Wonder

Published on 3 May 2026 at 15:00

Wonder

🏫🧑🏻‍🚀👦🏻💔

by R J Palacio

★★★★★

At a glance

Things I loved:

✍🏼 Author: R J Palacio

🎨 Illustrator: R J Palacio

📅 Release Date: 3rd January 2014

📚 Book type: Chapter, 316 pages

🌟 Reader level: Confident

💛 kindness is everything
👀 different perspectives
💔 heartwarming & heartbreaking
🏫 growing up & fitting in
🫶 empathy matters
✨ small actions = big impact

Dive Deeper

My Thoughts...

I’ve seen Wonder by R. J. Palacio in every school I’ve worked in, every library I've been in to and plenty of bookshops, but somehow never got around to reading it… until now! And now I absolutely understand why it is everywhere and how important the story is for children (and adults) to read.

This story is such a powerful reminder of why kindness matters. No magic, no huge dramatic events, just honesty, simplicity and emotion. The truth of how poor August was treated, his honest recounts of key moments in his life, and his bravery in the face of struggles I've never imagined (let alone experienced) really blew me away. It was definitely a tear-jerker for me, but it was sprinkled with moments of love, friendship and happiness.

I also loved hearing the different perspectives of all the key characters in Augusts' life. The different sections of the book (broken up into different narrators) made the book even more interesting.

🌟As a teacher, I genuinely believe every child should read (or listen to) this book as a reminder of why kindness matters and how we should never take our own lives for granted. In the words of Blaise Pascal, “Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much.”🌟

Blurb

'My name is August. I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.'

Auggie wants to be an ordinary ten-year-old. He does ordinary things - eating ice cream, playing on his Xbox. He feels ordinary - inside. But ordinary kids don't make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. Ordinary kids aren't stared at wherever they go.

Born with a terrible facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents his whole life. Now, for the first time, he's being sent to a real school - and he's dreading it. All he wants is to be accepted - but can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all?