Category Archives: Authors You Should Know

Read This!: THE GALLAUDET ELEVEN by Kerry O’Malley Cerra

ASL/Deaf Culture Book Reviews, Authors You Should Know, picture books, Read This, Reviews

The Gallaudet Eleven: The Story of NASA's Deaf BioastronautsThe Gallaudet Eleven: The Story of NASA’s Deaf Bioastronauts by Kerry O’Malley Cerra. Illustrated by Kristina Gehrmann
Summary: Take a look inside one part of the journey to the moon, and meet the Gallaudet Eleven: the brave volunteers who helped make it possible. These hidden figures played an important role in NASA’s research, and it was their shared disability that made them so vital to the plan: their vestibular systems, a part of the inner ear, did not work, meaning they did not get motion sick. The Gallaudet Eleven were the perfect volunteers for NASA’s spinning, whirling tests to learn the effects of space travel on the human body.

In this groundbreaking nonfiction picture book, Deaf author Kerry O’Malley Cerra and Deaf illustrator Kristina Gehrmann bring forth the long-overlooked story of eleven Deaf men who participated in NASA experiments for ten years to help researchers understand motion sickness. The text lays out the hows and whys in an engaging and child-friendly way, incorporating quotes from the bioastronauts themselves and leaning into the humor. Gehrmann’s illustrations capture the joy and humor as well; one memorable spread shows the Deaf bioastronauts, chosen because of their inability to feel motion sickness, gleefully playing cards while the researchers on their ship loll in bed, too sick to work during a churning storm. It’s a readaloud perfect for the classroom, with lots of extension possibilities in the backmatter, including an author’s note, more facts, and a timeline of the Space Race. The book is also an ideal springboard for discussion about who gets to participate in scientific study. Quite simply an essential nonfiction picture book.

THE GALLAUDET ELEVEN is out now.

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Read This!: ARTICULATE: A DEAF MEMOIR OF VOICE by Rachel Kolb

ASL/Deaf Culture Book Reviews, Authors You Should Know, Read This, Reviews

Articulate: A Deaf Memoir of VoiceArticulate: A Deaf Memoir of Voice by Rachel Kolb
Summary: Rachel Kolb was born profoundly deaf the same year that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed, and she grew up as part of the first generation of deaf people with legal rights to accessibility services. Still, from a young age, she contorted herself to expectations set by a world that prioritizes hearing people. So she learned to speak through speech therapy and to piece together missing sounds through lipreading and an eventual cochlear implant, all while finding clarity and meaning in American Sign Language (ASL) and written literature. Kolb blends personal narrative with cultural commentary to explore the different layers of deafness, language, and voice. She deconstructs multisensory experiences of language, examining the cultural importance hearing people attach to sound, the inner labyrinths of speech therapy, the murkiness of lipreading, and her lifelong intimacy with written English. And she uses her own experiences to illuminate the complexities of disability access, partnerships with ASL interpreters, Deaf culture and d/Deaf identity, and the perception versus reality of deafness.

Many hearing people, if they think of deaf people at all, tend to make generalizations—either they sign, or they speak and speechread. Either they spend all their time in the Deaf community or they are fully integrated into the hearing world.

But as Rachel Kolb’s thoughtful and compelling new memoir shows, every deaf person contains “Whitmanian multitudes,” learning to navigate the Deaf and hearing worlds in different ways at different times and with different tools, employing signs, speech, writing, reading, gesture, technology, bureaucracy, and millions of other means to communicate and find one’s way. Kolb explores concepts that will be familiar to many in the Deaf community—speech therapy, navigating mainstream schooling, working with interpreters, slogging through the bureaucracy of accommodations requests, deciding which hills to die on when it comes to fighting for the rights granted under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Kolb grounds her essays in her own experience, weaving deft storytelling about growing up deaf in a hearing family who (thankfully, and unusually) chose to learn ASL, as well as her experiences pursuing advanced education at Stanford, Oxford, Emory, and Harvard. From these personal narratives, Kolb teases out thoughtful reflections about the ups and downs of access for deaf and disabled people post-ADA. As an interpreter, I especially appreciated her discussion of working with interpreters and the differences between working with professional interpreters and what she calls “friendterpreting,” when a signing friend provides more basic access in informal situations. A terrific read for hearing, hard of hearing, and deaf readers alike.

ARTICULATE is out now.

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Read This!: DREAMS TAKE FLIGHT by Brittany Richman and Alisha Monnin

ASL/Deaf Culture Book Reviews, Authors You Should Know, picture books, Read This, Recommended Reading, Reviews,

Dreams Take Flight: The Story of Deaf Pilot Nellie Zabel Willhite (Own Voices, Own Stories)Dreams Take Flight: The Story of Deaf Pilot Nellie Zabel Willhite by Brittany Richman and Alisha Monnin
Summary: After losing her hearing at four and following a tumultuous education, Nellie Zabel was introduced to the world of flight while working at the Sioux Falls airport. The planes and pilots captured her imagination as she watched them sail alongside the birds. With some encouragement, she enrolled in pilot training–carefully tailoring the courses to accommodate her deafness. In 1928, she took off on her own, becoming the first female pilot in South Dakota–and the first deaf pilot in the nation.

This lovely nonfiction picture book tells the true story of Nellie Zabel Willhite, who became the first licensed deaf pilot in the US. The world was far from accommodating when she was growing up as a deaf child in the early 1900s, but with a combination of her own persistence and the support of caring adults, she got an education and found a job. But when she finally took the flying lessons she had been dreaming of, her life took off. This story features an inspiring woman at its center, but it is also a great discussion-starter about intersectional identities and the various barriers that marginalized people throughout history have faced.

DREAMS TAKE FLIGHT is out now.

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Read This!: THE GIRL IN THE WALLS by Meg Eden Kuyatt

Authors You Should Know, Read This, Recommended Reading

The Girl in the WallsThe Girl in the Walls by Meg Eden Kuyatt
Summary: Neurodivergent and sock-collecting Vee is stuck at her uptight and “perfect” Grandma Jojo’s house for the summer, who she has absolutely nothing in common with. To make matters worse, Vee thought her older cousin Cat would make summer fun again–until an incident happens in the middle of the night. And Cat hasn’t been seen since. 
Then Vee discovers a ghost living in Jojo’s walls. And this girl… this ghost… has been collecting Jojo’s secrets. At first, Vee finds the ghost to be an escape from her grandmother and her memories of the incident with Cat. But as the girl encourages Vee to get back at Jojo by playing pranks, Vee soon uncovers Jojo’s insecurities. And Vee starts to think twice about taking part in the girl’s schemes, until the girl suddenly becomes dangerous, trapping Vee in the walls and threatening to flood the house and everyone in it. Will Vee let grief and anger take control — or is there a way to use even the broken, confusing pieces of her feelings to save her messy family?

Meg Eden Kuyatt’s verse is easy to read, drawing the reader into Vee’s world with its perpetual forward rhythm, but don’t be fooled into thinking that means this book is simple. There’s nothing simple about this spooky story that centers around a ghost who is so much more than she seems. With potent imagery, the author uncovers the layers of fear, anger, and shame experienced by various members of V’s family, and the tangible harm they do when left to fester. Like the author’s previous verse novel, Good Different, The Girl in the Walls explores an autistic protagonist’s family relationships and the effects of generational trauma. But here she masterfully leverages the tools and techniques of speculative fiction to mine the emotions at the heart of Vee’s family history.

THE GIRL IN THE WALLS is out now.

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Read This!: CINCINNATI LEE, CURSE BREAKER by Heidi Heilig

Authors You Should Know, Read This, Recommended Reading

Cincinnati Lee, Curse BreakerCincinnati Lee, Curse Breaker by Heidi Heilig
Summary: Cincinnati Lee’s great great (great?) grandfather is famous. His adventures discovering ancient artifacts have been made into movies, and his work is widely respected by museums across the world. The thing is, in that line of work, you’re bound to get cursed. And that leaves your great great (great?) granddaughter to break the curse by returning the artifacts you “preserved.” Cincinnati’s own adventure begins in the Cosmopolitan Museum in New York City, where her single mom works and Cincinnati has grown up. Soon she learns about the ancient Spear of Destiny—and its potential to right all the wrongs in her family’s past. Or bring about the end of the world. It all depends on whose hands it falls into. Cincinnati must beat two relic hunters to the spear, and her quest will take her to surprising locations throughout the city and even across the Atlantic Ocean. Along the way, she’ll make a new friend (which is not the easiest thing to do), make some enemies (surprisingly easy to do), and ultimately learn what makes the world worth saving. Acclaimed author Heidi Heilig makes a dazzling middle grade debut with an irrepressible hero, a compelling cast of friends and enemies, nonstop action, and a thoughtful approach to viewing our responsibilities to each other and the world around us.

An intrepid heroine, a race across the world to break a curse, and a thoughtful story—who could ask for more? In Cincinnati Lee, author Heidi Heilig has created a middle grade character who feels immediately classic and yet refreshingly contemporary. At the heart of the story are Cincinnati’s relationships – with her mother, her best friend, the new friend who challenges her understanding of herself, and the great great (great?) grandfather whose actions kicked off the curse. Cincinnati may not always follow the rules, but her heart’s in the right place as she grapples with big questions about responsibility and relationships. Brimming with action and lively characters, this story also offers lots for readers to think about as they enjoy the fun.

CINCINNATI LEE, CURSE BREAKER is out now.

Bonus: See my reviews of Heidi Heilig’s previous books here.

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