LOVEY: A Very Special Child

by Mary MacCracken ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 14, 1976

Call me lovey. . . Nobody say that before."" Lovey's real name is Hannah and when first seen at eight by Mary MacCracken (who wrote about these disturbed children before in A Circle of Children, 1973) she was ""fat, dumpy, and dirty."" The victim of a tragic family and medical history, she was also a screamer and head-banger--just about incommunicado. Mrs. MacCracken taught four children during this year; three were well on the way to adjustment, and before long Lovey disproved the cold diagnostic print ""Organic brain disease versus schizophrenia"" and learned to eat, speak, be part of their small circle, and even undergo a dental ordeal. At the end (while the author had her own problems--her ouster after six years' teaching because of a lack of paper certification) Lovey rewards her by the gift of her ""tooths"" in a bottle. There have been many other stories of human reclamation, whether by committed parents or teachers like Mrs. MacCracken. Lovey proves unreservedly how one can extend hopes, possibilities, and the margins of a life that might never have been lived at all.

Pub Date: Sept. 14, 1976

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Lippincott

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1976

Categories: NONFICTION