Wonder, by R.J. Palacio, is about a 10-year-old boy named August, or “Auggie.”
Auggie was born with a facial deformity, making it hard to make friends because he looked different.
Auggie was homeschooled up to fifth grade. But his parents think it’s time for him to attend a real school.
He struggles to fit in, and he hears his friend Jack saying he would kill himself if he looked like Auggie.
Auggie finds out who his real friends are. And Auggie stands up for Jack when he needs him most.
Wonder Quotes With Page Numbers Part One: August
“Here’s what I think: the only reason I’m not ordinary is that no one else sees me that way.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Auggie Pullman as the narrator), Page 3
“My name is August, by the way. I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Auggie Pullman as the narrator), Page 3
“Mom smiled at me. Her smile kind of hugged me.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Auggie Pullman as the narrator), Page 11
“What’s cool about really little kids is that they don’t say stuff to try to hurt your feelings, even though sometimes they do say stuff that hurts your feelings. But they don’t actually know what they’re saying. Big kids, though: they know what they’re saying. And that is definitely not fun for me.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Auggie Pullman as the narrator), Pages 20, 21
“One of the reasons I grew my hair long last year was that I like how my bangs cover my eyes: it helps me block out the things I don’t want to see.”
~ R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Auggie Pullman as the narrator), Page 21
“Who we are,” he said, underlining each word as he said it. “Who we are! Us! Right? What kind of people are we? What kind of person are you? Isn’t that the most important thing of all? Isn’t that the kind of question we should be asking ourselves all the time? “What kind of person am I?
Learning who you are is what you’re are here to do.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Mr. Browne), Page 47
“Learning who you are is what you’re here to do.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Mr. Browne), Page 47
“MR. BROWNE’S SEPTEMBER PRECEPT:
WHEN GIVEN THE CHOICE BETWEEN BEING RIGHT OR BEING KIND, CHOOSE KIND.”
~R. J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Mr. Browne), Pages 47, 48
“Words can’t change my face”
~R J Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Auggie Pullman as the narrator), Page 60
“The things we do outlast our mortality. The things we do are like monuments that people build to honor heroes after they’ve died. They’re like the pyramids that the Egyptians built to honor the pharaohs. Only instead of being made of stone, they’re made out of the memories people have of you.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Auggie Pullman as the narrator), Page 65
“…your deeds are like your monuments. Built with memories instead of stone.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Auggie Pullman as the narrator), Page 65
“I wish every day could be Halloween. We could all wear masks all the time. Then we could walk around and get to know each other before we got to see what we looked like under the masks.”
~R. J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Auggie Pullman as the narrator), Page 73
Wonder Part Two Quotes: Via
“It’s so strange how one day you can be on this earth, and the next day not.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Auggie Pullman as the narrator), Page 86
“I actually like how doctors talk. I like the sound of science. I like how words you don’t understand explain things you can’t understand.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Auggie Pullman as the narrator), Page 106
“It’s not a contest about whose days suck the most. The point is we all have to put up with the bad days.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Olivia Pullam), Page 115
Wonder Quotes Part Three Quotes: Summer
“I mean, I don’t want to brag or anything, but I’m actually considered something of a medical wonder, you know.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Auggie Pullman), Page 130
Wonder Part Four Quotes: Jack
“Jack, sometimes you don’t have to be mean to hurt someone.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Veronica), Page 137
“I love that feeling when you first open your eyes in the morning and you don’t even know why everything seems different than usual. Then it hits you: Everything is quiet. No cars honking. No buses going down the street. Then you run over to the window, and outside everything is covered in white: the sidewalks, the trees, the cars on the street, your windowpanes. And when that happens on a school day and you find out your school is closed, well, I don’t care how old I get: I’m always going to think that that’s the best feeling in the world. And I’m never going to be one of those grown-ups that use an umbrella when it’s snowing—ever.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Jack Will as the narrator), Page 146
“Some things you just can’t explain. You don’t even try. You don’t know where to start. All your sentences would jumble up like a giant knot if you opened your mouth. Any words you used would come out wrong.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Jack Will as the narrator), Page 155
“I do think we’re too young to be dating. I mean I don’t see what the rush is.” Summer says.
“Yeah, I agree,” said August. “Which is kind of a shame, you know what with all those babes who keep throwing themselves at me and stuff?”~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Characters: Summer Dawson and August Pullman), Pages 178, 179
Wonder Part Five Quotes: Justin
“Sometimes I think my head is so big because it is so full of dreams.
—John Merrick in Bernard Pomerance’s The Elephant Man”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, Page 186
“There’s a word like overprotective to describe some parents, but no word that means the opposite. What word do you use to describe parents who don’t protect enough?Underprotective? Neglectful? Self-involved? Lame? All of the above.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Justin as the narrator), Page 192
“no, no, it’s not all random, if it really was all random, the universe would abandon us completely. and the universe doesn’t. it takes care of its most fragile creations in ways we can’t see. like with parents who adore you blindly. and a big sister who feels guilty for being human over you. and a little gravelly-voiced kid whose friends have left him over you. and even a pink-haired girl who carries your picture in her wallet. maybe it is a lottery, but the universe makes it all even out in the end. the universe takes care of all its birds.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Justin as the narrator), Page 204
“the universe takes care of all its birds.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Justin as the narrator), Page 204
Wonder Part Six Quotes: August
“Now that I look back, I don’t know why I was so stressed about it all this time. Funny how sometimes you worry a lot about something and it turns out to be nothing.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Auggie as the narrator), Page 215
“Funny how sometimes you worry a lot about something and it turns out to be nothing.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Auggie as the narrator), Page 215
“Do people look the same when they go to heaven, mommy?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so.”
“Then how do people recognize each other?”
“I don’t know, sweetie. They just feel it. You don’t need your eyes to love, right?”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Auggie Pullman and Isabel Pullman), Page 227
“That’s how it is in heaven. It’s just love, and no one forgets who they love.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Isabel Pullman), Page 227
“I think there should be a rule that everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their lives.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Auggie as the narrator), Page 231
Wonder Part Seven Quotes: Miranda
“I forgot that I might see So many beautiful things I forgot that I might need To find out what life could bring
~Andain, “Beautiful Things”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, Page 235
Wonder Part Eight Quotes: August
“I did notice as I walked that Amos had stayed right next to me. And Jack was close on the other side of me. And Miles was in front of us and Henry was in back of us. They were surrounding me as we walked through the crowds of kids. Like I had my own emperor’s guard.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Auggie as the narrator), Page 272
“It’s so weird how that can be, how you could have a night that’s the worst in your life, but to everybody else it’s just an ordinary night.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Auggie as the narrator), Page 273
“But I really believe, and Daddy really believes, that there are more good people on this earth than bad people, and the good people watch out for each other and take care of each other.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Isabel Pullman), Page 279
“The best way to measure how much you’ve grown isn’t by inches or the number of laps you can now run around the track, or even your grade point average– though those things are important, to be sure. It’s what you’ve done with your time, how you’ve chosen to spend your days, and whom you’ve touched this year. That, to me, is the greatest measure of success.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Mr. Tushman), Page 299
“It’s what you’ve done with your time, how you’ve chosen to spend your days, and whom you’ve touched this year. That, to me, is the greatest measure of success.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Mr. Tushman), Page 299
“But in another book by J. M. Barrie called The Little White Bird … he writes …” He started flipping through a small book on the podium until he found the page he was looking for, and then he put on his reading glasses. “ ‘Shall we make a new rule of life … always to try to be a little kinder than is necessary?’ ” Here Mr. Tushman looked up at the audience. “Kinder than is necessary,” he repeated. “What a marvelous line, isn’t it? Kinder than is necessary. Because it’s not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Mr. Tushman), Page 299, 300
“We carry with us, as human beings, not just the capacity to be kind, but the very choice of kindness.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Mr. Tushman), Page 300
“Kinder than is necessary. Because it’s not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Mr. Tushman), Page 300
“If every single person in this room made it a rule that wherever you are, whenever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than is necessary – the world really would be a better place. And if you do this, if you act just a little kinder than is necessary, someone else, somewhere, someday, may recognize in you, in every single one of you, the face of God.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Mr. Tushman), Page 301
“Shall we make a new rule of life… always to try to be a little kinder than is necessary?”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Mr. Tushman), Page 301
“Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are the qualities that define us as human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Mr. Tushman), Page 304
“It’s like people you see sometimes, and you can’t imagine what it would be like to be that person, whether it’s somebody in a wheelchair or somebody who can’t talk. Only, I know that I’m that person to other people, maybe to every single person in that whole auditorium.
To me, though, I’m just me. An ordinary kid.”~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Auggie as the narrator), Page 306
“I wasn’t even sure why I was getting this medal, really.
No, that’s not true. I knew why.
It’s like people you see sometimes, and you can’t imagine what it would be like to be that person, whether it’s somebody in a wheelchair or somebody who can’t talk. Only, I know that I’m that person to other people, maybe to every single person in that whole auditorium.
To me, though, I’m just me. An ordinary kid.
But hey, if they want to give me a medal for being me, that’s okay. I’ll take it. I didn’t destroy a Death Star or anything like that, but I did just get through the fifth grade. And that’s not easy, even if you’re not me.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Auggie as the narrator), Page 306
“When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind. – Dr. Wayne W. Dyer”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, Page 311
“It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers. —James Thurber”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, Page 311
“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as you ever can.—John Wesley’s Rule”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, Page 312
“It’s not enough to be friendly. You have to be a friend.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Charlotte Cody), Page 312
“HENRY JOPLIN’S PRECEPT
Don’t be friends with jerks. —Henry Joplin”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder,(Character: Henry Joplin), Page 313
“AMOS CONTI’S PRECEPT
Don’t try too hard to be cool. It always shows, and that’s uncool.
—Amos Conti”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Amos Conti), Page 313
“If you can get through middle school without hurting anyone’s feelings, that’s really cool beans.”
~R. J. Palacio, Wonder, (Character: Summer Dawson), Page 313
Wonder quotes about kindness
“When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind. – Dr. Wayne W. Dyer”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, Page 311
“Kinder than is necessary. Because it’s not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, Page 300
“Courage. Kindness. Friendship. Character. These are the qualities that define us as human beings, and propel us, on occasion, to greatness.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, Page 304
“Shall we make a new rule of life… always to try to be a little kinder than is necessary?”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, Page 301
“We carry with us, as human beings, not just the capacity to be kind, but the very choice of kindness.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, Page 300
“I think there should be a rule that everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their lives.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Auggie as the narrator), Page 231
“The best way to measure how much you’ve grown isn’t by inches or the number of laps you can now run around the track, or even your grade point average– though those things are important, to be sure. It’s what you’ve done with your time, how you’ve chosen to spend your days, and whom you’ve touched this year. That, to me, is the greatest measure of success.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, Page 299
“It’s not enough to be friendly. You have to be a friend.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, Page 312
“But I really believe,..that there are more good people on this earth than bad people, and the good people watch out for each other and take care of each other.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Isabel Pullman), Page 279
Wonder quotes about bullying
“Jack, sometimes you don’t have to be mean to hurt someone.”
~R.J. Palacio, Wonder, (Veronica), Page 137
“I wish every day could be Halloween. We could all wear masks all the time.
Then we could walk around and get to know each other before we got to see what we looked like under the masks.
~R. J. Palacio, Wonder, (Auggie Pullman as the narrator), Page 73
“One of the mummies was saying: “It really does look like him.”
“Like this part especially . . . ,” answered Julian’s voice. He put his fingers on the cheeks and eyes of his Darth Sidious mask.
“Actually,” said the mummy, “what he really looks like is one of those shrunken heads. Have you ever seen those? He looks exactly like that.”
“I think he looks like an orc.”
“Oh yeah!” “If I looked like that,” said the Julian voice, kind of laughing, “I swear to God, I’d put a hood over my face every day.”
“I’ve thought about this a lot,” said the second mummy, sounding serious, “and I really think . . . if I looked like him, seriously, I think that I’d kill myself.”
“You would not,” answered Darth Sidious.
“Yeah, for real,” insisted the same mummy. “I can’t imagine looking in the mirror every day and seeing myself like that. It would be too awful. And getting stared at all the time.”
“Then why do you hang out with him so much?” asked Darth Sidious.
“I don’t know,” answered the mummy. “Tushman asked me to hang out with him at the beginning of the year, and he must have told all the teachers to put us next to each other in all our classes, or something.” The mummy shrugged. I knew the shrug, of course. I knew the voice. I knew I wanted to run out of the class right then and there. But I stood where I was and listened to Jack Will finish what he was saying. “I mean, the thing is: he always follows me around.
What am I supposed to do?”
“Just ditch him,” said Julian.
“Auggie,” I said. “Are you really going to let a couple of stupid kids keep you from going back to school? I know you’ve been enjoying it. Don’t give them that power over you. Don’t give them the satisfaction.”
“Do people go out of their way to avoid touching you, Via?” he answered, which left me momentarily without an answer. “Yeah, right. That’s what I thought. So don’t compare your bad days at school to mine, okay?”
“I guess he doesn’t have to wear a mask at Halloween, right?” she added. And then I
knew she was talking about August.~Summer Dawson
“So, we want to know why you hang out with the Zombie Kid so much,” said Henry.”
“You know, Summer,” said Savanna, “you would be a lot more popular if you didn’t hang out with him so much.”
What is a good quote from wonder?
“MR. BROWNE’S SEPTEMBER PRECEPT:
WHEN GIVEN THE CHOICE BETWEEN BEING
RIGHT OR BEING KIND, CHOOSE KIND.”~R. J. Palacio, Wonder, (Mr. Browne), Pages 47, 48
When given the choice between being right or being kind choose kind. page number.
This quote is on pages 47-48 and 311 in Wonder.
What is a quote from Summer in Wonder?
“I do think we’re too young to be dating. I mean I don’t see what the rush is. Summer says.”
Pages 178-79
What is the first line of Wonder?
“I know I’m not an ordinary ten-year-old kid. I mean, sure, I do ordinary things.” Page 3
What is the last line in wonder?
The last line of the book Wonder is, “You really are a wonder, Auggie. You are a wonder.”
Wonder Summary
Wonder is a powerful story by R.J. Palacio about a 10-year-old boy named August Pullman with a facial anomaly. Despite going through 27 operations, August looks different from others and is socially isolated and bullied.
After being homeschooled for a long time, August finally starts attending Beecher Prep for fifth grade. The story follows August’s journey and the ups and downs he faces at school.
It brings light to the theme of intolerance by society towards those who are different and emphasizes the importance of acceptance and kindness.
Told from various perspectives, this book is heart-moving and teaches that one should not let their initial judgments affect how they treat a person.