Ashton, Nicola, and R. J. Palacio. Wonder. Oxford University Press, 2013.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Lexile: 790L
More info: https://wonderthebook.com/books/wonder
Summary: Auggie was born with facial deformities that make him look a little different from most of the kids at his new school. This story highlights the ups and downs that Auggie, his classmates and his family face at the start of his 5th grade year. This is a story about empathy, compassion, acceptance, believing in yourself and embracing difference.
Target Audience: The target audience of Wonder is middle school students. This is a great book with a great message that middle schoolers can relate to and enjoy. It is a chapter book so 5th graders could possibly read it as well.
Evaluation: This book meets the criteria and standards that are listed in our text book for high quality literature. The writing and story line of this book are great and it would be a great book for middle schoolers to read. The theme is about acceptance and empathy which I think most middle schoolers probably need to work on. I think anyone could read this book and learn a lot about themselves and how to treat others with love and respect. This book shows the knowledge of standing up to bully's, embracing other's differences and not judging others based off of appearance.
Reader response activity: I would have my students (assuming they are 6th, 7th, or 8th graders) write a paper about a time they felt judged by their appearance like Auggie. I would ask them how it made them feel and how they handled the situation.
Hi Maddie,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading through your blog posts this week, I think that you have done a great job with finding books that really encapsulate your theme. Based on your summary, I think that "Wonder" is the perfect book to go along with your anti-bullying theme. I've heard of this book, but just haven't gotten around to reading it. I like your reader response activity as well, I think it would really make students connect the events within the story to their own lives, and maybe even cause them to reflect upon their actions and how much their words have the power to hurt people. Great job!