Perspective

Torey Hayden writes with a wealth of compassion and true enjoyment. The reader immediately senses how much Torey enjoys her work, despite the intensity of working with such a range of disabled children. Although Torey states that she did not write the book for personal glory, the reader feels awe at Torey's strength and perseverance. Torey embodies the qualities of a good educator even if she does not follow standard teaching methods and incurs the disapproval of her colleagues.

Torey says that she chose to write the book in order to catalog the bond between a teacher and one particular student. Her emphasis is more on Sheila and the strength and courage that the six-year-old possesses. However, the reader will also see that Sheila may have never learned to trust herself if it had not been for the strength and courage of one particular teacher. Torey Hayden may...