The Silent Boy

by Lois Lowry

The story is told by Katy Thatcher, an old woman in 1987, about a critical period in her life from 1908 to 1911. Katy, whose father is a doctor, 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 comes to feel she can communicate with him in a rudimentary but sympathetic way.

Enrichment Activities

* Character Comparison

Use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the two Stoltz sisters, Peggy and Nellie. You can draw a picture on each side of the diagram and fill the rest of the space with words that describe each character.

* Class Discussion Questions

Discuss the following questions with your class after reading The Silent Boy: ?

* Keywords

Select 5 words from this list: Adolescence, Caregivers, Children, Communication, Disability, Family Relationships, Father-Daughter Relationship, Human Worth, Illness and the Family, Institutionalization, Loneliness, Love, Mental Illness, Ordinary Life. Show how each word that you selected was portrayed in the story.

* Letter Writing

Mr. Bishop "liked tools and steam engines and wheels and anything that moved its parts and made noise". Write a letter to one of Mr. Bishop's great-great-grand children telling them what modern invention that Mr. Bishop would enjoy using if he lived today's world.

* Character Study

Lowry’s initial inspiration for The Silent Boy was a lot of photos that weren’t included in her book, Looking Back. Find an old family photograph of a person that you know little about. Create a story around this person.

Internet Resources

Lois Lowry Interview

Grade Levels: Middle & High School/P>

Lois Lowry answers questions about writing books and more in this interview.

Children's Book Page Review

Grade Levels: Middle & High School

Read a review by James Neal Webb in the Children's Book Page Review.

From the Critics

Grade Levels: Middle & High School

Barnes and Noble features critical commentary.