Two days ago, I shared with you my list of 130 books that I read in 2012. (You can find my list here.) The book that I am about to tell you about didn’t make that list because I found it right after the start of the New Year. I happened to find it sitting on a shelf of “Best Bets” at our local library. These are the books that the librarians have a hard time keeping in stock because they are in such high demand. The shockingly blue cover and one-eyed faced on the cover instantly caught my attention! I am instantly drawn to books because of cover art. I’ll have to do a post sometime on some of my favorite book cover art, there are some truly GORGEOUS books out there!!!! ( And NO, you really can’t judge a book by it’s cover, I have been lead astray MANY times!!)
But back to this WONDER-ful book…Wonder by RJ Palacio. (See what I did there?!)
I can NOT recommend this book enough!!! Read it for yourself, then read it with your kids (it is recommended for age 10 and up) and TALK about it with them! My oldest is 8 and I am going to read it with him before too long. Before I get into WHY I loved this book so much, let me tell you a bit about it…
The publisher’s description:
August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He’s about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you’ve ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie’s just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he’s just like them, despite appearances?
This story was truly unforgettable for me. I loved Auggie’s family by the time I finished this book! You not only get to hear from Auggie but the story is told from other points of view as well, including his older sister Via, who is protective, fierce and loving, but still struggling with the realities of being a teenager who has grown up well before her time. You hear from some of Auggie’s classmates and friends as well. I laughed out loud, and I sobbed as I read through Auggie’s story. I wanted to yell at some of these kids and how they treated this boy just for simply being different, and even worse was seeing how some of those children’s parents acted too! But while there were some truly mean-spirited and down right horrible people in Auggie’s story, there were some TRULY kind and wonderful ones too!
This book is such a good reminder of how important it is to simply be KIND! To teach our kids how important kindness and empathy can be. To remind ourselves that we are the examples of this to our children.
So go out, find yourself a copy, you can get it here, or from your local library! And be ready to cheer Auggie on and to be inspired!
~JESS
