Wonder - Pages 118-132

Auggie mentioned the Cheese Touch back in Part One and said, "At Beecher Prep, I'm the old moldy cheese." Now we learn that the game (and I use that term loosely) is called The Plague. Are you familiar with that term? There have been several outbreaks of the plague, one of which was called the Black Death. Here's a description of what one outbreak did in the 1300's.

The trend of recent research is pointing to a figure more like 45 percent to 50 percent of the European population dying during a four-year period. There is a fair amount of geographic variation. In Mediterranean Europe, areas such as Italy, the south of France and Spain, where plague ran for about four years consecutively, it was probably closer to 75 percent to 80 percent of the population. In Germany and England ... it was probably closer to 20 percent. (quote from Wikipedia, further cited on that site.)

Can you imagine? In places where the death rate was lower, still 20% of the entire population died. In our class that would be six people. In other areas it was from 45-50% all the way up to 75-80%. In our class that's anywhere from fourteen to twenty-four people dying from the plague. 

And THIS is what kids say can happen if they touch Auggie. Do you think they realize the historical significance of the plague? Do you think they realize how horrible it was and that's why they named their game The Plague, or do you think they just used the term because they thought it was funny? How funny is it?

This painting is by Pieter Bruegel the Elder and was painted in 1562. The title of the painting is The Triumph of Death. Remember, it's a painting not a photograph, and it shows a lot of stuff in one image. What parts of the picture show real things from the plague? What parts are symbolic of the time?

Summer and Auggie share what their topics are for Egyptian Museum Day. Auggie gets the Step Pyramids of Sakkara and Summer gets Anubis, god of the afterlife.

Oh, by the way, more shoes. This time they are Summer's UGGs. 

All the students from the school dressed up in Egyptian costumes for museum day. Summer and Auggie dressed as mummies. I'm not sure what exactly they looked like, but here are a couple of ideas.

Ancient Egyptian mummy. Source

Boris Karloff as the Mummy. source

Homemade toilet paper mummy.

Continue to Part Four: Jack.

Wonder - Part Three: Summer

Beautiful by Christina Aguilera

Every day is so wonderful

Then suddenly, it's hard to breathe

Now and then, I get insecure

From all the pain, I'm so ashamed

I am beautiful no matter what they say

Words can't bring me down

I am beautiful in every single way

Yes, words can't bring me down

So don't you bring me down today

To all your friends you're delirious

So consumed in all your doom

Trying hard to fill the emptiness

The pieces gone, left the puzzle undone

That's the way it is

You are beautiful no matter what they say

Words can't bring you down

You are beautiful in every single way

Yes, words can't bring you down

So don't you bring me down today...

No matter what we do 

(no matter what we do)

No matter what we say 

(no matter what we say)

We're the song inside the tune

Full of beautiful mistakes

And everywhere we go 

(and everywhere we go)

The sun will always shine 

(sun will always shine)

And tomorrow we might wake on the other side 

All the other times

We are beautiful no matter what they say

Yes, words won't bring us down

We are beautiful in every single way

Yes, words can't bring us down

So don't you bring me down today

Don't you bring me down today

Don't you bring me down today

Continue to pages 118-132.

Wonder - Pages 81-117

Via says, "August is the Sun. Me and Mom and Dad are planets orbiting the sun. The rest of our family and friends are asteroids and comets floating around the planets orbiting the sun." What does she mean? Why is Auggie the one in the middle? Why is everyone else moving around him?

In the last section, Auggie said he sometimes hears people call him E. T. Now Via confirms it. She says that she and her friends used to dress Auggie up in feather boas and big hats and a Hannah Montana wig. There's a scene in the movie where E. T. gets dressed up by a little girl, and Via says Auggie is a dead ringer for E. T. in that scene.

+

=

Auggie?

Out of the three friends - Via, Ella, and Miranda - Miranda was always the sweetest to Auggie. She included him in the things they were doing or she would talk to him about stuff he liked, things like Bone or Avatar or Star Wars. We'll skip the Star Wars image, but here is an image of Bone and Avatar.

 

I Googled crafts stores in Soho, a neighborhood in Manhattan, where Auggie picked out the beads for his Padawan braid. I've never been there before [update: I was there in August, 2015, but alas, did not go to any crafts stores.), but from what I could find, this might be a good example of what the store and the neighborhood are like. (And if anyone who has visited or lives in Manhattan and can give me a better example, that would be great.)

View Larger Map

Via is reading War and Peace, a classic novel written by Leo Tolstoy in 1869. To some people, it is best known for its size. According to Wikipedia, it is the seventeenth longest novel ever written. (And I am assigning it to all fifth and sixth graders over spring break.)

And lucky for you, it's available online: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.

When Via says she wants to take the subway home, her mom asks if she even has a MetroCard. A MetroCard looks like a credit card but it is used to pay tolls on the subway in New York City. Passengers run their MetroCard through a card reader to make a payment.

Via tells how she looked at all kinds of pictures of here relatives from both sides of her family to see if anyone, anywhere ever looked anything like Auggie. She says her Dad's side of the family comes from Russia and Poland and her Mom's side of the family is from Brazil. 

Doctors say August has a "previously unknown type of mandibulofacial dysostosis caused by an autosomal recessive mutation in the TCOF1 gene, which is located on chromosome 5, complicated by a hemifacial microsomia characteristic of OAV spectum." That is waaaay too complicated for me. However, Via explains that Punnett Squares are used by doctors to show the chances that a child will have a certain characteristic. This is much easier to show. Here's a simple example.

And finally, on Halloween Via and her mom were going to sit down and watch The Ghost and Mrs. Muir together, one of their all-time favorite black-and-white movies. Does this look like one of the greatest black-and-white movies of all time? Here's the trailer, you decide:

Continue to Part Three: Summer

Wonder - Part Two: Via

Space Oddity by David Bowie

Ground control to Major Tom.

Ground control to Major Tom.

Take your protein pills and put your helmet on.

Ground control to Major Tom. (10, 9, 8, 7)

Commencing countdown, engines on. (6, 5, 4, 3)

Check ignition, and may God's love be with you (2, 1, liftoff)

This is ground control to Major Tom.

You've really made the grade,

And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear.

Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare.

This is Major Tom to ground control.

I'm stepping through the door,

And I'm floating in a most peculiar way,

And the stars look very different today.

For here am I sitting in a tin can.

Far above the world

Planet Earth is blue, and there's nothing I can do.

Though I'm past 100,000 miles,

I'm feeling very still,

And I think my spaceship knows which way to go.

Tell my wife I love her very much.

She knows.

Ground control to Major Tom

Your circuit's dead, there's something wrong.

Can you hear me, Major Tom?

Can you hear me, Major Tom?

Can you hear me, Major Tom?

Can you...

Here am I floating round my tin can

Far above the moon

Planet Earth is blue, and there's nothing I can do.

Thanks to Anonymous in the comments below for reminding me of this version of Space Oddity. Chris Hadfield recorded many videos during his time in space aboard the International Space Station, but this is one of the coolest. And with over 17,000,000 views at the time of this post's update (September 24, 2013), who can argue? 

Continue to pages 81-117.

Wonder - Pages 51-80

When Summer says goodbye to Auggie after school, his mother asks about her. Auggie's mom comments that Summer seems nice and is pretty. Auggie says, "We're kind of like Beauty and the Beast." Most of you are probably familiar with the Disney versions of Beauty and the Beast, but the story was originally published in the 1700's.

  

Auggie and his dad call each other "Auggie Doggie" and "dear ol' Dad" after an old cartoon called Auggie Doggie and Doggie Daddy. Might as well see a couple clips.

Auggie's mom is reading The Hobbit aloud to him each night. The Hobbit is a classic high fantasy novel published by J. R. R. Tolkein in 1937. The Lord of the Rings is actually a sequel to The Hobbit.

And thanks Mr. Etkin for suggesting The Hobbit movie trailer. Here it is:

"Hey, the truth is, if a Wookiee started going to the school all of a sudden, I'd be curious, I'd probably stare a bit!" Truth is, so would I.

There are a lot of different Wookiees
in the Star Wars world...

...but Chewbacca is the man. Or the Wookiee. Whatever.
He's awesome. (This is Mr. W's opinion. Just sayin'.)

It's not really needed to understand the story, but I can't pass up an opportunity to see the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz. That's who Summer was last year for Halloween. And Summer is right. It was a book first, written by L. Frank Baum and originally published in 1900. The author wrote thirteen sequels.

I always thought the Cheese Touch was pretty funny in The Diary of a Wimpy Kid. But when something similar to the Cheese Touch is going on, and it's for no reason other than because of who a person is, that's another thing completely. And a much less funny thing.

It's not necessary to know the whole history behind the Bleeding Scream costume, but it's nice to get the image in your head so you know what Auggie is talking about. It's become a pretty familiar mask at Halloween. This one includes a pump so fake blood will ooze down the mask.

Students give more comparisons to describe what Auggie looks like. Later, Auggie says he's heard them all before, but what makes these comparisons especially hurtful when he hears them? On Halloween he hears orc, a creature from the Lord of the Rings, and a shrunken head. This shrunken head is from a silly movie called Beetlejuice.

When Auggie tells some of the other names he's heard people say about him, he mentions two movie characters. The first is an alien called E.T. (who everyone thought was super-cute and cuddly), and Freddy Krueger, a character from a horror movie (who nobody thought was super-cute or cuddly.)

Continue to Part Two: Via.

Wonder - Pages 27-50

Charlotte tells Auggie that she was in the school's play the previous year. Oliver! features numerous children as main characters, making it a good option for a school musical.

Via needs to take the "A train down to Eighty-Sixth, then the crosstown bus all the way to the East Side. Takes an hour that way..." Anyone ride the subway or city bus (not the school bus) to school? Here's a picture of the A train and a New York City crosstown bus.

Source

source

Auggie doesn't have any experience in school, so on his first day he says he thought Ms. Petosa would look like Miss Fowl from Jimmy Neutron. (He describes Miss Fowl as "an old lady with a big bun on her head.") Instead he realizes that Ms. Petosa looks like Mon Mothma from Star Wars Episode IV.

Here come a couple more Star Wars references. First, Auggie has a small braid in the back of his hair. In class Julian asks him if it's a "Padawan thing." A Padawan is a Jedi apprentice. Here's a picture of young Anakin Skywalker where you can see his Padawan braid.

We also learn that Auggie's favorite character is Jango Fett...

...not to be confused with his son, Boba Fett.

Finally, and probably the most important Star Wars reference in this section, Julian asks Auggie if he likes Darth Sidious. Of course Auggie knows what happens to Darth Sidious in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Why would Julian mention Darth Sidious?

Finally, this is the second time Auggie mentions that he has a cleft palate. Cleft means "split or divided" and your palate is the roof of your mouth. He says that even after two surgeries, he still has a hole in the roof of his mouth, which makes eating rather difficult and messy. He says that when he eats he looks like a tortoise eating. He's not trying to be funny. Just imagine, when describing himself to others, he compares himself to "some prehistoric swamp thing."

*All images linked to their source.

Continue to pages 51-80.

Wonder - Pages 1-26

Ever hear stories about a genie in a magic lamp? This is what a magic lamp might look like.

Doogie Howser was a TV show in the 1980s and 1990s about a genius kid who becomes a doctor at age 16. What does it tell you about the doctor when Auggie was born if his parents kept calling him Doogie? (Um, Doogie's the one in the front.)

Most of us are familiar with Star Wars, and get ready for a ton of Star Wars references in the book. Auggie says that he and Christopher used to play with toy lightsabers, probably something like these. (I think I have a couple of these at home!)

Dragon Rider is a book by Cornelia Funke, who also wrote Inheart, Inkspell, and Inkdeath. Imagine reading this when you were six years old. That's kindergarten!

I wish I had some red Adidas shoes like Mr. Tushman.

Source

Rubik's Cube was a popular toy in the 1980s, and no, I could never solve it on my own. Here's the original one plus one made with mirrors like Mr. Tushman has on his desk.

 

source

Mr. T. was a big time celebrity in the 1980s. He was on the original A-Team TV show. He was also a boxer in one of the Rocky movies, Rocky III. One of his famous catchphrases was, "I pity the fool who ..." followed by some sort of description. Something like, "I pity the fool who doesn't read books!"

source

Auggie says that Charlotte is wearing green Crocs, probably something like these. Is it important that Auggie has already mentioned other people's shoes twice three times? (I forgot about noticing Mrs. G's brown sandals with the purple flowers.) Does that tell us something about him?

source

So what is the difference between a tuba and a baritone? Is it worth getting in an argument while giving a school tour? Can you tell the difference? Can you tell which is which?

 

Continue to pages 27-50.

Wonder - Part One: August

Wonder by Natalie Merchant

Doctors have come from distant cities just to see me.

Stand over my bed, disbelieving what they're seeing.

They say I must be one of the wonders of god's own creation.

And as far as they see they can offer no explanation.

Newspapers ask intimate questions, want confessions.

They reach into my head to steal the glory of my story.

They say I must be one of the wonders of god's own creation.

And as far as they see they can offer no explanation.

O, I believe fate smiled and destiny laughed as she came to my cradle,

Know this child will be able. Laughed as my body she lifted, 

Know this child will be gifted with love, with patience and with faith.

She'll make her way.

People see me, I'm a challenge to your balance.

I'm over your heads, how I confound you and astound you

To know I must be one of the wonders of god's own creation.

And as far as you can see you can offer me no explanation.

O, I believe fate smiled and destiny laughed as she came to my cradle.

Know this child will be able. Laughed as she came to my mother,

Know this child will not suffer, Laughed as my body she lifted,

Know this child will be gifted with love, with patience and with faith.

She'll make her way.

Continue to pages 1-26.

Book Reviews

Here are a bunch of book reviews. Each link will open in a new window. After reading the reviews, close the window to return to this page.

In addition to seeing what professional reviewers think about some of your favorite books - and some books that might be new to you - please look for the following things.

1. What information MUST ALL good book reviews have?
2. What other information MIGHT SOME good book reviews have?

Make sure you are prepared to discuss questions 1 and 2, both in small groups and as a class. Please fill out your list as you find answers to the questions.

A Tale Dark and Grimm
Leviathan
Behemoth
My Life as a Book
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg
Savvy
Scumble
When You Reach Me
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
Turtle in Paradise
Baseball Great
The Strange Case of Origami Yoda