We're All Wonders

by R. J. Palacio

Overview

The unforgettable bestseller Wonder, now a major motion picture, has inspired a nationwide movement to Choose Kind. Now parents and educators can introduce the importance of choosing kind to younger readers with this gorgeous picture book, featuring Auggie and Daisy on an original adventure, written and illustrated by R. J. Palacio.
 
Over 6 million people have fallen in love with Wonder and have joined the movement to Choose Kind. Now younger readers can meet Auggie Pullman, an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face, and his beloved dog, Daisy.
 
Countless fans have asked R. J. Palacio to write a book for younger readers. With We’re All Wonders, she makes her picture-book debut as both author and artist, with a spare, powerful text and striking, richly imagined illustrations. Palacio shows readers what it’s like to live in Auggie’s world—a world in which he feels like any other kid, but he’s not always seen that way.
 
We’re All Wonders may be Auggie’s story, but it taps into every child’s longing to belong, and to be seen for who they truly are. It’s the perfect way for families and educators to talk about empathy and kindness with young children.

Praise for Wonder:
A #1 New York Times Bestseller
A USA Today Top 100 Bestseller
An Indie Bestseller
A Time Magazine 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time Selection
A Washington Post Best Kids’ Book
A New York Times Book Review Notable Book
An NPR Outstanding Backseat Book Club Pick
An Entertainment Weekly 10 Great Kids’ Books Selection

“A beautiful, funny and sometimes sob-making story of quiet transformation.” —The Wall Street Journal

“A crackling page-turner filled with characters you can’t help but root for.” —Entertainment Weekly

“Rich and memorable.” —The New York Times Book Review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781524766504
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	03/28/2017
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 12.00(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	AD370L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

R. J. Palacio was born and raised in New York City. She attended the High School of Art and Design and the Parsons School of Design, where she majored in illustration with the hopes of someday following in the footsteps of her favorite childhood author-illustrators, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Maurice Sendak, and the D’Aulaires. She was a graphic designer and art director for many years before writing Wonder. We’re All Wonders, which is based conceptually on the themes of her novel, represents the fulfillment of her dream to write and illustrate her own picture book. R.J. is also the author of Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories and 365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne’s Book of Precepts. She lives in Brooklyn, where she is surrounded by magical water towers, with her husband, their two sons, and their two dogs, Bear and Beau. Learn more about her at rjpalacio.com or on Twitter at @RJPalacio.

Editorial Reviews

01/23/2017
Dispensing with the plot and multicharacter perspective of her much-lauded middle grade novel, Wonder (which also inspired the “Choose Kind” antibullying movement), Palacio focuses this picture book spin-off on the reflections of her hero and narrator, Auggie. “I just don’t look ordinary,” he says, and while what makes him so isn’t specified, readers can see the difference between his single-eyed, featureless face (based on Tad Carpenter’s cover illustration for the original novel) and Palacio’s drawings of other kids. The love of Auggie’s mother (“She says I’m a wonder!”), the companionship of his dog, Daisy, and his pretend play as an astronaut all help the boy momentarily escape the taunts of his peers. But he also holds out the hope, which the penultimate spread seems to affirm, that “people can change the way they see” and learn to appreciate the sentiment expressed in the title. Younger children need to hear Palacio’s important message, but the wistful nostrums and flat, decorative cartooning don’t fully do justice to her novel. Ages 4–8. Agent: Alyssa Eisner Henkin, Trident Media Group. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

2017-01-17
Auggie, from the bestselling novel Wonder (2012), returns as a picture-book protagonist.Though Auggie tries to do the normal things other kids do—ride a bike, eat ice cream, play ball—he doesn't look like other kids. Though it takes knowledge of previous installments in the Wonder series to understand that Auggie has serious facial deformities and has had many corrective surgeries, it is clear what Auggie endures from other kids: "Sometimes they stare at me. They point or laugh. They even say mean things behind my back. But I can hear them." His mother tells him he's a wonder; in fact, "we're all wonders," Auggie informs readers. But with no characterization and little in the text beyond inspirational messages, it's not clear what makes Auggie a wonder; he wants to be taken as he is, but readers—unless they have read the other volumes—never come to know him. Borrowing the now-iconic stylized image of a nearly featureless, one-eyed, white Auggie from the original hardcover edition and employing colorful, digitally rendered art, this edition pulls the heartwarming spirit from Wonder but little of the substance. Auggie's first-person point of view is too narrow to allow for the range of voices that made the novel so rich. Palacio has perhaps mined the same material once too often. A feel-good volume lacking the wonder of Wonder. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews