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    The Silent Boy
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    The Silent Boy
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    The Silent Boy
    Audiobook3 hours

    The Silent Boy

    Written by Lois Lowry

    Narrated by Karen Allen

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

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    About this audiobook

    Precocious Katy Thatcher comes to realize what a gentle, silent boy did for his family. He meant to help, not harm. It didn't turn out that way.

    "The author balances humor and generosity with the obstacles and injustice of Katy's world to depict a complete picture of the turn of the 20th century."-Publishers Weekly, Starred

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMay 13, 2003
    ISBN9780807216934
    Author

    Lois Lowry

    Lois Lowry is the author of more than forty books for children and young adults, including the New York Times bestselling Giver Quartet and the popular Anastasia Krupnik series. She has received countless honors, among them the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award, the California Young Reader Medal, and the Mark Twain Award. She received Newbery Medals for two of her novels, Number the Stars and The Giver.

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    Reviews for The Silent Boy

    4/5

    140 ratings15 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This topped four stars and may be rounded up to five in the near future. How does Lois Lowry write in such a calm easy manner, maintain such a relaxing hypnotic flow to the story and yet draw you in and make the characters come to life so well and elicit such strong and lingering emotions. The Giver series and Number The Stars made me feel the same way. I love this writing. Based on comments from a couple people I pay attention to I think The Willoughbys is next, and very soon.
    • 3/5
      not as good as i would have hoped from lois lowry. it was just a little cheesy at times. but it is a young adult book.

      anyway, it was a quick read, and not so bad.
    • 4/5
      A great read that will leave you in tears. Although this novel may suit the tweens and older in context but it is a special book that deserves a visit. The story is told from Katy Thatcher as she recalls her childhood years. I assume that this moment in her life has had a profound effect on her considering that she is only focusing on four years of her life with the majority of the story happening at the age of 9 yrs old. During this year, her sister Mary is born. Also, a girl named Nell comes to live on the farm as a helper. Nell's brother, Jacob, is described as being "touched". In the story, Katy does not indicate what type of disability that Jacob suffers from. People throughout the story eludes from discussing his condition. For the most part, Jacob is nonverbal. He only communicates to humans using animal sounds. Katy is very fond of Jacob and views him as a good friend. Towards the end, Jacob disappears along with his sister's unwanted baby. After he is found by Katy and her father, Katy tries to vouch for him but her father and the cops were not convinced of her story. He gives Katy a kitten in which he tries to communicate his actions (sad moment). Sadly, Jacob is arrested and sent to an asylum. After several years, some of the patients were released from the institution, but Jacob was never heard of since the incident. It was as though they erased his existence. The silent boy reveals, in a way, how society handled/viewed people with mental issues in the 20th century. It was as if they were shunned from society. This fact is disturbing to us because we have progressed in our understanding of people with disabilities, but back in later periods people were not considered human and therefore institutionalized. Very Disturbing.
    • 5/5
      Katy is a curious little girl who loves to learn. Her dad is the small town doctor. Katy loves to watch her dad work and often helps him. She becomes very interested in a local boy who has a disability that keeps him from speaking. Lowry, the author, used a collection of pictures she found to write this book. Readers will become very connected to the heart touching story. This book probably would not be read in an elementary class. It would be a good book to focus on when talking about learning disabilities.
    • 4/5
      Story told through the eyes of Katy Thatcher who is the daughter of a town doctor in 1909. An intelligent child, she befriends a neighbor boy, Jacob, who is "touched" as people of this time frame label special needs people but Katy wants to communicate with him and has an understanding that surpasses all adults around her.Read by Karen Allen, (Raiders of the Lost Ark) the story is narrated in a calm dream-like voice from the past which lends to an atmosphere of deep insight rather than dramatic impressions of the characters. Loved this book. (Most of 4 hours )
    • 4/5
      I've read and enjoyed several of Lowry's books, including [The Giver], [Gathering Blue], and [Messenger], but those were all futuristic, dystopian novels. [The Silent Boy] is an entirely different genre. Set in 1910-1911, it can best be classified as historical fiction. It is the rare writer who excels in multiple genres, but Lois Lowry is one of those writers.The Silent Boy is narrated by Katy Thatcher, a young girl who wants to be a doctor. Her parents - especially her father - treat her like the mature young lady she is, and so the grown-up, matter-of-fact voice in which she tells the story is not surprising. Because Katy's mother is expecting a baby, Peggy Stoltz comes to live with them and lend a hand. Katy adores Peggy and also befriends Peggy's brother Jacob, the silent boy of the book's title. Jacob is described by townspeople as "touched," or more impolitely as an "imbecile." But Katy sees that he is a kind and caring boy, who is especially good with animals. It is her understanding of Jacob that enables Katy to understand his role in the events that unfold in this book, and it is her understanding that makes what happens especially heartbreaking. I can't say more without giving away too much, but it is Lowry's careful creation of the relationship between Katy and Jacob that caused this book to touch me so deeply.
    • 4/5
      I started reading this book because I noticed that the protagonist's name is Katy Thatcher, and my daughter's name is Katie Thach. (I thought that was pretty cool.) This book is historical fiction, set in Northeastern America in 1908. The novel depicts the daily lives of hard working rural and small town folks. Nine-year-old Katy's father is a doctor who makes house calls in his horse-drawn buggy.Sometimes Katy accompanies Dr. Thatcher, and she has decided that she wants to follow in his footsteps and become a doctor, too.Katy befriends "the silent boy," Jacob, who is a 14-year-old neighbor with special needs. He helps his father on their farm outside of town. He loves animals and sometimes goes into town to visit with Katy's horses. Jacob's two older sisters are "hired girls" in town, one of whom helps out at Katy's house.Lois Lowry is a wonderful writer. She is knowledgeable, insightful, never boring. This book had a somewhat depressing undertone and did not end at all like I predicted, but sometimes real life IS just "real." Things happen and people move on. Ms. Lowry includes black and white photos of real people, buildings, and cars from the early 1900's. The photo detail helps the reader feel more attached to the characters.If you are looking for a realistic book about serious subjects and you can handle the matter-of-fact way Ms. Lowry depicts events, you will like this book.
    • 5/5
      He was different from others. Jacob Stolz walked head down, large feet shuffling along the dirt roads. He did not talk, but when engaged, made noises to imitate his surroundings. The sound of the great gristmill grindstone as it crushed the grain was expressed as shooda, shooda, shooda. The marbles as they hit each other were click, click, click. "Touched" is what people said about Jacob. Pointing to their heads, they said he was "touched." Representing protection from the outside world, his firmly placed cap rarely left his head. A lover of animals, he took comfort in their softness and beauty.She was different from others. Unlike the Stolz family,13 year old Katy Thatcher was a child of privilege. Unlike Jacob, she walked confidently. Her insatiable curiosity prompted her to engage with surroundings. A precocious child, this daughter of the small-town doctor had a keen sense of social injustice and an intuitive need to understand situations and people.In 1908 the world was different. The new fangled automobile was rare and for the very rich. The girls of poor farm families were hired help for those who lived in the large houses.Jacob's two sisters are different from each other. Peggy, the kind, sensible sister, is a maid to the Thatcher family and Nellie, the brassy, dramatic one, scrubs the floors next door at the Bishop household.The Thatcher family is different. They welcome Peggy as a family member. Their daughter Katy is taught to respect and include.The Bishop family is different. The hired help have a room in the cold winter attic. Their eldest son Paul knows that brassy, dramatic women have a role and will do his bidding, and the hay in the barn is the place they belong.Lowry is a magical writer. The book is filled with paradoxes, and as dramatic events spin out of control, we watch as the Thatcher, Bishop and Stolz families collide.While the reader is awed by the initial softness of a slower life time in history, the author is masterful in the juxtaposition of harsh realities of class, of both fair and unjust treatment of people, and the perception of "differentness."Highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      I hated that it did not have a sequel, it is a book in my mind that needs a companion. It was a little cheesey and it would have been better with a little bit more action in my taste. Though it was still a sweet book and so heartwarming.
    • 4/5
      Set in small Pennsylvania community in the early 1900s, Silent Boy is the story of bright and curious Katy Thatcher, a doctor's daughter, and Jacob Stoltz, a farm boy, and brother of the Thatcher's hired girl, Peggy. Jacob is quiet, he never talks and has a special way with animals. Jacobs ability to handle animals of all sizes and peaceful, yet reticent behavior fascinated Katy and the two become friends. Jacob's silence and strange behaviors are often seen as stubborn and willful frequently causing Jacob more harm than good. Lowry does an amazing job of telling the story of an unconventional friendship and acceptance.
    • 3/5
      I was kind of disturbed by this tale. It is told by Katy, a young girl at the turn of the century, about a boy named Jacob, the titular “silent” boy. He is what modern folks would refer to as mentally challenged, speaking no words but able to accurately replicate the sounds he hears, such as a grindstone in motion or a horse’s whinny. This is not a light read, and may be one that haunts me for quite a while. I can’t really say why without giving away the ending, but if you’ve read it, you probably understand what I mean. There’s no happy ending, and from the start Katy warns the reader that most would find this tale “too depressing”. And it’s not that, exactly, but it’s definitely sad. Well written, but very sad.
    • 4/5
      This story takes place in 1908 and is a realistic view of the attitudes conveyed towards people with mental disabilities during this time period. The book tells the story of Jacob, a young boy who exhibits symptoms similar to what we now refer to as autism. People call him any number of names, and blame for any mishaps in the town. One of the main misconceptions of the time is that if you discussed certain topics that would upset or frighten pregnant women, it would sometimes adversely affect her unborn child. The book gave an example of a child whose mother had experienced a shock while carrying her child. The boy was born with a large, red birthmark on his face, believed to be a direct result of the turmoil she experienced while pregnant. This is just one example of the ways children could be “touched” by physical and mental disorders when born. Considering these beliefs, it is no wonder parents felt a sense of responsibility for the disability afflicting their child. Also looming in the background of this story is an asylum was located on the outskirts of town, believed to be the home of “madmen and lunatics.” Due to a series of misunderstandings, the young boy Jacob ends up in that very place. He is never seen or even mentioned by anyone in the town again, even though he is living within walking distance of his home. The sad truth is that while medical breakthroughs have occurred in the areas of physical and mental disabilities since 1908, many of the same taboos still exist in our modern times. Library Implications: Teaming with a medical professional for use of this book would be a great way to educate older students concerning the advances in modern medicine relating to mental disorders. Students could work in groups to research topics of mental disabilities. They could even compare and contrast the attitudes of the culture towards these afflictions. Treatment options could also be discussed, starting with asylum housing and moving toward the group home experiences of today.
    • 4/5
      This is a fictional memoir of an elderly woman who tells the story of her Pre World War I childhood and in particular her relationship with a boy who was "touched". We are never told what was wrong with the boy (I think in a effort to not apply modern day labels) but from the symptoms I came to believe he was autistic. This is a deceptively simple story. It is a sweet, quaint, nostalgic look at a time when telephones and cars were very new. Every chapter is illustrated with a photograph of the period which adds to the nostalgia. Slowly, as events unfold we become aware that something is not right and the ending is terribly tragic. In fact, we are warned on the opening page that this is a sad story, yet that warning slipped away from me as I was immersed in the simple lives of the characters. This is a book that you stagger away from and makes you think how something so awfully sad and tragic could happen.This book was filed in the children's section of my library, and it is a short, easy read but I think the full force of the story would be much more appreciated by a YA.
    • 5/5
      Using historical photographs as inspiration for fictional settings and characters, Lois Lowry transports us to the early 1900s. As a fan of historical photos and historical fiction, I found her approach very appealing. It made me want to go through old photos and do some creative writing!
    • 3/5
      The young daughter of a doctor is taught compassion for those who are "different" and finds herself learning to understand the boy who doesn't speak and what he tries to do to help when his sister has an unwanted baby.