Book Inspired by Child with Cochlear Implants Recognized by The Eric Hoffer Award
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 26, 2022, Updated April 29, 2022
[BERGEN, NORWAY] —Ada and the Helpers by Travis D. Peterson has been named a Finalist for The Eric Hoffer Award Grand Prize. Ada and the Helpers was also recognized as a First Horizon Award Finalist recognizing superior work by debut authors as well as an Honorable Mention in the Children’s Book Category. Final results were announced today.According to the Award’s official website, “The Eric Hoffer Book Award honors the memory of the great American philosopher Eric Hoffer by highlighting salient writing, as well as the independent spirit of small publishers. Since its inception, the Hoffer has become one of the largest international book awards for small, academic, and independent presses.” A cash prize of $2,500 is awarded to the grand prize winner. Only about 5% of all submitted publications are chosen for the Short List.
Ada and the Helpers—illustrated by Melissa Fischer and written and designed by Peterson—is a story about a dancing, deaf fox who wears hearing devices to help her hear. On her way to a talent show one day, Ada runs into three other creatures who are each facing some challenge of their own. She’s able to help her new friends look past their obstacles and discover their natural strengths! But can they help her in return to overcome her stage fright before the big show?
This book was written to bring awareness to deafness and hearing devices, and to be a tool for children to learn the ASL alphabet. The story includes 14 words spelled out using the American Sign Language manual alphabet (one word on each spread of the story.) It also includes some of the phonemes from the Ling Six Sound Test—vocal sounds used to determine how much of the vocal frequency range a person can hear. In addition, the hardcover edition of the book features a double-sided dust jacket with an ASL alphabet chart on the inside, perfect for hanging as a poster in a classroom or child’s bedroom.
Born in Wilmington, NC, Peterson studied computer graphics at Purdue University. After writing Ada and the Helpers, he now designs books for fellow self-publishing authors while currently living with his wife and two young kids in Norway—his wife’s home country. The story of Ada the fox was inspired by their daughter Esther, who was born deaf and received cochlear implants at just 9 months old in 2018. She’s now learning both Norwegian and English spoken languages as well as Norwegian and American sign languages.
According to this article from 2019 from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, approximately 65,000 children and 118,100 adults have received cochlear implants in the United States. These numbers are likely much higher now. Ada and the Helpers was one of two books featuring deaf main characters with cochlear implants to receive recognition from this year’s Eric Hoffer Awards. Mighty Mila by Katie Petruzziello and Nadja Sarell (Illustrator) made the Grand Prize Short List, and was named winner for both the First Horizon Award and the Children’s Category. Peterson is also the book designer behind Mighty Mila.
“The story of Ada and the Helpers is language rich and weaves the use of
American Sign Language Alphabet throughout as the pages teach new vocabulary
words related to this magical story. I really enjoyed how Ada met a diverse group
of new friends along her journey and how they all found their strengths to form
a bond to help each other. This book is a must for all families!!!”
Dr. Johnnie Sexton, Au.D.
Executive Director and Founder, The CARE Project
Peterson has written his second children’s book titled Never Ever Build a Blanket Fort!— currently being crowdfunded on Kickstarter.com with the hopes of having it printed with the same quality of Ada and the Helpers. This new book was written to encourage children to step away from digital devices and explore their imaginations. One of the main characters is illustrated with cochlear implants.
More information about the author and books, as well as pictures, are available at www.travisdpeterson.com/about. More pictures available upon request.
Travis D. Peterson
+47 923 08 923 (international phone number, available on WhatsApp)