Can You Hear a Rainbow?

Heelan, Jamee Riggio. Can You Hear a Rainbow?: The Story of a Deaf Boy Named Chris. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishers, Ltd., 2002.

Jamee Riggio Heelan, the author of this children’s book, graduated from the University of Kansas with a B.S. in occupational therapy. With many years experience working at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago specializing in pediatric rehabilitation, Heelan is certainly an informed author on the topic of Deafness in Society and/or Literature. This book is evidence of the type of work Heelan has dedicated her career to: treating children and educating others about childhood disabilities.

This story is told from the first person perspective of a young boy named Chris who is deaf. The reader gets an intimate look into Chris’ family, school and social life, which is reflective of what is socially characterized as a normal elementary aged life. Chris explains that he experiences some aspects of life differently because of his deafness, such as smelling dinner to know it is ready, and using an alarm clock that “shakes [his] pillow” instead of making a noise. The way these things are portrayed, however, Chris is not at all presented as subordinate in any way. Rather, he offers understanding into the world of a Deaf child who is submersed in a hearing/deaf mixed world. His family signs and speaks, he goes to school with hearing and deaf students, and has both hearing and deaf friends. We see that while Chris’ life may be different from our own, his deafness does not hinder him, nor does he have any cognitive impairment as a result of being born deaf. Chris even plays on a soccer team with hearing kids and gets some assistance from his mom who signs to him from the sidelines. He claims, “Most kids I play against never even realize that I am deaf,” which further informs the reader, who may not know any deaf people, that deaf people are the same as anyone else, they just can’t hear the same!

The illustrations in this book are mostly photographs with parts of the picture drawn in. The fact that the pictures are photographs make Chris’ world and life more relatable to the reader. They depict Chris as a real, regular boy, just like them, their friend, brother, cousin, classmate, etc.