Ever wonder how it feels to watch the movie of a book you just finished reading? The movie and book are usually very different because one uses words and the other visuals to tell the same powerful story. Wonder by R.J. Palacio is no exception. It is a book that every grammar school student between 4th-6th grade needs to read to be more sensitive of how differences in appearance can cause hate, bullying and fear. While the plot, the characters and the lessons are similar in the book and movie, there are differences that I noticed that changed my experiences with this thought-provoking book. In the book, Auggie, the main character is a disfigured child trying to have a normal life in school while being bullied by some and building good relationships with others in his class. The book and movie are both told from the perspective of different characters, something I have never before encountered. The movie, however left out Summer’s point of view, and she was an important friend of Auggie’s who played a very significant role in the story and in Auggie’s life. A factual error that did not translate well in the movie version was the development of the friendship with Summer. Summer, in the book, sits with Auggie on the first day of school while in the movie, she does not form a relationship with him until several days later. The time line is not quite right. The movie may need extra time to build these relationships, whereas in the book, the author is able to build the characters’ personalities more easily. I found myself crying several times while reading the book. The death of Auggie’s dog was a big loss for Auggie, who has a deformity that keeps people from getting to know him. In the beginning of the book, he does not have friends and the dog is all he has. The emotions I felt were very strong because the author uses vivid descriptions to explain how Auggie feels. Auggie’s feelings are a big part of the written version of Wonder. The movie relies on dialogue to show us Augie’s emotions and it is not as powerful or memorable. The book, Wonder, is something every child should read to make one more aware, sensitive and understanding of the differences that exist in us and how our own choices can make a big difference in someone’s life. The movie takes Auggie’s disfigurement and shows it to us. I think seeing it is very different from reading about it. Watching Auggie, his face, his pain, and his sadness makes the book real. It makes Auggie real. It makes all his friends real. It makes the ugliness of the bully, Julian, real. Watching the movie after reading this book made the author’s message even more powerful. Wonder by R.J. Palacio. Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2012. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Our Fate is Sealed, a poem by Otis Knoop, 12
Otis Knoop, 12Brooklyn, NY Our Fate is Sealed Otis Knoop, 12 The question that has always troubled me When the end of the world is at hand, When the human race makes their last stand; What will come to be? Will darkness and woe come to plight us? Will priests pray when God has not come to right us? Like the breath of a child blows out a light Life itself will be snuffed out tonight. When the ghostly spectres roam in the roots of our sanity Will we remember our qualms? While the fate of the world slips out from our grasp A cacophony of screams That will most certainly haunt our dreams One thing that I have always thought; The world will recover nought But although the end is near, we might be healed One thing is clear; our fate is sealed. A note from the author: Robert Frost’s poem, “Fire and Ice,” influenced my poem (related to my thoughts about the pandemic) in many ways. We both wrote about the end of the world and what it would be like. Although we didn’t write about the world ending in the same way, we both summarized that it is inevitable, and will happen one way or another. One poetic device that I was inspired by him to use was symbolism–he used fire and ice to symbolize power and hatred, and I used “ghostly spectres” to symbolize our guilt. I wanted to give the poem a dark mood, to give people a sense of what might happen.
Daily Creativity #51 | Flash Contest: Write about Impossible Characters
Write down 5 ideas for some impossible characters – space frogs, singing clocks, walking cactuses – the more unlikely the better. Pick 2 of them. What would happen if they met? Write a story about it.
