![]() We have endless opportunities to choose kind, to have open hearts and minds, to treat others with dignity and compassion -and on the flip side, endless opportunities to do the opposite. Every day, in every encounter, we make choices. That’s who we really are.” It’s the element of choice - choosing kindness -that resonated with me while reading Wonder. What matters is the part we choose to act on. W onder serves as a gentle reminder that we all have the capacity to be kind-and to the capacity to be insensitive.Īs Sirius Black once said (yes! I do somehow manage to bring everything back to Harry Potter, thank you for asking): “We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. The varying perspectives foster empathy and enrich the story, both by deepening the reader’s understanding of Auggie’s character and what he’s facing, and reminding readers that we all have our own journeys and struggles -even if they’re not apparent. Readers also get a sense of what the people around Auggie are going through, as the narration shifts between several characters -including Auggie’s sister and friends -as the story unfolds. Wonder presents distinct, believable voices. In addition to the usual ups and downs of 5 th grade, Auggie also has to deal with the fact that he was born with a craniofacial anomaly and, as Palacio put it in a 2013 NPR interview, “having to face a world every day that doesn’t know how to face back.” Bullying, academic worries, self-concept, family and how we deal with differences are all explored from 10-year-old Auggie’s vantage point. Wonder makes no bones about the fact that middle school is not for the faint of heart.Ĭurious though I am about time travel, if you plunked me in front of a wormhole that would transport me back to early adolescence, I’m not sure I’d go through it. It’s nearly time for Auggie Pullman to grace the silver screen, and in the spirit of “the movie’s coming out so hurry up and read the book,” here are a few of my favorite things about Wonderthat I hope will compel you to pick up a copy, and perhaps read it with your students: 1. ![]()
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March 2023
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