The Silent Boy

Author: Lois Lowry
Year Published:
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
ISBN#: 0618282319
Pages: 178
Classification: Fiction
Subject: Siblings, Infants, Unmarried mothers, Physically handicapped
Genre: Drama
Media Type: Book
Reader's Annotation:
Katy, the precocious ten-year-old daughter of the town doctor, befriends a retarded boy.
Plot Summary:
Katy, takes an interest in Jacob, a boy from a neighboring farm, who can't speak, who sings quietly to himself, but who seems able to communicate with animals. Jacob occasionally comes to the Thatcher home to be in the barn with the animals. Katy shares Jacob’s love of animals and comes to feel she can communicate with him in some way. Tragedy happens when a baby dies because of Jacob whose sole intent was to protect the baby. He was then sent to a mental institution, but was never found again.
Reading Level: 5
Interest Level: 5-9
Author's Website (if any): http://www.loislowry.com/