Rating: 
Summary: Haunting Photographs
Review: An old woman is telling a story; the way your grandmother would. Leafing through the family album, she pulls out a picture and tells a bit about the people, the buildings, when the picture was taken. But its not a random; there is a bigger story here. A story of childhood long ago, of becoming a "grown up", of the hard decisions and facts that make up a life. The use of photos and words is flawless; its a surprise to learn in the author's notes that the photos are old, not recent creations for the story. Beautiful, haunting, lyrical.
Rating:
Summary: "I Wonder How Lois Lowry..."
Review: can build a whole world of the early 1900's in just 178 pages, create characters you remember long after you've closed the book, and say all kinds of important things while gently telling a story?
I loved the relationship eight-year-old Katie had with her father. We never doubt that Katie will become a doctor one day because of his patient and gentle teaching. Of course the new baby will not be found in the garden patch! It is because of his kindness and openess that Katie is able to befriend the silent Jacob.
Everything seems innocent through Katie's eyes. Taking the new hired girl from her family, the hard lesson her sister Nell, who wants to be a film star, has to learn, the fire at the mill. Even the tragic misunderstanding that puts Jacob into the asylum. Katie has taken the harsh edge from all, and left us to ponder.
But that is how I know it's a great book... How long afterward I am still pondering.
Rating:
Summary: AMAZING
Review: i absolutely loved this book! my 6th grade teacher handed it to me last year and i loved it so much! i read the ending over and over to myself because it was just so lovely and simple! amazing, a great read!
Rating: 
Summary: Through the eyes of an innocent child...
Review: I enjoyed how this book was written. With the chapters divided into months you are able to follow the life of Katy throughout this life changing year. I teach fourth grade and many of the girls in my class would enjoy this book. They love to read historical fiction. The character Katy spans from age six to nine years old. The students in my classroom are nine and ten year olds so they will be able to relate to the playfull and innocents of the character. Katy teaches us a life lesson about friendship. She befriends the boy that everyone sees as different, but she sees as a friend. She builds this bong with Jacob throughout the book. From a teacher standpoint I like this aspect of the book. I often see chidren stray away from children that are different or challenged. I have not read another book that teaches family and friend relationships through the eyes of a child. Katy teaches us the importance of these close relationships.
Rating:
Summary: "A Mazing" story
Review: I just got this book from Amazon today, I read it straight through. Lois Lowry has done it again! I think this book also deserves a Newberry Award. The story is told from the point of view of Katy Thatcher, the curious daughter of a doctor, but it's really about the lives of three families, The Stoltz Family, The Bishop Family, and The Thatcher Family, and especially about Jacob Stoltz. Nowadays, Jacob would have been diagnosed with Autism (neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain), but in the early 1900's people just knew that he was different, but that matters little to Katy, who connects with him and feels an understanding with him. I reccomend this book for middle school and up, possibly mature fifth graders, but some of the little nuances aren't really appropriate for kids much younger than that.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: I loved this book. Like Katy, I am also a doctors daughter and that is why I first read it. But when I finished it, it had me pondering over the powerful message and the beautifully crafted relashionship between Jacob and Katy. All the charachters have a sense of reality and deepness and this book had just the right amounts of innocence,realiy, and hope, just like The Giver and Gathering Blue.
Rating: 
Summary: not her best work
Review: I've read other Lois Lowry books, all of which are stronger than The Silent Boy. It's a nice story, with a thoughtful twist ending, but pretty slow through most of the chapters. We don't see enough of the title character to justify the book being named after him. I would like to have gotten to know him better. And there are segments of description of the setting that weigh the story down rather than enhancing it. It was a nice, light read, but pretty weak overall, especially in the characterization of the silent boy himself. Great ending though. Really nicely played out.
Rating:
Summary: not her best work
Review: I've read other Lois Lowry books, all of which are stronger than The Silent Boy. It's a nice story, with a thoughtful twist ending, but pretty slow through most of the chapters. We don't see enough of the title character to justify the book being named after him. I would like to have gotten to know him better. And there are segments of description of the setting that weigh the story down rather than enhancing it. It was a nice, light read, but pretty weak overall, especially in the characterization of the silent boy himself. Great ending though. Really nicely played out.
Rating:
Summary: Lowry's Endings are the Best in Young Adult Literature!
Review: In the quiet neighborhoods of this pre WWI town, all is peaceful and "normal"-neighbors are as close as family, the children all play together, and the local doctor makes house calls. In the Thatcher home, there is the expectation of a new baby, so Dr. Thatcher and his wife have hired a young lady, Peggy, to come work in the home. The Thatcher's daughter, kind-hearted and intelligent Katy, takes an instant liking to the new girl and her "touched" brother Jacob. Even though Jacob is mute and obviously very different from the other children in town, Katy Thatcher considers him a friend, and she has come to appreciate his gentle, loving nature towards animals, especially her family's horses and the lambs on his own family's property. Their world, however, is disrupted by a series of shameful and upsetting choices, and the dark secrets of some of the characters are slowly revealed. It is through Katy's eyes that the reader sees how the mistakes of others have a life-altering affect on so many. There is no doubt in the minds of readers that when finished with this novel, they know young Katy Thatcher completely. Her desire to become a doctor and follow in the footsteps of her father goes beyond admirable; it seems unqualifiedly natural and right, and her friendships with both Peggy and Jacob make her as respectable as so many other Lois Lowry protagonists. It's amazing how Lowry is able to juxtapose so much good and evil and still leave us with a complete sense of hope at the end of the story.
Rating:
Summary: The Silent Boy
Review: In The Silent Boy , Lois Lowry uses old photographs as well as the written word to provide an excellent setting of life in the early 20th century. Discover what growing up during this time frame might be like through the eyes and thoughts of young Katy Thatcher. Katy is an observant, young girl who knows at an early age that she wants to become a doctor like her father. She describes events that lead up to the time she meets Jacob Stoltz who is "touched" and of how she develops a friendship with this silent boy. Because of their friendship and her observant ways, she knows the cause of a tragic event that occurs and why it happens. This book is enjoyable to read and shows how hasty judgments about a boy many have labeled "imbecile" can lead to incorrect conclusions.
|
