Week 2: Review of Diversity Themed Young Adult Book "Wonder"

Title: Wonder

Author: R.J. Palacio  

Summary

    There are not enough positive words that I can say about this book. This book is one that I believe every person young or old should read at one point or another. The author R.J. Palacioi does an amazing job at promoting diversity, inclusivity, and empathy. By the end you truly see the wonders of not only the main character, but also the wonderful traits he brings out in the people around him as they get to know him.   The book "Wonder" pulls you in and keeps you engaged in the life of August Pullman from the very beginning. 

    August Pullman is the main character of this book. However, during the story you will notice that August is frequently referred to as his nick name Auggie instead. Auggie is a young ten year old boy, with a loving family and dog named Daisy.  Auggie enjoys Star Wars and all things space related. From what I've said so far, Auggie sounds like an ordinary normal little boy. However, Auggie was born with rare and severe facial anomalies that has impacted his and his families lives. Auggie has had numerous facial reconstructive surgeries throughout the course of his life. However, while the surgeries were beneficial they still left him with deformaties that have made it hard for him to live a normal life in the public view.     Auggie has never been to a public school before. Up until this point, Auggie's mother has homeschooled him. Auggie's mother is very well educated and has done a great job at homeschooling Auggie, but feels he is ready and would benefit from going to a regular school. Auggie and his father disagree that he should go to public school, but eventually they are convinced that it is the best thing for him. Auggie will be entering this new school as a fifth grader along with many other students. Before entering the school Auggie's parents arrange a tour for Auggie with the Principal of the school whose name is Mr. Tushman. Auggie and his Dad get a good laugh and make a few puns about the Principal's last name. At the tour, Mr. Tushman arranges for three fellow fifth graders to come and meet Auggie and assist with the tour. The students that come to give the tour is a young girl name Charlotte that makes a few but not many other appearances throughout the rest of the story, a boy named Julian who ends up being in the story many times. The boy Julian play an atagonistic character throughout the story as the popular school bully. Finally the third student that the Principal chose to assist with Auggie's school tour is a young boy name Jack Will. Jack becomes one of the main characters throughout the book as Auggie's best friend.

    The tour of the school goes somewhat well, even though Julian shows his true colors to Auggie by making rude comments about his face when the adults weren't around.From there the story goes on about Auggie's experience with entering public school. There are many ups and downs throughout the school year. Augie experiences some bullying behavior from Julian and other kids. However, by the end of the school year Auggie has won over the student population with him wonderful and loving character traits. Auggie makes a great friend in a young girl named Summer who becomes a character frequently saw throughout the book. 

    The book is not all through Auggie's perspective. There are times when the book explains the school year through his friends eyes and also his sister Via's. Via struggles with going to high school and having Auggie at times be the focal point of the family. The way that the story is set up truly allows for the reader to empathize and see the perspective of multiple characters. At the end of the story, there is an awards assembly. Auggie wins the Henry Ward Beecher metal. Which is a an award meant to honor those students who have shown exemplary behavior throughout the year. A segment of Mr. Tushman's speech is pictured below. This speech was given over Auggie and how he has shown growth and success throughout the year. After the awards ceremony Auggie and some of his classmates had a graduation party at his house. The story ends with his mother trailing behind reflecting on how much has changed throughout the year, and saying what a true "Wonder" Auggie is. 

Classroom Activities

    The book "Wonder" would be a great read fourth grade students later on in the year, or fifth grade students starting out. However, this book could be implemented and beneficial anytime during the school term.  The reading level for this book is a 4.8. This book could be done as a read allowed for the students to listen to as a whole group or assigned be assigned as an individual reading assignment if there were enough copies available. The book provides many opportunities for meaningful discussions and journaling prompts that could be implemented in the classroom. If I were to teach over this book, I would have the students complete a writing assignment at the beginning of the book on how they would react to diversity if someone that was different than them whether it be a facial anomoly, disability, or even cultural difference entered their school. I think this type of assignment would promote kindness and empathy among the students. Another writing activity that I believe would be beneficial would be to have the students reflect on a time when they may have felt bullied or left out, and how they have learned from that experience. The book "Wonder" was made into a movie I believe in the year 2017. It has some main name actors such as Owen Wilson, and Julia Roberts. After reading this book I sat down with my family and we watched it together. It was a great family film that could be shown in class as a conclusive activity to reading the book.