Beautiful Child – Torey Hayden, English book

Beautiful Child

Torey Hayden

Introduction

The author of this book is Torey Hayden, a special education teacher from the USA who works with children with special needs and learning or behavior difficulties. The stories she writes about are mostly based on her real experiences.

Summary of the Book

Torey gets a small "special" class. There are a few children: nine-year-old Billy, a lively and empathetic boy, but he often shows aggression and rudeness. Surprisingly, tests show that he has a high intellectual potential. There are also Shane and Zane, six-year-old twins with fetal alcohol syndrome. Jesse is an eight-year-old boy with Tourette syndrome.

However, Torey pays the most attention to Venus, a seven-year-old girl who does not speak at all. At first, Torey thinks Venus is deaf because she barely reacts to anything. Soon, another problem appears. Sometimes, Venus has uncontrollable anger outbursts, hitting everyone around her and screaming. Torey tries to build a relationship with Venus. After a few months of reading books together and doing other activities, Torey notices emotional progress in their relationship. Venus even speaks a few words. A book character, Princess She-Ra, with her magic sword, also helps them with their interaction. Spending time together becomes a regular activity for them, and Venus starts to open her inner world a bit.

Torey also learns about Venus's terrible family situation. She lives in a small, dirty house with eight other siblings, and the family has been watched by authorities because of suspected abuse. Soon, Torey receives a call from the hospital: Venus has been admitted unconscious and very cold. The police find out that she was forced to sleep on the bathroom floor and doctors find more than twenty healed broken bones. After leaving the hospital, Venus is placed in a foster family, but Torey notices that something is different. Venus seems sad and cries a lot, which was not usual before. Finally, she tells Torey that she misses her old family. Fortunately, some time after this conversation, Torey sees her smiling and laughing again with her new girl classmate.

At the end of June, they review the past school year together. The year was hard, sometimes really crazy, but also very rewarding for all of them. They have become a team and some of them have become very close. From the epilogue, we see that most of the children were later able to join regular classes, some went to university and now they live normal lives.

Themes and Main Ideas

The story shows the importance of trust and relationships. Children with difficult experiences need patience, care, and understanding. Torey teaches that every child is unique and can improve with the right support. Even after hard times, children can grow, heal, and live a normal life. The story also shows the power of hope and the importance of helping children feel safe, seen, and loved.

My Opinion and Recommendation

This book is very important to me. I have read it several times, as well as other books from Torey Hayden, and it is always an emotional reading. I'm interested in these topics because I feel close to children and I would like to work with them in the future. Torey herself is very inspiring to me. I really appreciate many of her techniques, for example, singing and dancing with the children, having group discussions, or the individual approach – but also setting clear boundaries.