Wonder

Wonder

Title: Wonder

Author: R.J. Palacio

Genre: Bluebonnet

Awards: New York Times Best Seller and Texas Bluebonnet award master list

Age group: 3rd-12th grade

I just finished reading Wonder by R.J Palacio. I saw the movie before reading the book, so I did know some aspects of the plot, but I believe this book goes into much greater detail and has way more emotional depth. I believe this book could be great for more upper-level elementary classes and a great story even for adults. It is easy to read and a real heart-jerker and by the end you feel like you have a real connection with the characters. This book really makes you think about what we might take for granted in our everyday life.

This book tells the story of a fifth grader named August Pullman who has a medical condition that has caused a disfiguration with his face. The story is told from many perspectives, including himself, his sister Via, his new friends and others. By seeing through multiple characters’ point of view, it helps to show the full picture of the story and fits each piece into the puzzle of the plot. Through different perspectives, the plot reveals August facing his first time in a real school and how he slowly finds himself while growing up and facing new challenges. Through the hardships he faces in middle school for being different, although August knows he will never be “normal,” he learns to accept who he is. Throughout the book, others learn to accept him for who he is and not for how he looks. Despite the many ups and downs August faces, with the support of his family and some good friends (like Summer and Jack) in the end he learns that school isn’t so bad and becomes excited for the next year. He even wins the special Henry Ward Beecher metal at his school and gets a standing ovation from his classmates, parents, and teachers. This moment is a great and heartwarming ending to a great book.

I believe I could use this book in the classroom because it talks about many great lessons and it deals with issues in many areas that are important for kids to learn, such as kindness to all, acceptance, and friendship. Wonder also gives examples of difficult school situations and how to learn from them, which can be beneficial to their own lives. Although I have noticed that this book might seem a little outdated to current students because of the older references mentioned, it still has valuable lessons that are timeless.

There are many intense subjects presented in this book, such as bullying, death, bravery, and acceptance. Even with these subjects presented, I would recommend this book for a 3^rd to 6^th grade level. It is easy to read because it is laid out as multiple short stories that are only two to three pages long within each section. With these age groups in mind, the story will be more meaningful to them later on as they face some of the same challenges themselves.

I would use this book as part of my curriculum as a read out loud that would happen over the course of a week. After completing the book, I would have a discussion about what was something important they learned from the story. Then they would do an assignment like the one given from the English teacher in the book. They will be assigned to write a precept that they thought was important to them.

HAVE FUN READING!💙-Lacy