Somebody Else's Kids

Somebody Else's Kids

4.23 of 5 stars 4.23  ·  rating details  ·  2,411 ratings  ·  87 reviews
"Were all just somebody else's kids . . . "

A small seven-year-old boy who couldn't speak except to repeat weather forecasts and other people's words . . . A beautiful little girl of seven who had been brain damaged by terrible parental beatings and was so ashamed because she couldn't learn to read . . . A violently angry ten-year-old who had seen his stepmother murder his...more
Paperback, 352 pages
Published August 1st 1982 by Avon (first published 1981)
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(showing 1-30 of 3,000)
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Rani
Seseorang dengan status pendidik bukanlah sesuatu yang gampang dijalani, Torey sendiri bukanlah seorang pendidik yang biasa tetapi pendidik yang luar biasa, karena yang dihadapi Torey adalah luar biasa.

Boo, Tom, Lori, Claudia adalah hal yang luar biasa.

Bagaimana mereka menjalani apa yang menjadi dunia mereka sendiri sampai akhirnya bagaimana mereka memadukan dunia mereka di kelasnya Torey, begitu banyak kekesalan, kesakitan yang berujung dengan keceriaan.

Saya sangat suka hal 483-484 saat nyanyi...more
Afina Fz
Ingin tahu mengapa saya memberi 5 bintang untuk buku ini?
Karena sama seperti buku-buku Hayden lainnya, buku ini mengajarkan kasih sayang.
Hayden kini mengajar di sebuah kelas dengan empat murid bermasalah, salah satunya hamil karena pergaulan yang salah. Bayangkan seperti apa jadinya Hayden.
Seorang anak yang tidak dapat berbicara, bahkan barang meniru perkataan orang lain, seorang anak yang stress dengan kekerasan domestik rumah tangga, seorang anak disleksia karena tekanan psikis, dan seorang a...more
Michaela Coneley
This was the first of Torey Hayden's books that I read - I stumbled across it in a charity shop.

It is a diffcult topic, particularly as it is based on real children, yet I found it to be inspiring. The world needs many more people like Torey Hayden and I am glad that these children were fortunate enough, after all that they had experienced, to somehow be brought together with Torey - without her their lives may have been very different.

I found myself getting totally immersed in it, didn't want...more
Shannon
I read "One Child" by Hayden and immediately had to have more. I soon owned the rest of the series and blew through them as well. Hayden is a special-ed teacher who works with the troubled kids and completely turns their world around giving them hope and something to live for.
Tiffany
Aug 23, 2009 Tiffany rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: child psychologists, teachers, child welfare workers, etc.
After reading ONE CHILD and GHOST GIRL, I went back to the bookstore to pick up all the rest of Torey L. Hayden's books. Her style of writing is so easy and engaging. The characters in her stories are powerful and you are drawn to them all. None of the characters have one side to them, Hayden lets us see that everyone has good and bad. She is a truly gifted teacher and writer, and I am sure her works have sent many a young person in the direction of helping troubled youths and children. I know t...more
Dana
I read this book as a teenager and I can still remember how my stomach would clench at certain descriptions in the book. I was pretty naive to the world of child abuse, safe in my own world with parents that loved me.

Thinking back on it now, as a CPS worker, I'm really disturbed that she wrote these true stories that have been slightly altered. These are real people in her books, did she get their permission to discuss them so intimately? It makes me slightly sick that she has made a great deal...more
Maggie
The subject matter of Torey Hayden books and the way she writes makes me turn pages. In fact, it makes me read her books nonstop to the exclusion of anything else I'm reading. In this case, I think she missed some opportunities to help these children. She admits herself that her inability to argue with others is a great failing. In this case I think it made some differences. That said, she cares a great deal about the special needs children she teaches and tries every way possible to help them r...more
Rainbowgardener
I love Torey Hayden and her books. They are basically memoirs of her life as a special ed teacher with severely emotionally/ behaviorally handicapped kids. They are warm and wonderful tributes to the power of loving acceptance to heal even such damaged children. This one isn't quite as powerful as One Child, which makes me cry every time I read it. In this one her difficulties with authority figures, inability to stand up and defend herself and the kids she cares for are more clear and flaw the...more
Alicia
Cover: The cover was rather plain. There was a small picture of 4 real live children portraying the children of the story. I was impressed by how the children in the picture resembled the descriptions in the book.

Characters: The main character was the author, Torey Hayden. I find her extremely inspirational. She comes across as a devoted teacher and someone who genuinely cares about her students. The four children she worked with were Boo, Lori, Tomaso, and Claudia. Boo is a low-functioning auti...more
Julie
As usual, Torey Hayden has charming moments in her memoir of teaching troubled and learning disabled children. Somebody Else's Kids is a interesting look at the time when the pendulum swung from "All disabled kids are segregated, whether appropriate or not" to "All children are mainstreamed, whether appropriate or not."

That being said, this is the second of Torey's books that I read in quick succession, and I didn't find it as effective as some of her other works.

Noninuna
I read this one two years ago, borrowed from a friend.
Curiosity lead the way of how i was attracted by the cover into reading the whole book.
The story is simple; a special education teacher facing a group of troubled children.
I like the way the author wrote the book. It successfully triggered the mother instinct in me. It was so real that it make me cry & laugh along with the writing.
Really recommend to those who love kids, especially special kids.
Kirei
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Yvonne
May 24, 2009 Yvonne added it
This book was instrumental in securing my drive and determination to help children in some way, when I grew up. It was a remarkable look at teaching children with special needs, mostly behavioral and emotional needs. Her patience, her approach, her attitude, all of it made a huge impact on me, and I've carried many of her principles into the classroom today.
Leeann
Jan 22, 2009 Leeann rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: educators, parents, people interested in children with special needs and/or emotional disturbances
This was the first book I read of Torey Hayden's. She is a gifted author who sees challenging children in ways that find the best in each of them. She is a gritty teacher, a non-conformist who teaches straight from the heart.

I have read every one of her published books and own most of them. I only wish she would write more frequently.
Bekah
I think I first read this book when I was about 10. I do know that Torey Hayden's books started me on my journey to become a special education teacher. Her descriptions of her students are compelling, sensitive and funny. I don't know if she would withstand the test of time--since many of her experiences were early in the history of publicly funded special education.
Boilermkr88
I read this book when I was in college, way back in the 80's. At the time I was studying to become a teacher and I wanted to soak up all the books about teaching that I could find. This is an excellent book for anyone who loves children and thinks the world is a better place with them in it!!!!
Karen
I love Torey Hayden's books! This one was the first one I read and it got me into all of her other books. This one is especially good for me, since I got to meet a lot of her different kids and see Torey's different interactions, this one is still one of my favorites.
Erin O.
I have enjoyed all the books I have read by Torey Hayden. The only drawback is that these are not strictly non-fiction-- Hayden writes that she rearranges events and changes small details to improve the flow of the book. Still defintely worth reading.
Jenn
had truly forgotten just how much I enjoyed reading about the disabled/neglected kids and the good news stories that are wrought from their horrible backgrounds. My first Torey Hayden book, she is truly a godsend and a great writer.

Vanita
Though not as great as her books about Sheila, this account of Torey Hayden's teaching is capturing again. It's a bit less believable at some points, the parts about her private life are thinner, and there is no huge mystery to solve this time. However, it is about the devoted teaching of very special kids, told with love for every single one of them - and thus inspiring and hard to put away.
Terri
I love this author and I just found this book of hers that I had read a long time ago...makes me want to go back and read her other books again, too. Most of them deal with her work in special education classrooms.
Jacquie South
Another heart wrenching and amazing book by Torey Hayden. She has an amazing ability to see beauty in children the rest of society has rejected - you really do feel humbled reading her books. Again, excellent.
Nadira
always loves Hayden's books. Semua tentang cerita pribadinya terhadap anak-anak berkebutuhan khusus. Buat mahasiswa/alumni psikologi/psikolog, bisa menjadi perspektif baru dalam melihat anak-anak luar biasa ini.
Courtney
Very good book as always!! I love Torey Hayden and what she does for kids who seem to have no hope for themselves. Her books are always very touching. I'm reading them in order from the publishing dates and I'm almost done :) Torey should be very proud of what she accomplished as a teacher!!!
Siri
all hayden books get 4 stars from me bc they changed my life when i was in high school and made me want to be a psychologist to help kids like she did. She is not meant to be a young adult writer.. I think her books are meant for adults, so don't think it's a kiddy book just cuz I read 'em in high school! I don't remember much about the writing (they are all written in first person) but the TRUE stories about the children who she has worked with are heartbreaking and inspiring. Haven't read one...more
Jeannie
I read this as a pre-teen. It inspired me to want to help less-fortunate children. It is very sad. I can't remember the details, but I remember feeling sorry for these children.
Michelle Szetela
An interesting read in terms of the struggles that Hayden encountered, both in the classroom and outside, specifically in terms of her students and how she worked with them.
Sage
One of my all-time favorites. I've read it numerous times since discovering it in college. One of the books that helped move me into studying sociology.
Lucia
I cried a couple of times.
Torey Hayden is an example of the type of person the world needs more of- her completely selfless love for others is incredibly inspiring.
Martha
Mar 28, 2009 Martha rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: teachers
I don't know how she did it, she is a miracle teacher. It is an inspiration to read about people like her. I highly suggest reading all her stories.
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Victoria Lynn Hayden, known as Torey L. Hayden (born May 21, 1951 in Livingston, Montana) is a child psychologist, special education teacher, university lecturer and writer of non-fiction books based on her real-life experiences with teaching and counselling children with special needs.
Subjects covered in her books include autism, Tourette syndrome, sexual abuse, fetal alcohol syndrome, and electi...more
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“She had a keen sense of revenge, that knew no limits. When crossed she retaliated with devastating force. Her intelligence made it all the more frightening, because she could quickly perceive what was most valuable to a person and that is what she abused.” 1 person liked it
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