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)
In the last year young readers have been rewarded with an abundance of terrific new titles. With an inspiring new collection of stories for Rebel Girls, a new Diary of a Wimpy Kid novel, newly discovered books from Shel Silverstein AND Mark Twain, and a hilarious return to the Dragons Love Tacos universe, our list of […]
With Turkey Trot and Gingerbread Latte Season come and gone, even the most optimistic among us can turn a bit, well, gloomy. Indeed, all we have now are sub-zero temps, gray slush stacked on the curb, and black ice. If you’re curing your cabin fever by halfheartedly hanging St. Patrick’s Day decorations six weeks early, […]
Perhaps you’ve noticed that we bring you a list of our favorite new books every month. It doesn’t happen by accident. We know our shelves runneth over with terrific titles, and a little guidance in this lush landscape can sometimes be helpful. So, whether your young readers are folk tale fanatics, hoard hilarious how-tos, or […]
As someone who grew up on a Sesame Street diet, I was thrilled to get to interview author Leslie Kimmelman, who worked at Sesame Workshop for over two decades! In addition to writing her own children’s books, Leslie gets to spend her days hanging around muppets. How cool is that? Her latest book, We’re Amazing […]
In the last year young readers have been rewarded with an abundance of terrific new titles. With an inspiring new collection of stories for Rebel Girls, a new Diary of a Wimpy Kid novel, newly discovered books from Shel Silverstein AND Mark Twain, and a hilarious return to the Dragons Love Tacos universe, our list of […]