Wonder - Pages 51-80

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 movie version 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.

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.

"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.  (Wookies are from Star Wars - we're back to that again)

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

The idea behind the Cheese Touch is pretty funny in The Diary of a Wimpy Kid. But when something similar to the Cheese Touch is going on 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.  Auggie says he's heard them all before, but what makes these comparisons especially hurtful when he hears them? On Halloween he hears references to orc, a creature from the Lord of the Rings, and a shrunken head.

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.)

Wonder - page 27-50

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.

 

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.

The final, and probably the most important Star Wars reference in this section, Julian asks Auggie if he likes Darth Sidious. 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. He also compares himself to "some prehistoric swamp thing."

Wonder - pages 1-26

Wonder - pages 1-26

Doogie Howser was a TV show in the 1980s and 1990s about a genius kid who becomes a doctor at the young age of 16. (Doogie is played by Neil Patrick Harris - know who that is?)

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. (How many of you 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!

Mr. Tushman's red Adidas are sweet!

Rubik's Cube was a popular toy in the 1980s and I bet Mr. Foster has one in his classroom. Here's the original one plus one made with mirrors like Mr. Tushman has on his desk.

 

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!"  He is also well-known for his stylish mohawk and for wearing several heavy gold chains around his neck.

Auggie says that Charlotte is wearing green Crocs, probably something like these. So far Auggie has mentioned other people's shoes three times? (The red Adidas, Mrs. G's brown sandals with the purple flowers, and these.) What does this tell us about Auggies P.O.V.?  What is the author trying to do?

So what is the difference between a tuba and a baritone? Is it worth getting in an argument while giving a school tour? Why are Julian and Charlotte so tense?  Why does Julian have to point out what chalk and an eraser are?

Part One - August

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.