A stunning and poignant account of a teacher's extraordinary efforts to break through a young student's self-imposed silence--from the internationally bestselling author of One Child. Torey Hayden had always worked with special needs children. Sometimes the challenge was easy, helping a child with ADD to function normally in a classroom, and other times the challenge was great, trying to connect with a child who has been severely abused in one form or another for much of his/her young life. BEAUTIFUL CHILD is the story of Venus, a seven-year-old girl. She refused to speak and communicated with no one. But Torey had never given up on a child and was determined to break through to Venus. And so the school year began, with Torey utilizing every technique at her disposal to connect with Venus. It would be a strenuous journey beset by seemingly insurmountable obstacles and darkened by terrible revelations--yet encouraged by sometimes small, sometimes dazzling breakthroughs--as a dedicated teacher remained committed to helping a "hopeless' girl, and patiently and lovingly leading her towards the light of a new day.
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"Torey Hayden gives one hope for the future of public schools, indeed for the future of the human race." -- Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People