All He Knew

Written by Helen Frost

Narrated by Michael Crouch

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." Becasue 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 11, 2020
• ISBN: 9781980095248

Helen Frost

Helen Frost is the author of several books for young people, including Hidden, Diamond Willow, Crossing Stones, The Braid, and Keesha’s House, selected an Honor Book for the Michael L. Printz Award. Helen Frost was born in 1949 in South Dakota, the fifth of ten children. She recalls the summer her family moved from South Dakota to Oregon, traveling in a big trailer and camping in places like the Badlands and Yellowstone. Her father told the family stories before they went to sleep, and Helen would dream about their travels, her family, and their old house. “That’s how I became a writer,” she says. “I didn’t know it at the time, but all those things were accumulating somewhere inside me.” As a child, she loved to travel, think, swim, sing, learn, canoe, write, argue, sew, play the piano, play softball, play with dolls, daydream, read, go fishing, and climb trees. Now, when she sits down to write, her own experiences become the details of her stories. Helen has lived in South Dakota, Oregon, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, Scotland, Colorado, Alaska, California, and Indiana. She currently lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with her family.

Reviews for All He Knew

[jennybeast · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I like how this book presents a nuanced story about the institutionalization of a young deaf boy -- his family weren't allowed to keep him at home, testing for 'teachability' was extremely poor, treatment at the school was horrific, some people got out. The verse is well done -- accessible and flowing. It's also very cool to learn about the effect that conscientious objectors in WWII had on bringing the many shortcomings of institutions to light, and changing them for the better. I really appreciate that Frost treats Henry and his friends as real human beings, as intelligent and able individuals who are stuck in a nightmare of misery. I hate that I should have to commend her for that, as it seems like a baseline, but she does an excellent job. I like that this particular book has a happy ending for some of the children, even though it is based on a more tragic reality. I love that she shares the story and poetry she based this story on -- poems by a young woman whos brother was removed and was never restored. I also like how poverty is highlighted in how it affects what happens to Henry. There's a lot going on, it's a good story about a specific time and place, and it adds to the fiction available about deaf history. That said, it's not written by a person with personal experience with deafness or cerebral palsy or down syndrome and I am not qualified to judge how well she presents characters with those conditions.

[donnamariemerritt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In the 1930s, a boy gets sick and loses his hearing. The State School for the Deaf won't take him based on some absurd test and label him as "unteachable." Henry is sent to a home for the feebleminded because two busybodies from some agency convince his family it's best. The beautiful cover of this book is both right and deceiving. The story is told beautifully by Helen Frost as a novel in verse, but the horrors that await young Henry are ugly. Still, his older sister never gives up hope of bringing him home. This is one of those books that's hard to put down. I loved Henry's sweetness throughout. And not only is the book based on similar institutions during WWII, Frost was inspired by a real-life "Henry" and the seven poems his older sister wrote about him.All He Knew is my new favorite Helen Frost book and a special addition to our school's grade 4/5 library.

[salsabrarian · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Inspired by the true story of the author's late brother-in-law. Henry is 4 years old and deaf because of a fever. His impoverished family is convinced by authorities to send Henry to live at Riverview, an institution for the "feebleminded" after he fails a so-called test to qualify for the deaf school. Riverview is not a place for thriving. Staff can be cruel, bad smells are everywhere, and misbehaving residents are strapped into chairs. Henry makes two friends there, Ted and Billy. Henry's family knows he is smart, but no staffer at Riverview recognizes this until Victor, a conscientious objector, comes to work there during WW2. Like Henry, the poems are observant and deliberate. When the poems are in others' voices, like sister Molly's, the tone takes on a sense of urgency, that Riverview is surely not a place for Henry. A compelling and empathetic story that sheds a light on the terrible historical treatment of those with disabilities.

[jrlibrary · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A heart wrenching story told in free verse and based on real life events of a boy mistakenly deemed unteachable and therefore shuttered away in an institution with other boys facing challenges of their own. This is so touching and the character of Henry so compelling that I know this book will remain with me for a long long long time. Highly recommended but NOT for students who are already overly sensitive to the plight of others because this is a sad one to be sure.