Wonder by R. J. Palacio

I thought Wonder was an incredibly heartwarming book, and I think its message of acceptance is as pertinent as ever. Since I was part of the group that nominated this text, I got to become well-acquainted with it, and I fell in love with Auggie’s sense of optimism and his hopes that the world will be able to see things the way he does someday. Through the lens of Rosenblatt’s efferently or aesthetically idea, I’d say that this book touches on both methods. Young students may believe they are simply “reading for pleasure” (mini-lecture) because of the bright, vivid images of the book, but there might be subconscious efferent reading going on as well, as the overall message the book delivers is a meaningful, impactful one that transcends disciplines.

In regards to linking it with other texts and subject areas, I think there are a lot of sensitive subjects that could be broached through this book. I think using this as a segway to civil rights issues for younger students would be appropriate, and the message that we can all learn to accept one another can help students grasp social studies lessons that focus on segregation and prejudice in our country. When I student taught, and had some really helpful conversations with my mentor teacher. We looked into books that focused on racial tension in school settings, such as Toni Morrison’s Remember: The Journey to School Integration. Albeit Wonder is a bit more light in subject matter, instilling this ideals in children at a young age will provide them with a scaffold from which they can better appreciate and acknowledge social commentary in social studies texts later on.

These ideas can be aligned with Common Core Standards:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.9 Compare and contrast the most important points presented by two texts on the same topic.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.10 By the end of year, read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, and technical texts, in the grades 2-3 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

Rosenblatt, L. M. (1978). The reader, the text, the poem : The transactional theory of the literary work (p. 196). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.