Title: Wonder
Author: R.J. Palacio
Target Age Range: 9-12
Genre: Realistic Fiction
"My name is August. I won't describe what I look like. Whatever your thinking, it's probably worse." -August
August, also called Auggie, is not your average 10 year old. He eats ice cream, plays video games, and is a huge Star Wars fan, however he was born with a facial abnormality. Home-school for his educational career, he will now get to go to a regular school. His life has never been normal and he dreads going to school. He wonders if he will make any friends and if the people who see him will get to know him past his appearance.
About the author:
Raquel Jaramillio, or R.J. Palacio, is an art director and book jacket designer in both fiction and nonfiction. She has designed for over 20 years. Wonder was her first novel.
What inspired R.J. Palacio to write Wonder?
"About five years ago I took my son's for ice cream, and while my older son went inside to buy us our milk shakes, my younger son and I waited on the bench outside. My younger son was only about 3 years old at the time, and he was in his stroller facing me while I sat on the bench. At a certain point I realized that sitting right next to me was a little girl with a severe craniofacial difference, her friend (or sister), and her mother. When my younger son looked up and saw her, he reacted exactly the way you might think a three-year old would react when seeing something that scared him: he started to cry—pretty loudly, too. I hurriedly tried to push him away in the stroller, not for his sake but to avoid hurting the girl's feelings, and in my haste I caused my older son to spill the shakes, and, well, it was quite a scene—the opposite of what I had hoped for. But as I pushed my younger son’s stroller away I heard the little girls’ mom say, in as sweet and calm a voice as you can imagine: “Okay, guys, I think it’s time to go.” And that just got to me.
For the rest of the day, I couldn’t stop thinking about how that scene had played out. It occurred to me that they probably went through something like that dozens of times a day. Hundreds of times. What would that be like? What could I be teaching my children so they could understand how to respond better next time? Is “don’t stare” even the right thing to teach, or is there something deeper? All this stuff was flying through my head, and I realized that I was disappointed in myself because I had missed a good teaching moment for my kids. What I should have done, instead of trying to get my kids away and avoid the situation, was engage the girl and her mother in conversation. If my son cried, so be it: kids cry. But I should have set a better example for him, and shown him there was nothing to fear. Instead I panicked. I simply didn't have the wherewithall to know what to do in that situation."
Discussion Questions:
- What is the definition of normal?
- How does the character August view himself?
- Why does the book have the quote, "Don't judge a boy by his face" on the back cover?
- How do people react to seeing Auggie for the first time?
- What mental picture do you have of Auggie's face based on the description in the book?
- How does Auggie change over the course of the book?
- What is the main theme of this book?
- After reading Wonder, how do you feel about seeing people that are different?
Motivational Activity
- Students make an I Wonder... statement before reading the book as a predictive writing assignment.
- Read aloud as a Literature Unit with daily classroom discussion on structural elements and themes, especially character development and conflict.
- Students can keep a reflective daily journal on the emotions felt throughout the book.
- At the end of the novel unit, students can think back to a time they saw someone different than they were and write a narrative on their experience and how they would've acted differently since they read the novel.
- Students complete a "kindness matters" service project where they can have the opportunity to read to students with disabilities.
Other books by R.J. Palacio:
365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne's Book of Precepts
The Julian Chapter: A Wonder Story
Other books about disabilities:
Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper
Special People Special Ways by Arlene Maguire and Sheila Bailey
A Friend Like Simon by Kate Gaynot
Rules by Cynthia Lord
Palacia, R.J. (2013). Wonder. London, England: Corgis Childrens,Randomhouse
Joseph, I really enjoyed reading your blog, but I especially liked your summation of, Wonder, by R.J. Palacio. Children are naturally curious and will ask questions when they see people with disabilities. I believe that the best thing you can do is simply answer them. Explaining disabilities is probably the best way to help children overcome their fears of people with disabilities. My activity on teaching not to judge people with disabilities:
ReplyDeleteActivity of Awareness and Respect (Saint Leo’s Core Value):
Show students a movie about disabilities in a positive light, not a sad movie. Have a discussion about the movie. Ask them how the disability encouraged the person to press on or persevere. Explain to them that a wheelchair are the legs of people with disabilities, or that eye glasses are the person’s eyes. It will also be beneficial to point out some commonalities; letting them know that a disabled person may look differently but they are just like everyone else. You can also make them aware that none of us look the same but we should treat one another with respect.
Columbia Titanium Pants | Titsanium Art
ReplyDeleteCOLUMBIA stilletto titanium hammer TITSUM, titanium undertaker T-shirt, titanium bike frame denim pants, cotton pants, cotton pants, cotton pants, cotton pants, cotton pants, cotton pants, cotton pants, cotton pants, titanium water bottle cotton titanium bolts pants, cotton pants, cotton pants,