Wonder

Every once and again, you read something that simply casts a spell over you, enchants you and leaves Wonder (2012) by R.J. Palacio did just that. Told from different perspectives throughout the story, Wonder is a tale of ugliness and beauty, as well as hatred and kindness all woven into a compelling thread that has you hanging on until the end.

Wonder is the story of a special young boy who is not only going into middle school, but going into public school for the first time after being home schooled for four years. August, the special young boy, suffers from a rare, genetic disorder that has grossly misshapen his facial features. As Wonder chronicles August's fifth grade year, it does so from a myriad of perspectives. Each perspective is told from a narrative point of view, and hence shows each character's personal eccentricities. Justin, Via's boyfriend, utilizes very few uppercase letters in his narrative. He always uses "i" when referring to himself.

Though unsuitable for younger students, Wonder would be an ideal text for older students in fourth through sixth grades. This would be a great book to use to try to get students "hooked" on reading. One way a book can take hold is through the reader making personal connections with the text.
Wonder covers numerous issues that face students daily. And it covers these issues from both a male and female perspective!

While Wonder could easily be used for a timeline project, I would much rather do a character study with the book. I would break my students up into groups and each group would be looking at each character. They would tell me everything they know about that character judging from how that character tells his side of the story, as well as what other characters say about him or her. Characters could easily be compared and contrasted using Venn diagrams.

No matter what you plan to do with this book, Wonder should be a permanent fixture in any classroom library. I'll be getting mine soon!

Dying to Meet You

There were approximately 20 books spread out on the table from which to pick. I don't remember which I picked, but it was NOT the book with the decrepit old house on the cover. Yet, I kept glancing at that book, wondering who was standing in front of the house. Why was he standing there? I made my choice and wasn't changing my mind, but I felt compelled to at least give it a chance and read the teaser.

It warned that you might die laughing. The next words that filtered in were "best-selling author" and "wicked case of writer's block." I still couldn't tell you what I picked, but whatever it was got tossed back into the pile. It was immediately replaced with the book with the decrepit old house on the cover!

Dying to Meet You (2009) is the first book in the 43 Old Cemetery Road series that is written by Kate Klise and illustrated by her sister, M. Sarah Klise. While Kate is listed as the author, the book itself is written by the characters. It consists of a series of letters written back and forth from best-selling author Ignatius B. Grumbly, house occupant Seymour Hope and Olive C. Spence, the other house occupant who happens to be a ghost.

Ignatius rents the house for the summer, hoping to find some peace and quiet in order to jump start his newest book in a series (Ghost Tamer series) he had started. However, the current house occupants aren't willing to share the house with a grumpy old man who is full of himself. The three of them begin correspondence to each other immediately, making rules and hurling accusations. Ignatius' lawyer, realtor and a private investigator also begin corresponding. Add to this mess stories from the local paper, The Ghastly Times (whose motto is "Your Secrets Are Our Business"), and you've got a great plot to hold young readers' interest!