Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Good for what it is

White Bird by R.J. Palacio

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“You see, Julian, it always takes courage to be kind. But in those days, when such kindness could cost you everything – your freedom, your life – Kindness becomes a miracle. It becomes that light in the darkness that Papa talked about, the very essence of our humanity. It is hope.” White Bird by R.J. Palacio is a Wonder story. It tells the story of Julian’s grandmother Sara (grandmère, as Julian calls her). She was a young Jewish girl during World War II. She lived […]

“When given the choice between being right and being kind, choose kind.”

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

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3.5 stars Official book description: August Pullman wants to be an ordinary ten-year-old. He does ordinary things. He eats ice cream. He plays on his Xbox. He feels ordinary – inside. But Auggie is far from ordinary. Ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. Ordinary kids don’t get stared at wherever they go. Born with a terrible facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents his whole life, in an attempt to protect him from the cruelty of the […]

“Kindness becomes a miracle.”

White Bird: a Wonder Story by R.J. Palacio

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Julian has a school project, to interview a family member for their biographical story. On a facetime chat, he talks his grandmother into sharing her childhood growing up in wartime France.  Hesitantly, she agrees to, and not only to do that but to share parts of her story she hasn’t told before. For Julian and his grandmother are Jewish, and Sara (his grandmother) is nervous about how her history seems to be repeating. We meet her as a child along with her impressive parents: her […]

New character, old story

White Bird by R. J. Palacio

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There are two ways to look at this book: the cynical way and the not so cynical. First, cynical. You could just say this is a retelling of the Anne Frank story. However, (SPOILER) with two main plot differences: Sara (the Anne character) is hiding alone and not with her family/other families and she survives the ordeal. Finally, the not so cynical way allows you to see that White Bird by R. J. Palacio was inspired by all the stories of World War II and […]

Choose kindness first

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“Shall we make a new rule of life…always to try to be a little kinder than is necessary?” (299) Just the other day, we were talking at work about the hardest times for kids as they grow up. I said, unequivocally, that middle school was the worst for me. I didn’t have a particularly bad time of it, but I think there was a reason I had a spate of migraines during middle school. Middle school kids have an astounding capacity for cruelty. August Pullman, […]

Wonder

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August “Auggie” Pullman has a facial deformity that attracts a lot of unwanted attention. He’s been home schooled through fourth grade and is going to start school at Beecher Prep for fifth grade. Throughout the year, he and his fellow fifth graders learn a lot about growing up, being kind, and standing up for what’s being right. On a personal level, Auggie and his family learn how to adjust their lives as their youngest member comes into his own. The story is engrossing, and frankly […]



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