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WE'RE ALL WONDERS

Name: WE'RE ALL WONDERS
Author: R.J. Palacio
ISBN: 978-1-5247-6649-8

by R.J. Palacio ; illustrated by R.J. Palacio ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 28, 2017

A feel-good volume lacking the wonder of Wonder.

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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)

Pub Date: March 28, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-5247-6649-8

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
PONY
by R.J. Palacio

- BOOK REVIEW
WHITE BIRD
by R.J. Palacio ; illustrated by R.J. Palacio with K Czap

- BOOK REVIEW
AUGGIE & ME
by R.J. Palacio

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JUST BECAUSE

by Matthew McConaughey illustrated by Renée Kurilla ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 12, 2023

Charming and thought-provoking proof that we all contain multitudes.

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Oscar winner McConaughey offers intriguing life observations.

The series of pithy, wry comments, each starting with the phrase “Just because,” makes clear that each of us is a mass of contradictions: “Just because we’re friends, / doesn’t mean you can’t burn me. / Just because I’m stubborn, / doesn’t mean that you can’t turn me.” Witty, digitally rendered vignettes portray youngsters diverse in terms of race and ability (occasionally with pets looking on) dealing with everything from friendship drama to a nerve-wracking footrace. “Just because I’m dirty, / doesn’t mean I can’t get clean” is paired with an image of a youngster taking a bath while another character (possibly an older sibling) sits nearby, smiling. “Just because you’re nice, / doesn’t mean you can’t get mean” depicts the older one berating the younger one for tracking mud into the house. The artwork effectively brings to life the succinct, rhyming text and will help readers make sense of it. Perhaps, after studying the illustrations and gaining further insight into the comments, kids will reread and reflect upon them further. The final page unites the characters from earlier pages with a reassuring message for readers: “Just because the sun has set, / doesn’t mean it will not rise. / Because every day is a gift, / each one a new surprise. BELIEVE IT.” As a follow-up, readers should be encouraged to make their own suggestions to complete the titular phrase. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Charming and thought-provoking proof that we all contain multitudes. (Picture book. 5-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 12, 2023

ISBN: 9780593622032

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

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LILA GREER, TEACHER OF THE YEAR

From the Questioneers series

by Andrea Beaty ; illustrated by David Roberts ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 7, 2023

A much-needed reminder that kindness will always win out.

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Teachers influence children profoundly.

From earliest childhood, Lila Greer, the youngest of five in a single-dad household, has been a worrier. Then the family moves. Entering second grade feels overwhelming: Nothing’s familiar, and she has no friends. But Ms. Kern, Lila’s new teacher, invites Lila to erase the chalkboard at recess and to articulate her fears. It helps that someone listens. Soon, classmates get into the act, and lonely Lila makes friends, emerges from her shell, and learns that “what ifs” have positive sides. Lila grows up, still fretting sometimes, and then becomes a new teacher who worries upon meeting her own students. But then she remembers the teacher who helped her overcome her fears and doubts years earlier. What was that marvelous, ineffable quality Ms. Kern possessed? Then Lila remembers: It was kindness! Harnessing that memory, Lila now welcomes her own “smiling young faces.” This is a sweet story that emphasizes good cheer, helpfulness, and the importance of feeling welcome and heard, no matter who you are: terrific messages, expressed in bouncy verses that scan well. The illustrations are colorfully lively. Readers will appreciate occasional displays of humorous and quirky typesetting creativity and will admire Lila’s poufy topknot, which resembles a huge ball of yarn. Lila is light-skinned, Ms. Kern is tan-skinned, and other characters are diverse.

A much-needed reminder that kindness will always win out. (author’s note) (Picture book. 5-8)