Our Score:★★★★★★★✩✩✩
GENRE: Fiction
Selected by Gemma - February 2018
SYNOPSIS:
My name is August. I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.'
Auggie wants to be an ordinary ten-year-old. He does ordinary things - eating ice cream, playing on his Xbox. He feels ordinary - inside. But ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. Ordinary kids aren't stared at wherever they go.
Born with a terrible facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents his whole life. Now, for the first time, he's being sent to a real school - and he's dreading it. All he wants is to be accepted - but can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all?
(Synopsis taken from Amazon)
STORY BEHIND THE BOOK:
I first came across this book during an inset day. We had a representative from a reading scheme who read the opening few pages to us and then we were asked to discuss. In those first few lines the author captured my attention and invited me to read more, I wanted to learn more about August. Although, the book was on my 'to read' list it wasn't until now (years later) that I plucked up the courage to read it.
QUESTIONS: Taken from https://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/17-elementary-fiction/9555-wonder-palacio?start=3
1. What do you think of the line "Don’t judge a boy by his face" which appears on the back cover of the book? Did this affect how much you wanted to read the story? How much did this line give away about the story you were about to read?
2. Auggie’s face is not fully described until quite far on in the story, in Via’s chapter "August: Through the Peephole." How close was this description to your own mental picture of Auggie? Did you have a picture of his face in your mind while reading the book? Did this description alter that picture?
3. How would you describe Auggie as a person in the first few chapters of the book? What about the final few chapters? Has he changed significantly? Are there any experiences or episodes during the story that you think had a particular effect on him? If so, how?
4. To what extent is humour used as a tool throughout Wonder to diffuse difficult or tense situations, or to convey a part of the story that would otherwise be depressing or sad? How important is humour in this novel?
5. Which of the precepts found in the book do you resonant with?
LINKS:
This is a very good website containing information on the author, the book along with additional books, the characters, a section for teachers providing downloadable resources to be used in the classroom and video links. This is definitely a website to check out and is child friendly so can be used in schools.
REVIEW: (Contains spoilers)
Gemma's Thoughts:
Initially I thought this was going to be a sad book about a child with a disability and all the adversity he would be faced with. And yes it was about all of those things but it was so much more. It was about resilience, friendship, kindness and humanity to name a few. I found this a very uplifting and positive book. Yes I was saddened by his disability and all that he had gone through in his life. I wanted to protect him from his judgemental peers and hug him when he was sad. I loved the warmth of the teachers, Summer and Jack and how the story developed with the different viewpoints from the people around August,it gave the book a real depth and dimension to it.
I will remember this book mostly from the quote Mr Tushman read out at the graduation ceremony by J.M. Barrie, "Shall we make a new rule of life...always try to be a little kinder than is necessary?" Had I read that quote in isolation I probably would have skimmed over it and given it little thought. However, in context of this book the quote really inspired me and explored how powerful kindness can be.
THE SCORES:
Gemma: 7
Karen: 8
Nic: 9
Pamela: 7
Sandra: 8
Average 7
Let us know what you thought about this book. We would love to read your reviews and hear what you would score it.
If you enjoyed this book why not try:
The Land of Decoration by Grace McCleen
The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man by Fannie Flagg
Ma, He Sold Me For a Few Cigarettes by Martha Long
Happy reading!
Comentarios