Almigal is a charming, bubbly little girl reminiscent of
Fancy Nancy. She wears pink hearing aids and has a good friend who wears purple
ones. She can’t hear all the sounds she wants to hear and decides to get
cochlear implants.
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Related
Information
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Comments
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Name of Book:
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Let’s Hear it
for Almigal
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Authors
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Wendy Kupfer
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www.wendykupfer.com
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Illustrator
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Tammie Lyon
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Publisher
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Handfinger
Press
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Year of Pub:
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2012
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ISBN:
(ISBN-13)
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978-0-9838294-0-9
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Age range
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4-8
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Type of
Disability
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Hearing Loss
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Need for
Cochlear Implants
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Fiction or
Nonfiction
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Fiction
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Category:
B
A) books that
provide factual information about a disability
B) books that provide information about a disability in a story format in
which the character with a disability is integral to the plot
C) books that provide stories that have a character with a disability who
may or may not be integral to the storyline and who has been added to the
story to achieve diversity and reflect reality
D) books that include a main character with a disability, but the focus
of the book is not necessarily the disability
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Annotation: Although most of the time, bubbly
Almigal feels lucky and happy because she has so many friends and celebrates
their differences, sometimes she feels unlucky because she wears hearing aids
and cannot hear every single sound. Specifically she would like to be able to
hear her mom and dad say they love her as they tuck her into bed at night.
Her hearing doctor suggests cochlear implants, and Almigal has a medical
procedure to put them in. Afterward, she feels lucky again because she can
hear all the sounds around her.
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Link to
publisher:
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http://www.ipgbook.com/handfinger-press-publisher-HND.php
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Links to professional reviews:
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Standards
for Quality Portrayal of Characters with a disability
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Comments
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1. Promotes empathy
not pity
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Yes
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2. Promotes
acceptance, not ridicule
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Yes
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Almigal has a
lot of friends.
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3. Emphasizes
success rather than, or in addition to failure
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Yes
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4. Promotes
positive images of persons with disabilities or illness
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Yes
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Almigal is a
happy little girl who happens to wear hearing aids.
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5. Assists
children in gaining accurate understanding of the disability or illness
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Yes and No
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Some children with hearing loss can be helped to hear better with cochlear implants but not all. This is not mentioned in the story. Also the high cost of cochlear implants is not mentioned.
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6.
Demonstrates respect for persons with disabilities or illness
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Yes
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7. Promotes
attitude of “one of us” not “one of them.”
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Yes
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8. Uses
people-first language
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Yes
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9. Describes
the disability or person with disabilities or illness as realistic (not
subhuman or superhuman)
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Yes
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10. Depicts
people with disabilities as more similar to than different from other people
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Yes
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11. Shows
peoples’ strengths and abilities along with their disabilities
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Yes
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Almigal’s
hearing loss is not portrayed here as a disability as much as it is a
“difference” (like her friend Willy’s need to wear glasses).
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12.
Represents characters as strong, independent people who others can admire or
learn from
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Yes
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The
children’s differences are emphasized as strengths that make each child
unique.
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13.
Represents people with disabilities from different racial and cultural
backgrounds, religions, age groups, and sexual orientations
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Yes
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Almigal
is white, but some of her friends are of different ethnicities
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14. Shows
people with disabilities in integrated settings and activities
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Yes
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15. Shows
people with disabilities in valued occupations and diverse roles.
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N.A.
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16. Shows
people with disabilities in reciprocal relationships
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Yes
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17. Main
character develops and grows emotionally as a result of what happens in the
story
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Not really,
but Almigal is fairly mature and accepting of her “difference” before she
gets implants.
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Almigal can
hear better after receiving the cochlear implants so she is very happy at the
end.
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