Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Title: Wonder
Author/Illustrator: R.J. Palacio
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Major Awards: Texas Bluebonnet nominee - 2013-2014; Texas Lone Star reading list - 2013; New York Times Best Seller; Maine Student Book Award; Vermont's Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award; Mark Twain Award, there are just so many to name, because this book is that great.  
Age: 8+

This book is about a ten year-old boy named August, whose nickname is Auggie, Pullman who was born with a rare genetic disorder to where he has facial deformities. He started out being home-schooled and his parents decide that it was time for him to go to a regular and it was fifth grade, and they thought this would be the perfect time to transition him from home-school to regular to school. Anytime he went somewhere people would always stare at him because of he looked. No matter how people treated him, he was always nice and respectful, even though he was hurt most times he overcame that. His parents wanted to experience the real-world sooner than later so that's why they thought 5th grade was the perfect time, right before middle school, since kids are more harsh and during middle school they are all going through some sort of change.  One student would always bully Auggie and call him names and say things behind his back. Everybody judged Aggie without knowing him and he was a fun person and a great kid. As the saying goes "Don't judge a book by its cover." these students did that with Auggie based on how he looked and didn't get to know him. As the school year progressed Auggie's bullying troubles worsened and they got more and more serious. Hos on friend Jack even turned on him and left him hanging when they were supposed to go trick-or-treating together. Parents were voicing their complaints about being in class with him and that made him and his family upset because they thought he should be treated like everyone else and he wasn't. One night his sister had a role in the play and the lead actress was unable to perform so she had to do it. She didn't want her family to come because she knew that the attention would b on Auggie, but they ended up going and she did great. Towards the end of school there is a nature retreat that he thought about going to, and decided to go. Now at this time Auggie had been mad at Jack for ditching him and being a terrible friend, but they went to the woods and some older kids came and picked on August and pushed him. Jack had followed them because he thought they were up to something and it was a good thins he did because it was three kids picking on him. Auggie and Jack ended up beating up the other kids in a sense, with their words, and showed that they can be friends.

This book is so touching in that we see how someone can be bullied and still rise above. It also shows how it can only take one person to act kind and be a friend to leave a lasting impression on everyone else.

This is book perfect because it deals with self-acceptance and seeing different points of view about how people viewed Auggie and how he viewed himself. This book would great for 4th-7th graders, but really this book is perfect for anyone since there are so many lessons in one great book and since students go through changes around middle, this book is about self-acceptance, and deals with how you can have compassion and be nice to someone who is different than them. I think for Auggie it was about him having his friends and making his life better and getting him through elementary school and having strong friendships, going into the next grade. I think if students did a worksheet about how they could be nice to someone who is different from them would help there literacy skills.
- Peace. Love. Giraffes.

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