Silent Star: The Story of Deaf Major Leaguer William Hoy
By: Bill Wise
Illustrated by:Adam Gustavson:
Growing up wanting to be a major league baseball player is a common dream among young children in the mid-west. William Hoy was no different. Although this dream is often something very difficult to achieve it was even more challenging for William Hoy. When Hoy was born he was not deaf, he was a healthy everyday baby. When he was three years old he became sick and the illness left Hoy deaf. Due to his inability to hear he had a tough time growing up as many did not accept him for who he was. Hoy was sent to the school for the deaf in Columbus Ohio where he was not different. His favorite thing though was playing on the school baseball team. Eventually Hoy when playing amateur baseball was signed by a scout and made it to the major league. His marquee moment came when Hoy a hitter faced a pitcher who was also deaf. This was the first time ever in major league history this happened.
As a baseball fanatic this book is fantastic! Growing up I too wanted to be a major league baseball player. Many times I was told this dream was unrealistic and had several challenges in which I had to overcome to even get to the point where I am now playing college baseball. Reading this I could not imagine the challenges which William Hoy had to overcome being deaf and having the same dream I did.This book is a great story that shows all students regardless of your liking toward baseball that anything is possible and to never stop dreaming regardless of the challenges you face. This book is a must have to foster the growth of the dreams of children and model for them that any dream is attainable.
This story has several pieces which can be used in the classroom. First, this book can be a great read aloud piece in any classroom that contains a wonderful theme. The theme of this story is one that should be focused on in all classrooms. That is that all dreams are possible regardless of the challenges that are in your way. This is a value which children can elaborate on and they can create a book on their own dreams and tell their readers how they will accomplish their dream just as William Hoy did. This activity could have students be exposed to the qualities which students need to have in order to overcome challenges.
In addition to this, below are additional links and resources to use when reading this book in the classroom.
https://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=29536
http://4thgradereading.net/blog/2013/01/07/silent-star-the-story-of-deaf-major-leaguer-william-hoy/
https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/763405ef
