New Releases by Cece Bell

From the inimitable creator of El Deafo, this all-ages alphabet book is also a hand-wrought, high-fidelity, hilariously tongue-in-cheek homage to the golden days of album cover art. Cece Bell loves music and collecting old record albums, her introduction explains, especially albums featuring animal artists. The bouncing harmonies of the Barbershop Beagles, the elegant crooning of the elephant Ella Fontaine, the hilarious rhymes of the Hip-Hop Hedgehogs—all are represented in this quirky ABC book that draws on the creator’s personal collection of albums, memorabilia, and lyrics dating between 1944 and 1984, the heyday of album design. With wry, witty text, silly and sumptuous sound play, and biographical end matter on all twenty-six musical acts, the book commands and stands up to repeated readings. Bright, zany art—all painted and lettered by hand—a stellar design, and an album-size trim make it a collector’s item in its own right, sure to grace the coffee tables of vinyl- and design-loving adults even as it tickles young funny bones. A hootenanny hosted by the creator of the Newbery Honor Book and Eisner Award winner El Deafo, Animal Albums from A to Z also quietly reminds us just how much music can mean to everyone.

A special edition of the New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor-winning graphic novel memoir This deluxe edition of the critically acclaimed, bestselling graphic novel will include 40 extra pages of back matter, including photo references, early sketches, interviews, and more. Funny and deeply heartfelt, El Deafo chronicles the author''s hearing loss at a young age and her subsequent experiences with the Phonic Ear, a powerful and very awkward hearing aid. The Phonic Ear allows her to hear but it also isolates her from her classmates. She really just wants to fit in and find a friend. Eventually, she''s able to harness her own power and become "El Deafo, Listener for All"--and more important, declare a place for herself in the world. This is a moving and humorous memoir that helps show kids that what makes them different is what makes them extraordinary.

Cece Bell follows her Geisel Honor Book, Chick and Brain: Smell My Foot, with an even wackier story for beginning readers, sure to elicit eye-rolling squeals of delight. Oh! Oh, oh, oh! Look what Brain found. Chick and Spot say it is an egg. Brain says it is an eyeball. Is it an egg or an eyeball? The inimitable Cece Bell is back with a second hilarious primer on good manners gone awry and arguments run amok. Perfectly pitched to kids just learning to read and loaded with verbal and visual comedy, this offbeat graphic story by a master of the genre builds to an exhilaratingly absurd surprise ending.

From Newbery Honor winner Cece Bell comes an offbeat, pitch-perfect storybook for beginning readers that will have them in fits of giggles. “Maybe your foot smells good. Maybe your foot smells great. But I will not smell your foot until you say PLEASE.” Meet Chick and Brain. And their friend Spot. Chick likes to follow the rules. Brain might not be as smart as he looks. And Spot just wants to eat lunch. In a graphic reader loaded with verbal and visual humor, Cece Bell offers a comical primer on good manners gone awry. Simple, silly, and perfectly suited for its audience, this tale of Chick and Brain’s constant misunderstandings and miscommunications proves once again that Cece Bell is a master at meeting kids where they are.

Now in paperback. From Newbery Honor winner Cece Bell comes an offbeat, pitch-perfect storybook for beginning readers that will have them in fits of giggles. Meet Chick and Brain. And their friend Spot. Chick likes to follow the rules. Brain might not be as smart as he looks. And Spot just wants to eat lunch.

Homonyms cause great confusion as an increasingly cranky yam tries to make introductions and provide explanations to a newly-arrived and rather silly donkey.

What happens when two friends suddenly become three? Find out in Bell''s very funny follow-up to the Geisel Honor-winning "Rabbit and Robot: The Sleepover." Full color.

Calling all kidz! Do you like comics? Do you like laughing till milk comes out of your nose?! Look no further—do we have the book for you! All your favorite comic characters are right here in one book, including the Peanuts gang, Babymouse, and Lunch Lady. This all-star tribute to classic Sunday comics includes eight sidesplitting, action-packed stories about every kid’s favorite subject—LUNCH! Lunchtime can be fun, wild, yummy, or complete chaos! And in this second collection of comics, it is definitely hilarious.

Cece Bell’s famous Sock Monkey, toy actor, returns in three vibrant reissues of his original adventures! Sock Monkey has been nominated for an award. But to attend the ceremony, he must do something terrifying—he must take a bath. Just the thought makes Sock Monkey dizzy with fear. Stinky soap! Icy water! Scratchy towels! Luckily, his three best pals know just what to do.

Cece Bell’s famous Sock Monkey, toy actor, returns in three vibrant reissues of his original adventures! The big celebrity dance is just days away, and Sock Monkey doesn’t have a dancing partner! Is he doomed to stay at home and sing the blues? With a polyester suit, some fancy dance moves, and a new argyle buddy, Sock Monkey concocts a creative solution.

Yee-haw! Sock Monkey lassoes a part in a singing cowboy movie — if he can only get up the nerve to kiss the leading lady. Sock Monkey, the famous toy actor, can hardly believe his ears. He''s landed the starring role in a singing cowboy movie! Now he''ll get to yodel, ride a horse, lasso a cow, and — yikes! — kiss the leading lady. Sock Monkey doesn''t want to kiss anyone! But it''s the role of a lifetime, so the woolen thespian corrals all his friends to help him prepare. Can he resist the urge to ride into the sunset when the big moment comes? In a brilliant performance of (inadvertent) bravery in the face of panic, Sock Monkey is back — to do his fans proud.

Confusion abounds when a poorly spoken donkey says to a grammarian yam, I Yam a Donkey!

#1 New York Times Bestseller! Now an Apple+ Animated TV Series! Winner, John Newbery Medal What does it take for a student with hearing loss and a hearing aid to become a superhero!!?!? Starting at a new school is scary, especially with a giant hearing aid strapped to your chest! At her old school, everyone in Cece’s class was deaf. Here, she’s different. She’s sure the kids are staring at the Phonic Ear, the powerful aid that will help her hear her teacher. Too bad it also seems certain to repel potential friends. Then Cece makes a startling discovery. With the Phonic Ear she can hear her teacher not just in the classroom but anywhere her teacher is in the school—in the hallway . . . in the teacher’s lounge . . . in the bathroom! This is power. Maybe even superpower! Cece is on her way to becoming El Deafo, Listener for All. But the funny thing about being a superhero is that it’s just another way of feeling different . . . and lonely. Can Cece channel her powers into finding the thing she wants most, a true friend? El Deafo is a book that will entertain children, give hearing-impaired children a hero of their own, and challenge others to consider an experience unlike their own. Like other great works for children, it provides the opportunity for young readers to consider how they would act or react in a similar situation, helping to build empathy and understanding through the power of story.

Rabbit is excited about the sleepover he has carefully planned for his friend Robot, but Robot has some different ideas about how things should go.

Jerry, a large bee who longs to have friends, finds that by putting on a wig he can pass for a boy, until one day while he is leading the annual school parade the wind starts blowing very hard.

Sock Monkey, the famous toy actor, has been nominated for an Oswald Award. But to attend the ceremony, he must do something terrifying - take a bath! Yikes! Just the thought of bathing makes Sock Monkey dizzy with fear. Luckily his three best friends know just how to help.