Skip to main content

Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories by R.J. Palacio

By


Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Originally written as three separate short story e-books this book tells the story of three characters who are found in the Wonder book (See previous post here: http://bcereviews.blogspot.com/2018/01/wonder-by-rj-palacio.html) . However, instead of being told by or about Auggie himself, these books tell the experiences of these other students who knew Auggie during their 5th grade year: Jullian the bully, Christopher the oldest friend, and Charlotte a welcome buddy/classmate.  

Category: Middle School

Why I chose this book: Follow up on Wonder 

My personal opinion:  These were interesting reads, though in a few places I felt like the story was longer than it needed to be. 

Warnings
Language: None
Violence: None
"Adult" situations: None
Death: None

Movie rating equivalent: PG

Protagonist description: *some spoilers*

Jillian was Auggie's biggest bully at school and created some of the biggest problems for Auggie at school. In this story we get some amount of insight into his thoughts about Auggie and why he acted the way he did. Jillian has trouble feeling remorse for how he treated Auggie until he spends some time with his Grandmother. 

Christopher is Auggie's oldest friend. Their Mom's where pregnant at the same time and had been friends since they were born. Christopher's story details a really hard day in his life where he has a rough day at school and his Mom gets in an accident and breaks her leg. He's also dealing with trying to be popular and well liked by some band mates who are making fun of another kid in the band. Christopher is able to draw on his experience with Auggie to stand with this other classmate. 

Charlotte was asked by the Principal to be one of Auggie's welcome buddies when he first starts school. She is kind to him but doesn't go out of her way to be friends with him in school. She has her own life of dance practice and trying to figure out which group of girls she wants to be friends with. 
    
Point of view of story:  Each story is told from that character's perspective

Book length: Short

Story flow: Linear within each story

Grammar and spelling issues: None

Character connection (no spoilers): None

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson

By
Summary: Every book needs you to turn the pages. But not every book needs you to tap it, shake it, jiggle it, or even blow it a kiss. Innovative and timeless, Tap the Magic Tree asks you to help one lonely tree change with the seasons. It begins with a bare brown tree. But tap that tree, turn the page, and one bright green leaf has sprouted! Tap again—one, two, three, four—and four more leaves have grown on the next page. Pat, clap, wiggle, jiggle, and see blossoms bloom, apples grow, and the leaves swirl away with the autumn breeze. (Amazon) Attention Span/reading level: Perfect for my three year old. I would say that ages 2-10 would really enjoy something like this. It really keeps kids engaged and makes them feel like part of the story. There is one word to one sentence per page. Good uses for book in teaching: Interaction, that the reader takes part in making the story, what a tree can do (leaves, blossoms, fruit) Favorite part:      Child: The fact that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet by Charlie Holmberg

By
Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Maire has a talent for baking. She can imbue her creations with emotion or even simple abilities. Peace, love, memory, strength, alertness, etc. She is forcibly taken away from her home, and spends the rest of her time trying to get back to the only family she knew. She also has help from a mysterious, ghostly person, who appears to know her well. Category YA Fiction Why I chose this book I've loved every other book the author has written My personal opinion (the review) I love the stories by Mrs H, and have come to expect some pretty fantastical things- she has an incredible, unstoppable imagination. But this one really stretched me; it was almost too weird, too "out there". I don't care, though, I'll keep buying everything she publishes. Happy ending, good love story, gripping plot line. Weird or not, it was a great read. Warnings Language: None Violence: Some. Not frequent, not very graphic, but heart-wrenching "Ad...
Post a Comment
Read more

Improbable Libraries Alex Johnson

By
Concept: " A visual journey to the world's most unusual libraries." Author : Alex Johnson, a journalist and consultant . Both parents were librarians.  Monologue score  (1-10) (how entertaining): 8 - Overall I found this book quite interesting. I loved seeing all the ways that people were working to bring books into the community and how many were trying to create a sense of community through books. The pictures did a great job of helping to visualize how these libraries are being used.  Difficulty level: 3- Not very hard. Each of the seven sections (Libraries on the Move, Animal Libraries,Tiny Libraries, Big Libraries, Home Libraries, Mobile Libraries, and Not Libraries) starts with a short introduction and then gives a picture (or three) of the library described.  What I Learned/Review:  I really found this to be an enlightening and uplifting book. Having been a librarian and having a love for books in general it warms my heart to see all the ways that ...
1 comment
Read more