365 Days of Wonder: Mr. Browne's Book of Precepts

From School Library Journal Gr 3–7—Palacio's masterpiece, Wonder (Knopf, 2012), has spawned a nonfiction companion featuring precepts, or words to live by, from Beecher Prep's beloved teacher Mr. Browne. The book opens with Mr. Browne discovering his love of precepts in a line from a book written by his namesake, the 17th-century English author Thomas Browne: "We carry within us the wonders we seek around us." What follows is an incredible collection of sayings, many that emphasize the importance of kindness. Presented in calendar format, including the month and day, though not the year, the 365 precepts are collected from great literary efforts, the annals of history, and the contributions of child readers of Wonder, chosen by Palacio herself. Each month concludes with a written offering from Mr. Browne, with intermittent input from Wonder's most important characters. These salutary compositions fill in missing details from the original story, provide an update for the characters, and expand on the meaning of the precepts. What seems by description a novelty item is in fact anything but. The quality of the selections, the closure obtained from the added Wonder details, and the thought-provoking opportunities for teachers, parents, and students make this a recommended purchase for libraries where Wonder is popular. Collections without a Wonder following may wish to forgo purchase, as readers unfamiliar with the fictional counterpart may not see the value in this work.—Cindy Wall, Southington Library & Museum, CT Praise for 365 Days of Wonder" Kirkus Reviews “A big collection of inspiring words that will appeal to the legions of fans awaiting more wonder in their lives." Praise for WONDER: #1 New York Times bestseller USA Today bestseller Time Magazine's 100 Best Young Adult Books of All Time New York Times Book Review Notable Book Washington Post Best Kids' Book A School Library Journal Best of Children's Books A Publishers Weekly Best of Children's Books A Kirkus Reviews Best of Children's Books A Booklist Best of Children's Books Slate.com : " Wonder is the best kids' book of the year." Entertainment Weekly: "In a wonder of a debut, Palacio has written a crackling page-turner filled with characters you can't help but root for." The New York Times: "Rich and memorable...It's Auggie and the rest of the children who are the real heart of 'Wonder,' and Palacio captures the voices of girls and boys, fifth graders and teenagers, with equal skill." The Wall Street Journal : "What makes R.J. Palacio's debut novel so remarkable, and so lovely, is the uncommon generosity with which she tells Auggie's story…The result is a beautiful, funny and sometimes sob-making story of quiet transformation.” The Huffington Post: "It's in the bigger themes that Palacio's writing shines. This book is a glorious exploration of the nature of friendship, tenacity, fear, and most importantly, kindness.""Full of heart, full of truth, Wonder is a book about seeing the beauty that's all around us. I dare you not to fall in love with Auggie Pullman. "- Rebecca Stead , Newbery award-winning author of When You Reach Me "It is the deceptive simplicity andxa0honesty of the work that make Wonder so memorable. Every single character seems real and well drawn and oh-so human ...This book is beautiful." - Christopher Paul Curtis , Newbery award-winning author of Bud, Not Buddy " A beautiful story of kindness and courage. There are many real and well-developed characters, and they each have their shining moments. Of course, Auggie shines the brightest." - Clare Vanderpool , Newbery award-winning author of Moon Over Manifest " Wonder is a beautifully told story about heartache, love, and the value of human life . One comes away from it wanting to be a better person." - Patricia Reilly Giff , two-time Newbery honor-winning author of Lily's Crossing and Pictures of Hollis Woods "Wonder is a shining jewel of a storyxa0thatxa0cannot help but encouragexa0readersxa0of all ages to do better, to be better,xa0in how they treat others in life. I'm totally in love with this novel."xa0 - Trudy Ludwig , anti-bullying advocate and author of My Secret Bully , Confessions of a Former Bully , Better Than You , and Just Kidding Starred Review, Publishers Weekly : “Few first novels pack more of a punch: it's a rare story with the power to open eyes--and hearts--to what it's like to be singled out for a difference you can't control, when all you want is to be just another face in the crowd.” Starred Review, Booklist : “Palacio makes it feel not only effortless but downright graceful, and by the stand-up-and-cheer conclusion, readers will be doing just that, and feeling as if they are part of this troubled but ultimately warm-hearted community.” Starred Review, School Library Journal : "Palacio has an exceptional knack for writing realistic conversation and describing the thoughts and emotions of the characters...A well-written, thought-provoking book. " Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews : “A memorable story of kindness, courage and wonder.” R. J. PALACIO lives in NYC with her husband, two sons, and two dogs. For more than twenty years, she was an art director and graphic designer, designing book jackets for other people while waiting for the perfect time in her life to start writing her own novel. But one day several years ago, a chance encounter with an extraordinary child in front of an ice cream store made R. J. realize that the perfect time to write that novel had finally come. Wonder is her first novel. She did not design the cover, but she sure does love it.Learn more about R.J. Palacio and the world of Wonder at wonderthebook.com. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. PRECEPTS xa0 My father’s name was Thomas Browne. And his father’s name was Thomas Browne. That’s why my name is Thomas Browne. I didn’t know until I was a college senior that there was a far more illustrious Thomas Browne, who had lived in England in the seventeenth century. Sir Thomas Browne was a gifted author, a student of the natural world, a scientist, a scholar, and an outspoken supporter of tolerance at a time when intolerance was the norm. In short, I couldn’t have asked for a better namesake. xa0 I started reading a lot of Sir Thomas Browne’s works in college, including Enquiries into Very many received Tenets, and commonly presumed Truths, a book that set out to debunk the prevalent false beliefs of the day, and Religio Medici, a work that contained a number of religious inquiries that were considered highly unorthodox at the time. It was while reading the latter that I came across this wonderful line: xa0 We carry within us the wonders we seek around us. xa0 The beauty and power of that line stopped me cold, for some reason. Maybe it was exactly what I needed to hear at that particular moment in my life, a time when I was racked with indecision about whether the career I had chosen for myself—teaching—was full of enough “wonder” to keep me happy. I wrote the line down on a little slip of paper and taped it onto my wall, where it remained until I graduated. I took it with me to graduate school. I traveled with the Peace Corps and carried it in my wallet. My wife had it laminated and framed for me when we got married, and it now hangs in the foyer of our apartment in the Bronx. xa0 It was the first of many precepts in my life, which I began collecting in a scrapbook. Lines from books I’ve read. Fortune cookies. Hallmark card homilies. I even wrote down the Nike ad line “Just do it!” because I thought it was the perfect directive for me. You can draw inspiration from anywhere, after all. xa0 I first introduced precepts to my students as a student teacher. I was having a hard time getting my kids interested in the essay-writing unit—I believe I had asked them to write one hundred words on something that meant a lot to them—so I brought in the laminated Thomas Browne quote to show them something that meant a lot to me. Well, it turned out they were much more interested in exploring the meaning of the quote itself than they were in its impact on me, so I asked them to write about that instead. I was amazed at the things they came up with! xa0 Ever since then, I’ve used precepts in my classroom. According to Merriam-Webster, a precept is “a command or principle intended especially as a general rule of action.” For my students, I’ve always defined it in simpler terms: precepts are “words to live by.” Easy. At the beginning of every month, I write a new precept on the board, they copy it, and then we discuss it. At the end of the month, they write an essay about the precept. Then at the end of the year, I give out my home address and ask the kids to send me a postcard over the summer with a new precept of their own, which could be a quote from a famous person or a precept they’ve made up. The first year I did this, I remember wondering if I’d get a single precept. I was floored when, by the end of summer, every single student in each of my classes had sent one in! You can imagine my further astonishment when, the following summer, the same thing happened again. Only this time, it wasn’t only from my current class that I received postcards. I also got a handful from the previous year’s class! xa0 I’ve been teaching for ten years. As of this writing, I have about two thousand precepts. When Mr. Tushman, the middle-school director at Beecher Prep, heard this, he suggested that I collect them and turn them into a book that I could share with the world. xa0 I was intrigued by the idea, for sure, but where to start? How to choose what precepts to include? I decided I would focus on themes with particular resonance for kids: kindness, strength of character, overcoming adversity, or simply doing good in the world. I like precepts that somehow elevate the soul. I chose one precept for every day of the year. My hope is that the reader of this book will begin every new day with one of these “words to live by.” xa0 I’m thrilled to be able to share my favorite precepts here. Many are ones I’ve collected myself over the years. Some were submitted by students. All mean a lot to me. As I hope they will to you. xa0 —Mr. Browne xa0 xa0 xa0 JANUARY 1 xa0 We carry within us the wonders we seek around us. xa0 –Sir Thomas Browne xa0 xa0 xa0 JANUARY 3 xa0 Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind. xa0 —Henry James xa0 xa0 xa0 JANUARY 7 xa0 The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why. xa0 —Mark Twain xa0 xa0 xa0 JANUARY 12 xa0 How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. xa0 —Anne Frank xa0 xa0 xa0 JANUARY 13 xa0 However long the night... the dawn will break. xa0 —African proverb xa0 xa0 xa0 JANUARY 16 xa0 Just be who you want to be, not what others want to see. xa0 —Unknown xa0 xa0 xa0 JANUARY 18 xa0 Make kindness your daily modus operandi and change your world. xa0 —Annie Lennox xa0 xa0 xa0 JANUARY 20 xa0 Have you had a kindness shown? Pass it on. xa0 —Henry Burton Read more