Her debut book as an author and illustrator, Alma and How She Got Her Name, was well reviewed and won a 2019 Caldecott Honor.

Ron Koertge is an American poet and author of young adult fiction. Koertge is currently the Poet Laureate of South Pasadena, California. Koertge's honors include a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, a California Arts Council grant, and inclusion in numerous anthologies. His young-adult fiction has won many awards, including Friends of American Writers Young People’s Literature Award, New York Library’s 100 Best Children’s Books, ALA Best Book, New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age, and P.E.N. awards. In 2017, he was awarded a Pushcart Prize.

<i>Almost Astronauts</i> 2009 nonfiction book by Tanya Lee Stone

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream is a nonfiction children's book by Tanya Lee Stone, originally published February 24, 2009 by Candlewick Press, then republished September 27, 2011. The book tells the story of the Mercury 13 women, who, in 1958, joined NASA and completed testing to become astronauts.

<i>Courage Has No Color</i> 2013 nonfiction book by Tanya Lee Stone

Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America's First Black Paratroopers is a nonfiction book geared toward children, written by Tanya Lee Stone and published January 22, 2013 by Candlewick Press. The book tells the story of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, nicknamed The Triple Nickles, an all-Black airborne unit of the United States Army during World War II.

Jean Jullien is a French graphic designer and illustrator.

References

  1. ↑ "Cece Bell: How I made 'El Deafo' in pictures". The Guardian. August 4, 2015. Archived from the original on February 27, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Cece Bell: I wanted to show what it felt like to be the only deaf kid at my school". The Guardian . April 27, 2015. Archived from the original on March 2, 2017.
  3. ↑ NPR Staf "'El Deafo': How A Girl Turned Her Deafness Into A Superpower" Archived March 10, 2018, at the Wayback Machine "All Things Considered", December 14, 2014
  4. ↑ Hilboldt Allport, Brandy (March 21, 2013). "Read All About It: Author in orbit again with winsome activity book". The Florida Times-Union . Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  5. 1 2 Communications and Marketing Office (February 6, 2015). "American Library Association announces 2015 youth media award winners". American Library Association . Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  6. 1 2 "2010-Present". Comic-Con International: San Diego. December 2, 2012. Archived from the original on February 13, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Sock Monkey Rides Again by Cece Bell". Junior Library Guild . Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "El Deafo by Cece Bell". Junior Library Guild . Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Rabbit & Robot and Ribbit by Cece Bell". Junior Library Guild . Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  10. 1 2 "Smell My Foot!: Chick and Brain by Cece Bell". Junior Library Guild . Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  11. ↑ "Egg or Eyeball?: Chick and Brain by Cece Bell". Junior Library Guild . Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Horn Book Fanfare 1938 to present". The Horn Book . Archived from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  13. 1 2 "El Deafo". Kirkus Reviews . July 22, 2014. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  14. ↑ "2012 Cybils Finalists". Archived from the original on November 5, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Awards: NAIBA Books of the Year". Shelf Awareness . August 5, 2015. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  16. 1 2 "(Theodore Seuss) Geisel Award Winners & Honor Books, 2006 – present" (PDF). Association for Library Service to Children . Archived (PDF) from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  17. ↑ "2014 Cybils Winners". Archived from the original on March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  18. ↑ "El Deafo". Goodreads . Archived from the original on April 3, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Awards: Thurber; Maine Readers' Choice; Kirkus Prize". Shelf Awareness . October 1, 2014. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Awards: Hellenic Winners; Guardian Children's Fiction". Shelf Awareness . July 15, 2015. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  21. ↑ "David Almond Wins Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2015". Publishers Weekly . November 19, 2015. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  22. ↑ "NCTE Charlotte Huck Award® Outstanding Fiction for Children Winner List" (PDF). National Council of Teachers of English . Archived (PDF) from the original on April 3, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Children's Choice Book Award Finalists Announced". Publishers Weekly . February 19, 2015. Archived from the original on November 11, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  24. ↑ Asselin, Janelle (May 22, 2015). "2015 Eisner Award Nominations Announced". ComicsAlliance. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Meet Our Previous Winners". The Judy Lopez Memorial Award. Archived from the original on January 6, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  26. ↑ "El Deafo | Awards & Grants". American Library Association . April 12, 2015. Archived from the original on December 6, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  27. ↑ "2016 Cybils Finalists". Children's and Young Adult Book Lover's Literary Awards. Archived from the original on November 5, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.