Auggie was devastated when he overheard some of the boys at his school calling him mean names on Halloween. We are all responsible for the words we say and type, especially when they are about other people because words have the potential to hurt just as much as a punch or a kick. Our words are powerful: they can make someone feel wonderful and awful Make the friends you want to have, not the friends you think you should have. If following the crowd doesn’t feel right, find your own path, as Summer does in Wonder. If you like someone, go and be their friend – it shouldn’t matter what other people think. Make decisions that feel good, that you want to make. So, be a Summer instead! She’s one of our all-time favourite characters in Wonder. Julian and Jack show us this on Halloween in Wonder – for those who have read the book, imagine how this scene would have played out if none of the boys had been laughing at each other’s jokes about Auggie. If someone else is laughing at their jokes or backing them up in some way, that person is actually helping that bully do their job.

Don’t follow the crowd: BE A SUMMER!Ī lot of bullies find their strength in the 'support' around them. But remember this, too: our differences are what make us all unique and special. Throughout the course of the book, a lot of characters learn this lesson (some quicker than others) and start seeing Auggie’s similarities shine through. But as Auggie stresses while telling his story, although he may look different on the outside, he’s very much an ordinary boy on the inside. Auggie’s friend Jack comments that Auggie’s face scared him when he first saw it in front of an ice cream shop. Sadly, both in real life and in the world of books, a lot of people are scared by differences, because they often don’t understand them. In Wonder, Auggie is seen as different because he was born with a condition that left him with a facial abnormality, making his face look different from many other faces. Someone will often start bullying someone else because they see that person as different from themselves in some way. Here are a few lessons about bullying that we can all learn (no matter big we are!) by getting to know Auggie in the truly wonderful pages of Wonder.

Wonder rj palacio book