My book is One Child by Torey L.Hayden (DARIA)

 My book is One Child by Torey L.Hayden. It was originally published in 1980.  

This book is about Torey Hayden's experience as a teacher for special needs children. We discover how she takes care of children. And how she always stays patient, even with the most severely disabled children that sometimes tend to be aggressive or not cooperating. The plot is mostly turned towards one pupil in particular: Sheila. This new six years old student started attending Torey’s classes after she committed an act of violence against another student in her school. We then find out about Sheila’s family issues. Torey notices that Sheila also has advanced capacities. 

Tiger’s Child is then published in 1995,  by Torey Hayden explaining Sheila’s life.  

I really liked the plot of the story, however I did not get with the book. It seemed like I read a lot, and the plot did not advance. I also had issues finishing the book because of personal reasons. I truly believe that this book is interesting, but you have to be patient for the story to blossom. 

This book I filled with many events that will either make you cry or give you hope. This book treats many atrocious subjects like child abuse, rape and alcoholism. And sadly this book is a real story.
I only recommend this book if you are not a sensitive person. 

 

I enjoyed reading this book for three main reasons.

 Although I though that the plot was boring at first for its long introduction to the story. I was wrong. Even if the beginning of the book was long to read, certain parts intrigued me. There are so many events in the story that you can not expect, sometimes they might be shocking, and sad. So beware! If you are really sensitive because you might cry while reading this book. 

A second item I really liked in the book were the characters. You will get easily attached to them, especially when you start finding out more things about Sheila and her background. And on the other side, you meet a kind teacher fighting to push her students to do their best.

A final detail that I appreciated was the way it was written. It the vocabulary Torey Hayden uses is really simple, but I still managed to learn new words. I enjoyed reading this book and expended my vocabulary. 

  

In my opinion, the greatest aspect of this book is Torey’s work and Sheila’s character development. Both are really interesting especially to me. Indeed, I was always curious about jobs that included helping others. I understand Torey’s purpose in her job which was really stimulating for me. I recommend it if you want to discover about kids in need.