You may or may not know that I became completely deaf at the age of 36 years old. To say that my heart was broken was an understatement.
At the time, I thought I would never be able to hear my children's voices or anyone else's for that matter. I did not think I would be able to hear the things I really like either, like thunderous rain, music or the giggle from a child. I was devastated.
However, help was on the way and that would be in the form of a cochlear implant and two highly specialized doctors that cared for their patients. My life was certainly changed again for the better.
So, what does that have to do with a book review? Well...
Let's Hear It For Almigal written by Wendy Kupfer is a children's book about a little girl, Almigal, who is profoundly deaf but still she wears "cotton-candy pink hearing aids".
Almigal has a best friend who also wears hearing aids and teaches her some sign language. For the most part she feels special but not all the time. She cannot always hear the things she loves, like birds chirping and the music in her ballet class. These things makes her sad because she wants to hear everything there is to hear.
Upon a visit to her hearing specialist, Almigal's doctor introduces her to cochlear implants. She has the operation and is given her favorite color, "cotton-candy pink". She shows them off to friends who are very happy for her.
As all young kids will do, Almigal forgets to take care of her cochlear implants but it turns out okay anyway. In the end, she learns that they are special tools for her and the best part is, she can hear everything she loves including her Mom and Dad who tell her they love her.
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Now, you can see why I loved this book.
The illustrations were done by Tommie Lyon and are very bright and colorful like the character of Almigal that author Wendy Kupfer portrays.
The author based this book on her own daughter who was born profoundly deaf and eventually too had cochlear implants. Both work tireless for the causes of the deaf and profoundly hard of hearing. In fact, each book that is purchased, 5% of the sales goes to support deaf children. Win-win!
This book:
~Naila Moon
Where you can find Wendy Kupfer:
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review for my open and honest opinion. The views represented here are 100% my own.
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