Title: We're All Wonders
Author & Illustrator: R. J. Palacio
APA Bibliographic Information: Palacio, R. (2017). We're all wonders. London: Puffin.Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Lexile: AD370L
Summary:
This book is about a young boy named Auggie. His mom thinks of him as a wonder because he is a very special boy. He enjoys the same activities like any of the other kids in his class. The only difference is that Auggie does not look like anyone else at school and because of this he gets bullied by those around him. His classmates stare, point and laugh at him constantly. When this occurs, Auggie puts on his special helmet. This helmet helps transport his mind up into space where he doesn't get made fun of. He believes that if those around him could see who he truly was, they too would think of him as a wonder and would realize that they too are a wonder.
Who Would Enjoy this book? (Targeted Audience) :
This book would be perfect for children that are anywhere from five to eight years old. It's a good book to introduce young children to what bullying is and how it makes others feel. This book, in particular, focuses on how people sometimes get bullied due to the way they look. It would be a great way to talk about why others might look different due to medical conditions and how being treating them like everyone else is important. This is a book targeted for a younger audience but if you have older children or a class with a higher Lexile, you could read the novel called Wonder. It goes more into detail about Auggie and his story.
Evaluation Of Text:
In my opinion, I would rate this a four star out of five for the following reasons. The textbook "Through the Eyes of a Child" by Norton, mentions the importance that illustrations have on a child. Palacio did an amazing job with the illustration in this book. They are full of color, shapes and will definitely give the students the opportunity to evaluate and ask questions. The main character is also someone that the student might be able to identify with and that is crucial when reading any book. I liked that the text is clear and easy to read but it also has a couple challenging words so the students are able to learn new vocabulary. I would have liked if we had received more information on Auggie and his condition because it could have answered questions that students might come up with. I also gave it three stars because I would have liked if there had been some dialogue between the characters.
Reader Response Activity:
If your students/children are about 8 years old, you could print a worksheet that has an astronaut helmet on it. Make sure that there are some lines beneath it so that they can write. You could then take a picture of the student and place it inside the helmet so that this way it looks like they are the astronaut. On the lines, you could have them write a couple of things that they think make them different from everyone else, things that make them a wonder just like Auggie. You could even have them share if they want and this way they can see how different yet similar everyone is to each other.
