Rating: 
Summary: Must read/great job Torey......
Review: Once again I was drawn into feeling like I was in the class room with Torey and her kids. She is amazing how she connect with these kids. It's a shame there aren't more teachers like Torey. You will love this book. It makes you feel like you are right there with her teaching, you laugh and cry with her and feel the same frustations as she feels. It's so real. I love how she gets down on the child's level and treats all the children like they are people too without the children realizing that is what she is doing and how at the end the children teach themselves and Torey as much as Torey has taught them. I like the fact that when the children have a viewpoint that Torey listens and respects it and learns from it as do the children. It's so great how the children come to love Torey when they have such hard lives outside of school and come into her class with such bad feelings of the world and everyone in it. That in the end the children feel really good about themselves. Great job Torey, keep the books coming. You're great....
Rating:
Summary: Extremely thought-provoking!
Review: Once again, Torey Hayden has yanked my heart from side to side! Venus, the seven year old in this story, is an amazingly brave soul. Just as Sheila was a "fighter" and "survivor" in Hayden's book, ONE CHILD, little Venus shows the same strength and courage in the face of what most of the world would consider insurmountable odds, although not necessarily in the same ways. This book stirred me in a most peculiar way. I always have a desire to "help" after I read Hayden's books, but this book dug even deeper into my heart. I guess there are some things in this world that the majority of us will just never be able to understand at all. I can tell already that I will be wondering for years, unless a sequel is written to answer my questions, what happened to Venus.
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: Good Read! !
Review: This book took a little longer than her other books did to grab my total attention--I was at the middle of the story before the main character even really entered the scene in a meaningful way. But the last half of the book more than made up for the long and suspenseful climb. Her ethos changed a lot in this book--it was interesting to see the differences in writing style since her last book. If you are expecting the same sort of writing style as her older books, be ready to see the differences in Beautiful Child. I related to many of her sticky situations, and anyone who cares about and works with children will find a lot to identify with in this story. I laughed a lot more than I did while reading her other books. Torey's sense of humor shines. Read the book, it's great stuff!
Rating:
Summary: Best Yet!
Review: This is the best of Hayden's work to date. Her writing style has changed and matured, enabling more depth to characters, that leads to an intriguing, exciting, bittersweet, and beautiful read.
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: Terrific!
Review: This was a wonderful book, and hard to put down. Torey Hayden is a wonderful storyteller. Having read other of her books that I enjoyed enormously, I'd also have to say this is the best yet. Very emotional, yet with humor that makes you laugh out loud. If you've never read any of her books, it's time to start!
Rating:
Summary: Torey continues to keep us interested!...
Review: Torey has done it again! Putting our lives on hold to read another great book! From beginning to end you laugh, you cry, you get angery and you cheer! Through it all you feel the love and caring hanging on each word Torey has written. Thanks to a wonderful writer and human being.
Rating:
Summary: Slightly different voice - same wonderful storytelling
Review: Torey Hayden again tells the story of one of her special education classrooms. Again she is able to nearly hypnotize the reader, rendering them unable to put down the book. Again she knows how to use the perfect mixture of humor and pain to create a story told from truth. The only difference between this book and her others is the fact that there has been a large time gap between the writing of them. Torey has changed is some way concerning the way she writes, which makes the whole reading experience a little more exciting and special. Read this book - you won't regret doing so.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Read
Review: Torey Hayden has come through again! This book is touching, funny, and inspiring. It is a can't put down book. When you purchase it, be ready to be awake reading it all night!!!
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