The Girl With the Silver Eyes (1980)

I forgot about this book! It was awesome. I still sometimes think I might be telekinetic if I just tried hard enough. ( )

This was a fast, cute read. Never read it as a kid, though from the reviews on here, looks like everybody else did! ( )

I don't know what made me think of this book last night, but I did. It was a childhood favorite. I've probably read this one more times than I've ever read any other single book in the world. I considered this paperback to be one of my prized possessions. Boy, did I love this book! ( )

Katie is a ten-year-old who has magical powers to move objects with her mind and understands animals. She's exceptionally bright and even taught herself to read at three-years-old. She sometimes forgets to not use her powers when others are around and also plays tricks when she's bored. That causes other people to fear her. First they suspect something odd just because of her silver eyes. Then they begin to suspect she causes things to happen when she's around. Katie wonders if there are any other children like her. When Mr. Cooper begins to ask questions about her, she really gets worried and her quest for the other children begins in earnest.

I enjoyed this book as a young adult, but as an adult I read it with different eyes. It bothered me how the adults treated Katie. They talked about her as though she weren't standing in the room. She only felt comfortable around one adult in the entire book. That person accepted her for who she was. She didn't ask her to change and she wasn't afraid of her. She just accepted her.

While this is a fantasy book, telekinesis is studied and thought to be possible. Have the students look at this research in the real world and draw their own conclusions. Secondly, I have a feeling that most children go through a period of feeling alone, misunderstood, and unaccepted. I think this would be a good topic to explore in one or two journal entries: In what ways have you ever rejected someone else because they were different somehow? Describe a time when you felt like you were the outsider. How did you feel? Is it possible to make amends for the ways we treat other people?

Written by Mary, age 12: I loved the book. It was suspenseful. The characters were well written. I particularly liked the main character Katie - I could empathize with her. I wish she had made this book into a series. ( )