All He Knew
by Helen Frost (Author)
A novel in verse about a young deaf boy during World War II, the sister who loves him, and the conscientious objector who helps him. Inspired by true events.
Henry has been deaf from an early age--he is intelligent and aware of langauge, but by age six, he has decided it's not safe to speak to strangers. When the time comes for him to start school, he is labeled unteachable. Because his family has very little money, his parents and older sister, Molly, feel powerless to help him. Henry is sent to Riverview, a bleak institution where he is misunderstood, underestimated, and harshly treated.
Victor, a conscientious objector to World War II, is part of a Civilian Public Service program offered as an alternative to the draft. In 1942, he arrives at Riverview to serve as an attendant and quickly sees that Henry is far from unteachable--he is brave, clever, and sometimes mischievous. In Victor's care, Henry begins to see how things can change for the better. Heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful, Helen Frost's All He Knew is inspired by true events and provides sharp insight into a little-known element of history.
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School Library Journal
Gr 4-6-- From family history about a young Deaf boy who was institutionalized in 1939, Frost, poet and author of the award-winning Keesha's House, has constructed a moving work of historical fiction written in free verse and sonnets. It bridges two worlds: The deaf community and conscientious objectors who, during World War II, numbered 12,000 men. They refused to be drafted, and were assigned to work in state institutions instead, such as one for the "feebleminded" called Riverview. That's where protagonist Henry Williams winds up, and where the U.S. Army assigns 18-year-old Victor Jorgensen for his alternate service. Henry, curious, observant, and Deaf, doesn't belong at Riverview; no one does, Victor realizes. The bond between the boys helps shield some of them from neglect and abuse, but it can't get them released. Someone who can is Henry's elder sister, a courageous young teenager named Molly. The real sister, whose name was Maxine, wrote seven poems "to give my brother the life he never had." The poems became the seed of Frost's project and eventually its soul. Maxine's original poems are included as well. This evocative title is on a par with Colson Whitehead's The Nickel Boys, a historical novel about a reform school for teenage boys in Florida in the 1960s, also based on a true story. VERDICT This must-have is an instant classic of historical fiction, focusing on a Deaf boy institutionalized during World War II. Written in eloquent free verse and sonnets, it's an excellent poetry-teaching tool as well.--Georgia Christgau, LaGuardia Community Coll., Long Island City, NY
Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Publishers Weekly
In this poignant free verse novel spanning 1933-1945, six-year-old Henry, who becomes deaf following a fever, arrives at the Riverview Home for the Feebleminded after, deemed "unteachable," being rejected by a school for the deaf. Without knowing where he has been taken or how long he'll stay, Henry navigates dorm life, peer relationships, and often-cruel "men with keys," such as Blanket Man, who yanks the children's covers off to wake them. In portraying Henry's perspective, Printz winner Frost deftly sketches his heightened senses and keen observations, such as regarding the institution's oppressive stench ("something like potatoes/ forgotten in a corner of the kitchen"), alongside chilling abuse, including boys confined in straps for days. The viewpoint shifts between Henry and his older sister Molly, who tells her brother's story and describes family struggles to save enough to visit, and then widens to include a kind conscientious objector, 17-year-old Victor, who notices Henry's intelligence after arriving in Riverview to work in lieu of enlisting to fight in WWII. An author's note describes the family member who inspired the story and includes dated poems by his sister, the author's mother-in-law. Frost balances descriptions of institutional abuse with strong characters and enduring hope. Ages 10-14. Agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown. (Aug.)
Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
"This must-have is an instant classic of historical fiction. . .Written in eloquent free verse and sonnets, it's an excellent poetry-teaching tool as well." —School Library Journal, starred review
"Frost's smooth, burnished verse, ranging from free verse to sonnets, unfolds the story nimbly. While the historically based picture of the institution and its view of disability is appropriately horrifying, the book carefully avoids turning this into a stereotypical rescue drama. . .The result is an absorbing story of a boy and his family oppressed by circumstances but, rewardingly, finding a way to rise above them. Extensive notes explore the history of conscientious objectors and the relative on whom the story is based." —The Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books, starred review "Frost brings Henry's experiences sharply into focus through her spare, evocative storytelling." —Booklist "In portraying Henry's perspective, Printz winner Frost deftly sketches his heightened senses and keen observations, such as regarding the institution's oppressive stench ("something like potatoes/ forgotten in a corner of the kitchen"). . .Frost balances descriptions of institutional abuse with strong characters and enduring hope." —Publishers Weekly "Full of historical richness and glimpses of the cruelty and abuse so common in the institutions of the era. Frost's interpretation is softened by the hopeful conclusion of Henry's return home and his introduction to American Sign Language." —The Horn BookJUV039150 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Special Needs
JUV016060 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | Holocaust
People with disabilities
Deaf
Conscientious objectors
Inmates of institutions
