Silent Star: The Story of Deaf Major Leaguer William Hoy by Bill Wise is a facinating baseball story for pre-teens about a child with hearing loss overcoming adversity and what is "expected" of him. Even though Lily and her Dad are serious Yankee fans, we thought we'd better take a look after Lee and Low Books asked us to consider writing a review.
Growing up in the 1860s, William Hoy dreamed of being a major league baseball player. However, this dream seemed unlikely because he was deaf. Hoy eventually became a expert shoemaker, but kept his dream alive by playing baseball behind his shop. By chance, an amateur team coach saw Hoy playing and the rest is history. He moved up through the minor leagues and eventually to the Washington Nationals, where he played outfield and became the first player ever to throw out three runners at home plate in one game.
The book is filled with interesting examples of how Hoy faced adversity and overcame it. For example, Hoy couldn't hear the umpires calling strikes and balls, so he eventually worked out a series of signals with the third-base coach. This helped him move from one of the worst to one of the best batting averages in one season. The book also describes how the crowd would throw confetti and wave their arms wildly to recognize a great play by Hoy.
The book concludes in the spring of 1902 with Hoy, now on the Cincinnati Reds, batting against Luther Taylor, another deaf player who played for the New York Giants. The Giants eventually won the game, but it was a historic day in baseball.
With beautiful illustrations by Adam Gustavson, this book captures a little known story and brings it to children and adults through an easy-to-read format and a historical lens.
If you'd like a copy of this book, we have one to give away. Leave a comment below of why you would love to have this book and we will choose someone at random.
OOOOH ME!! Sounds like a great one to add to our collection! Especially since Emersyn is going to be an all star ball player!
Posted by: Missy S | July 20, 2012 at 10:08 AM