Wonder

 

Book: Wonder 

Author: R.J Palacio 

Illustrator: N/A

Genre: Fiction 

Awards: Bluebonnet

Age Group: 3-8 

Summary: 

August "Auggie" Pullman was not an ordinary 10 year old kid. While he played video games, loved Star Wars, and acted like your typical kid, he was born with a facial deformity. The constant stares and the frightened/judgmental looks of anyone who saw him was one of the reasons why he was homeschooled. However, once reaching middle school, his parents thought it best to finally send him to a real school. While reluctant, he takes a tour where he meets Beecher Prep's principal Mr. Tushman and 3 kids who were asked to show him around: Charlotte, Jack Will, and Julian. The first couple of months was hard for Auggie. He got constant looks, Julian was being a bully and no one wanted to touch him, let alone be near him because of a game kids made where if you touched him, you would get the "plague". Despite this, Auggie manages to make friends with Jack and Summer, this nice girl who sat with him during lunch the first day. Right when things seemed to start to get a little better for Auggie, he overhears Jack say negative things about Auggie to Julian and they become ex-friends. The story then switches to the points of view of Auggie's sister, her boyfriend, her ex- friend Miranda, Jack, and Summer as we hear the things that they are going through and their thoughts/relationship with Auggie. Over time, Jack and Auggie eventually make-up but have to deal with a war that was started by Julian and his gang. They end up going to a nature retreat where Jack and Auggie end up encountering a bunch of 7th graders who try to hurt Auggie. However, Henry, Miles, and Amos (kids who used to be mean to Auggie) end up rescuing them both- this encounter making Auggie popular and causing everyone to see him differently. By the time of 5th grade graduation, everyone has warmed up to Auggie and become his friend. The book ends with Auggie winning a special award and him seeing how far he has come from the the shy, outcast to the boy with loving friends, family, and the receiving end of a standing ovation. 

Evaluation and Comments:

I had heard they made a movie over this book but other than that, I went in not knowing what this book was about. After reading this book, I came to see how how beautiful this story is of a young boy who struggled with so much the moment of his birth. He had to deal with so many constant stares, knowing that people saw him as a monster even though in the inside, he was just a normal boy. He already had to deal with this and then he had to enter middle school, a place that Jack even said "August doesn't stand a chance in". As August goes through all this hardship and these constant ups and down, we see the true message of this book: Choose Kindness. 

This book would be great for younger students and especially middle schoolers because it shows the importance of being kind to others, how small acts of kindness that may seem simple to you, can make that difference for someone else. And even with that, as said best by Charlotte, " It's not enough to be friendly. You have to be a friend." 

The book has a teacher who teaches the class precepts and then has his students create their own precepts over the summer. For a class activity, you can also have students go out and make their own precept and then share it with the class. Also, as mentioned above, Wonder has been made into a movie. You can have students watch the movie after they finish the book and then have them find the similarities and differences between the book and the movie. 

In conclusion, Wonder has my seal of approval! 🥇😄