(2) 4-6 Twelve-year-old Silas Bird lives with his father, a bootmaker and photographer, outside Boneville, Ohio, in 1860. His mother died when he was born, but he does have another companion, a ghost named Mittenwool. When three armed riders show up and haul Pa away, claiming he is the infamous counterfeiter Mac Boat, Silas is lonely and lost, but when one of the men's horses returns--a black horse with a bone-white face--Silas determines to go after his father. Though Silas (well-versed in the classics) tries out names for the horse--Bucephalus, Gringolet, Perceval--the horse remains "Pony." Their journey after Pa is not to be taken lightly, as Mittenwool warns, and it involves traversing the ancient Woods, where they are engulfed by tangled branches and whispers and moans and air thick with words and ghosts (which Silas has the ability to see). Daguerreotypes begin each chapter, lending period appeal as well as extending the thematic thread of photography and counterfeiting. It becomes a hero's journey, on which Silas feels like Telemachus, a boy in search of his lost father. Classical allusions lend depth to Palacio's elegantly written tale. Telling the story from a perspective of years later allows for philosophical considerations, as Silas realizes "the invisible threads" that have bound him to his mother from the beginning. This is Palacio's first novel that doesn't involve characters from Wonder (2012), but it involves plenty of wonder, in rich and haunting ways. An informative and personal author's note is appended.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(4) K-3 This simplified, generalized picture-book version of Palacio's popular novel allows protagonist Auggie--who has a severe facial difference--to narrate his experience for a younger audience: "All [people] see is how different I look... It hurts my feelings." Digital illustrations play with lines and shading for a luminous effect that underscores the book's theme, but that theme loses power absent the original's richer context.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(3) 4-6 Three novellas previously published as ebooks are collected in this companion to Wonder, giving readers insight into lives running parallel to Auggie's. Emphasizing the theme of kindness, each story explores the evolution of friendships and selfhood in a year fraught with change. Earnestly depicted emotions gently drive the plot, as Palacio treats each narrator's fears and joys with a respect her audience will appreciate.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(4) 4-6 This browsable companion to Wonder collects the kindness-themed precepts (including some submitted by readers) that protagonist Auggie's teacher uses to inspire his class, interspersed with bits of student-teacher correspondence that tie up some of the novel's loose ends. Slight and somewhat precious as a collection, this is nevertheless a useful teaching tool with enough narrative ephemera to satisfy fans.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(4) 4-6 Born with a severe facial deformity, formerly homeschooled Auggie is starting fifth grade. We learn how desperately he wants friends but little of what he might offer in return, as he seems to be defined by his disability. Still, this novel is a heartbreaker, and one that for many readers may provide a new definition of bravery in the face of adversity.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2012