Read it Wednesday!

"I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse."

How can that not pull you in and not let you go? How can it not break your heart into a million pieces? 

Would it make a difference if I told you that this book, which starts out with such a sad statement, is filled with beauty and hope and love that's for real? 

It's Wonder, by R.J. Palacio. 

I read this early last fall, and loved it so much I ordered 5 hard bound copies for my classroom. I was so going to read it with a small group. But I loved it so much I couldn't bear not sharing it with my whole class! So I skipped the small group and decided to do it as a read aloud. But...I couldn't let go of thinking about the small group and ended up not reading it at all!! What a goof. My copies are sitting next to my desk all ready for this September (even though everything else is in piles around the floor). I am promising myself, and you, that I'll read it this year. 

Wonder is about a boy named August Pullman. He's different. Really, really, beautifully heart-breakingly different. But inside he is so the same as every other fifth grader I know. Except maybe a little kinder. When he decides to finally go to school the complex life of feelings of everyone around him is revealed. 

What I like most about this book is that it's like someone finally mentioned the elephant in the room. I looked in the mirror as I read about how cruel the world is with "not-looking" for the sake of being polite. I learned quite a bit about looking, not-looking, ignoring and staring from Auggie. 

Check it out.

While you're at it, please add your own Read it Wednesday link!! I can't wait to read what you are reading this summer!

Next week: The Missing!!