Children - Fiction & Literature

Deaf Child Crossing

Name: Deaf Child Crossing
Author: Marlee Matlin
ISBN: 9780689866968

by Marlee Matlin

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Overview

Megan is excited when Cindy moves into her neighborhood — maybe she'll finally have a best friend. Sure enough, the two girls quickly become inseparable. Cindy even starts to learn sign language so they can communicate more easily.

But when they go away to summer camp together, problems arise. Cindy feels left out, because Megan is spending all of her time with Lizzie, another deaf girl; Megan resents that Cindy is always trying to help her, even when she doesn't need help. Before they can mend their differences, both girls have to learn what it means to be a friend.

Despite the fact that Megan is deaf and Cindy can hear, the two girls become friends when Cindy moves into Megan's neighborhood, but when they go away to camp, their friendship is put to the test.

Synopsis

Publishers Weekly

Matlin, the first deaf actor to win an Academy Award, makes her fiction debut with this problematic novel about a friendship between two nine-year-old girls. Megan, who is deaf, is almost opposite in temperament from her new neighbor, the bookish, shy Cindy, but nonetheless decides that Cindy will be her best friend. Much of the book's tension relies on the girls' best-friend status, but the friendship isn't convincingly developed. Nor are the characters-even though the point of view alternates between the girls, Cindy seems sketchy next to Megan, and neither voice seems authentic (e.g., nine-year-old Megan asks herself what kind of toys the new girl will have). Matlin is at her best when delving into Megan's inner world, such as her heightened sense of smell (her father-like the other parents, distractingly referred to by his first name-claims her deafness sharpens her other senses) or her anger at not being able to use the phone, but generally these moments are fleeting and the conflicts they evoke too neatly resolved. Unfortunately, the pages are riddled with errors in grammar and syntax ("Like any other home, dinnertime was a chance to share events of day"; a paragraph written in the past tense briefly switches to present tense and back; etc.), further undermining the storytelling. Ages 8-12. (Sept.)

About the Author, Marlee Matlin

Deaf since she was eighteen months old, Marlee Matlin won the 1986 Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her role in Children of a Lesser God; she was also nominated for Emmy Awards for her performances in Seinfeld, Picket Fences, and The Practice. Her film credits include The Player and It's My Party. She has made numerous television appearances and currently appears on The West Wing. Under her own production company, Solo One Productions, she has also produced and starred in a number of made-for-television movies.

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Editorials

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review
Oscar-winning actor Marlee Matlin teaches us about friendship, differences, and patience in this buoyant and fulfilling novel featuring Megan, a deaf girl, and her new best friend.

Young Cindy's family has just moved to Morton Street, and Megan is already at her doorstep. At first, outgoing Megan seems both exciting and overwhelming, with fast-as-lightning sign language skills, a "voice that sounded different to others," and a personality that could put any neighborhood welcome wagon to shame. Soon the two girls are best buds, and Megan introduces Cindy to her world, chatting with friends online and teaching her signs. Yet whenever Cindy tries to help out her independence-focused friend, Megan gets a bit defensive, leaving Cindy on shaky ground. After Megan finds out she's going to summer camp, Cindy decides to join her friend, and the two are bunked together with the girls of Hot Pink Cabin, including Lizzie, another deaf girl who starts taking up much of Megan's attention. Megan also decides to test her self-sufficiency one night and takes off into the woods, only to get lost until Cindy finds her, much to Megan's frustration. When summer camp's over, however, and the girls return home on non-speaking terms, Megan finally realizes that "no matter who you are, sometimes you're going to need help."

Matlin's first foray into writing novels for young readers is compassionate and proud, addressing deafness head-on without letting the issue become too angelic. Megan is a well-rounded character and her temper sometimes gets the better of her, sending readers a clear message that should resonate long after the book is finished. A fair-minded novel that should change perceptions of folks with different abilities, Deaf Child Crossing will have children and adults sitting up and taking notice. Shana Taylor

Publishers Weekly

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6-When Cindy, who is hearing, moves in down the street from Megan, who is deaf, the nine-year-olds quickly become best friends. Megan wears hearing aids and lip-reads, but the girls become even closer as Cindy begins to learn sign language. Problems crop up when her attempts to be helpful offend Megan's sense of independence, and things get even worse at summer camp, where they meet another deaf girl, Lizzie. While this novel is a solid attempt to chronicle the issues that arise in deaf/hearing friendships, the communication difficulties are often downplayed; for example, Cindy learns to sign in a matter of months and is communicating fluently by the end of camp. The writing, too, is often awkward. Lizzie is never fully realized, though she is the prime catalyst for the conflict between the two main characters. Matlin succeeds, however, in creating a winning, spunky, sometimes frustrating Megan, and if the ending is a bit abrupt or contrived, it is nevertheless in keeping with her actions. Indeed, the story's greatest strength is in demonstrating that the two protagonists' main differences have nothing to do with hearing or the lack of it.-Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Maryland School for the Deaf, Columbia Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Matlin's intimate insights into being American, female, and deaf infuse the character of Megan, a charming, dynamic, and cantankerous girl, excited that a potential friend her age has moved next door. Her new, hearing neighbor, Cindy, has just moved into the most compelling experience of her life, as she becomes the immediate, sworn, off-and-on best friend of an uncommonly accomplished lip-reading girl who doesn't take no-or any type of criticism-lightly. The characters are envisioned in common-place settings living out the American preadolescent experience in an upper-middle-class lifestyle, one where the world that is built for hearing people bends to every strategic move made by Megan. Her experience is only made possible by intense effort and her family's well-adjusted, mature, and kind approach to an active life. Megan has tasted of every good character-building experience, except summer camp; despite her clear objection and her fear of being bored-or worse: ignored-she manages to place herself at the center of everyone's attention. The plot suffers when Matlin loses sight of its pace and inserts overlong explanations of apparatus used by individuals with hearing disabilities; because the information is more informative than descriptive, it impedes the pace which slows to a dead stop. Though the usefulness of the information is high in terms of knowing facts about the common ways that deaf people function, Matlin's story goes beyond bibliotherapy, so it's unfortunate that the simple and rather leaden text will only appeal to a small group. Megan's rather unique character begs a sequel, but for a broader range of readership. (Fiction. 9-11)