The Silent Boy, by Lois Lowry, portrays young Katy Thatcher whose life ambition is to become a doctor, following in the footsteps of her father. She frequently joins him on doctor calls, riding next to him on the buggy. One day, while picking up Peggy, the new helper of the Thatcher family, Katy met Peggy’s brother, Jacob, and noticed his silence. Later, she asks Peggy what is wrong with her brother. Peggy says that he is “touched in the head”. Later, Katy meets Jacob in her stables, petting her horses. She learns that he makes noises instead of using words and about his love for animals.
Later, she asked Peggy about his life on the farm. She informs her that Jacob tends to the animals on the farm. When she visited the farm, Jacob surprised Katy with a kitten (which she had always wanted). That day, she noticed that he kept his wool hat on even when it was extremely hot out. She asks her dad and he explains that he thinks that he wears his hat to protect himself. “Jacob has his own world inside his head, Katy. I think his cap keeps that world feeling safe.”(Page 134)
Nell, Jacobs’s sister, had an unwanted baby. She was not going to take care of her, so Jacob applied farm animal strategies to this problem. He attempted bring the unwanted child to a wanting family, but, unfortunately, the baby was too young and did not survive the travel. It died and Jacob went into hiding, afraid that he would be punished for his act. When he was caught, and was sent to asylum and Katy never saw him again.
This story had a very deep impact on me. It brought out emotions I never thought I could experience from reading a book. It is an easy reading book with many different deep meanings that could be viewed from different ways. I really hope that we can fit in time for reading this book this year, it will be worth it.
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