Hi,
In the early 80’s, I ordered a book through either Scholastic or Arrow. The book was about a a young (possibly teenage) girl who is deaf. She gets kidnapped. Her abductors cut her hair and dress her in boy clothes to make her look like a boy. At one point in the book, either she or one of her kidnappers draws a bird on the wall of the room in which she is being held. The cover had a picture of a dark-haired girl on it and I want to say the deaf girl’s name was Katie, but I could be wrong. If you could figure out the title/author of this book, I would really appreciate it! Thanks.
-Amy Jones
Stump the Bookseller
New format, same book stumper solving.
I have a copy of this book! It’s “Who Stole Kathy Young?” by Margaret Goff Clark. Kathy is deaf, and her kidnappers disguised her just as you said. The cover shows her with dark hair, a reddish-haired man grabbing her, and a van behind her. One of the things the kidnappers do is take away her hearing aid, thinking that she’s helpless without it, but she realizes that they’ve underestimated her and uses that to her advantage. The POV of the story alternates between her and her friend who’s trying to help find her.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that the bird Kathy draws is a heron. She and her friend had noticed a man who looked kind of tall and thin like a heron following them around early in the book, and he turns out to be one of the kidnappers.
Tracy is definitely correct….this is Who Stole Kathy Young by Margaret Goff Clark. It was printed in paperback by Scholastic in 1983. The original hardcover printing was by Dodd, Mead in 1980 (that’s the copy I have!)