Book Blog #7: Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Wonder 

Written and Illustrated by R.J. Palacio

Knopf Books for Young Readers, Copyright 2012

Realistic Fiction

Plot Summary:

 After 27 surgeries, August "Auggie" Pullman finally gets to go to school for the first time. Previously, his physical disability prevented him from attending. Fifth grade, however, is a jungle! Auggie is worried he won't fit in, and he is worried about what people will think of his disability. Auggie has so much that he wants to teach his friends, family, and the world about acceptance, love, and friendship. Read this book to go on a journey with Auggie as he makes a difference, and as he truly inspires everyone he meets to love without judgement.

Illustrations: Though this book is a chapter book, and therefore has little illustrations, the ones that are included are whimsical varieties of many "ordinary" objects and people, but drawn in a different way. For example, on the cover, there is a drawing of a boy with only one eye. This could point to the fact that the book centers around a boy who has a facial deformity/disability, or it could also point to the message the book is trying to send: that many people see the world and the people in it with "one eye," or looking without really seeing. The illustrations convey the theme of the story in that just because something looks different, doesn't mean we should judge. Author and illustrator R.J. Palacio literally asks us through her illustrations not to "judge a book by its cover!"

I would use this book in a 3rd through 6th grade social studies lesson! This book is a wonderful example of how we can be kind to everybody, even if they look different. Through reading this book, I could teach my students the true value of friendship and kindness. There are many students who have disabilities in any school you go to, so it would help these students also in relating to Auggie, and expressing their feelings about having a disability. I believe this book would start many good conversations between me and my students, and also between my students themselves and their friends.