Beautiful Child

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Child
Review: Beautiful Child is a true story about Torey Hayden and her experiences with her severely handicapped class of 6 children ranging in age from 6-9. This story deals particularly with her experiences with an elective mute little girl named Venus Fox. Venus never talks, never cries, and never shows any emotion. She however does have dramatic violent outbursts when another student gets too close to her, or touches her either by accident or to provoke her. Venus is deprived of clothes, food, and is being forced to sleep naked in the bath tub in the middle of winter. Her older sister Wanda brings her to school, when she remembers. Eventually Torey starts putting together little pieces of information that both Venus and Wanda begin to share with her. When Venus is admitted to the hospital, it all comes together. This was a good book, but not the best one I have read by Hayden.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good, but not as engaging as some of the others
Review: I have been a fan of Torey Hayden since high school. I have loved all her books (especially One Child) and I was excited to hear she had another book out.

My one complaint is that the book seems devoid of emotion. My 2 favorite Torey books are "One Child" and "Just Another Kid". What I love about those 2 books is the depth of emotion--you can tell Torey really loves and cares about the characters in those books (Sheila and Ladbrooke). With her newest book there is much less of her emotions (which add a human touch to the story) and much more of the actual clinical work in the classroom. I felt this lack of empathy and emotion made the book less interesting. I felt like Torey really didn't have any very strong feelings for the people in her book, and that lack of enthusiasm is conveyed to the readers. It's hard for the reader to feel enthusiastic and excited about the characters. The style reminded me of the book "Murphy's Boy" (a great book, but not Torey's best).

Overall it's a great read. Torey is a gifted teacher and her fans will enjoy her newest book. I recommend reading it, but I don't think I like this one well enough to add to my collection.

Rating:
Summary: My first Torey Hayden Book
Review: I have never been so touched by a book in my life. I am due to graduate in December and become a special education teacher. Torey, you are definately someone to look up to. PLEASE READ THIS BOOK! no amount of words can describe how wonderful it is!

Rating:
Summary: Torey, you still have heart...
Review: I just finished this book. It was very good. I have read every one of Torey L. Hayden's books and they are all excellent. Torey has got the heart and patience of a saint, with the honesty of a child. I will say that while this was definately not my favorite, it was still good reading. It did start out a little slow. About halfway through the book it began to speed up and I couldn't put it down from then on. I would defiantely reccomend this book to anyone though.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely wonderful book
Review: I read this book about a year ago after finding it in a department store. It was awesome then and hard to put down. It was awesome again last week as it took me 2 days to read (while working full time).

I would love to know what ever happened to young Venus Fox and Wanda (her biological mother whom she thought of as her sister).

Torey Hayden is a great writer and captures the events perfectly.

I highly recommend this book along with the others from Torey.

Rating:
Summary: --I couldn't read it fast enough--
Review: I was so delighted to discover that Torey Hayden had written a new book! I've been a fan since she wrote ONE CHILD and can't say enough good things about her stories. The important thing to know is that her books are about her true experiences as a teacher.

BEAUTIFUL CHILD is the story of one school year in a classroom of children, aged six through nine, who have special educational needs. Torey Hayden is the teacher and her students include Shane and Zane, twin boys who are borderline retarded as the result of fetal alcoholic syndrome. There's a girl named Alice, who has a highly unusual way of speaking to others and often talks to her hand as if it were a person. Jesse suffers from Tourette's syndrome, which causes him to have several tics and obsessive behavior patterns. Billy's, a hyperactive boy who can't be still or quiet, and Venus, is a small girl who is mute, but can, at times, explode into violent rages. Each day of class is full of surprises and the way in which the teacher handles the individual problems is truly inspiring.

I highly recommend BEAUTIFUL CHILD and all of Torey Hayden's books.

Rating:
Summary: This is Fiction
Review: There is a lot to like about Torey Hayden's 'Beautiful Child'. In it, Torey Hayden, a veteran special ed teacher, reunites with one of her early mentors to teach a small class of special ed students in an American school. Although she positively affects the lives of all of her students, one student in particular, the "Beautiful Child" of the title, stands out. The course of this child's life is changed for the better as Ms. Heydon is able to help her respond positively within a learning situation.

Sounds great, doesn't it? What Ms. Hayden doesn't mention is that this account is fiction. Torey Hayden was born in 1952 and received her undergraduate degree in the early seventies, which indicates that the earliest of her accounts must be set after 1973. She taught special education until 1980, when she left to live in Wales. Her daughter was born in 1985 and she hasn't taught in a classroom setting since. So when exactly did the events recounted in 'Beautiful Child' take place? The text indicates that they are occurring in the mid to late 90's in the United States. So whether or not the events described are true, they have, at a minimum, been stretched to the extent that they bear little resemblance to the truth. In the book, the discrepancies actually become a little amusing as Ms. Hayden seems to have lost her grasp of American idiom. Not too many Americans refer to each other as "buggers" or "muffin". We don't get "told off" here and the phrase "Why ever not?" is seldom heard. You'll find all of these words and phrases in 'Beautiful Child', though!

Given that her teaching career lasted only 7-10 years, it seems a little strange that she has managed to produce as many "true accounts" of her teaching career as she has. It seems almost a crime that a teacher with the track record of spectacular successes with unreachable children that she attests to quit the profession after such a short time! According to her accounts, she must have been able to save at least one spectacularly unreachable child for each year of her short-lived teaching career!


My problem with this book is that it seems dishonest to present an account which is either fiction or heavily fictionalized as being true. In her book, Ms. Hayden criticizes another character for being "emotionally dishonest". How honest is it to market books as non-fiction when they are clearly fiction?



Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Story Despite Circumstances
Review: This is the story of Venus,who is deprived of food, clothes,
soap and bathing.Her developmentally delayed older sister
brings her to school in a sporatic system.
However,the sister appears protective and loving within her
ability.Despite these enormous problems that take place
in a special ed. program,Torey jumps right in to work her
special magic with this child.
I love all Torey's books and like to re-read them.In this
book,what was lacking,was the method Torey has of having
a little taste of her own life paralleling the story.
For this reason, it seemed a little cold.
Maybe, Torey is married now and reluctant to rehash the
past.Part of the humaness is lost because of this
style of writing.

Rating:
Summary: moving chronicle
Review: Torey Hayden, with her miracle touch has once again threw out teaching to the "status quo" and worked her magic on this blessed child. I love Hayden's novels and this one was just as wonderful as all the rest. Anyone in the special education or child psychology field must read these books!