By R. J. Palacio
The picture-book door into Wonder: a boy who looks different tells you he knows he can't change how he looks, but maybe people can change how they see.
Auggie knows he's a wonder, a one-of-a-kind child who likes ordinary things. He also knows that when people see his face they sometimes stare, or laugh, or turn away, and it hurts. So he pulls his astronaut helmet on and flies up to look down at the whole world, and wishes people would look with kinder eyes.
This is the four-year-old's version of Auggie's story, and it's the picture book to hand a child who's too young for the novel but old enough to have already stared, or been stared at. It names the hurt of being looked at like you're strange, and then gently asks your child to be one of the kind ones. Short, warm, and it opens the exact conversation a lot of parents are looking for a way into.