I just finished reading a really wonderful book, Wonder by R.J. Palacio.
This book first popped on my radar from a children's Scholastic Books periodical, and my eye was caught by the bright blue and curious face on the cover. I read the brief blurb, ultimately unimpressed. My initial thoughts were fairly bleak - yet another want-to-be-Hallmark type book about a student with a disability that doesn't fit in but comes to some happy conclusion. I dismissed it.
Wonder presented itself not too long after my perusal of the Scholastic magazine, as I was surfing through myriad of teaching blogs in an attempt to beef up my math games knowledge.
(if you're curious, here are some great teaching blogs
there are many more to come.)
Since this was the second time I had seen mention of this book within a week, I sat up and took a little more notice. The blog, I forget which one now, had written a GLOWING review, so much so that I was intrigued to the point of ordering it from Amazon.
The package came today, as happy as Amazon packages are with their little smiling faces. I immediately curled up on the couch, soothed by the pattering of rain as I flipped page after page. I could not put the book down! Wonder is an incredibly insightful, endearing, and hopeful tale. R.J. Palacio does a masterful job not only of giving Auggie (the main character) a believable, honest, 5th grade voice, but also of weaving the stories of everyone close to Auggie. I laughed often, sympathized more so, and even shed a few tears. This is an engaging book with beautiful themes that should be an essential part of every teacher's library.
While reading, I felt small twinges of nostalgia. Auggie, at one point, goes with his 5th grade class to a camp that offers an outdoor education program. Of course, my thoughts flew immediately to Pendy. It really is incredible the gifts I was bestowed by being a part of that camp. Another paragraph mentioned Auggie's "cauliflower shaped ears." I instantly thought of The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo.
I had read that book to my 5th graders as an extended novel study last year. They were completely enthralled by the book, which coincidentally had a character with cauliflower shaped ears, though not through the same nature as Auggie. Reflecting on that year, those students were by far the most challenging group in terms of overcoming low self esteem and trust issues. I do believe now that Despereaux was a key in unlocking their reservations about me, reading, and even school. One of my students even used Despereaux as part of his answer to an extended response question on the CSAP! Believe me, to have something stick that long with this particular student is quite an achievement. I feel so glad that I made such an indelible mark on this student, who so desperately needed encouragement and positivity in his life.
Now that I'm feeling incredibly weepy and sentimental, I'll take this time to interject my excitement for the upcoming weekend! My parents will be here on Friday, and the big race is SUNDAY! SO CLOSE! My knee has been feeling better and better, and I even went for a quick 3 miler yesterday (8:54 minute mile pace, not bad after not running for two weeks) with minimal pain! My plan is to play it safe for this half marathon, taking a slow but steady pace and walking for 30 seconds at each mile marker - maybe not the last one, as I'll only be 1/10 of a mile away from the finish!
I'll close with a beautiful quote that was used in Wonder:
"Shall we make a new rule of life [....] always to try to be a little kinder than is necessary?"
-J. M. Barrie, The Little White Bird
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