If you were registered for the newsletter, you will now receive the Puffin Schools newsletter, which is filled with all the latest information about accompanying resources and upcoming shows.

Nightingale trained English nurse, Lib Wright, is commissioned for a unique charge in Ireland. It is not until she arrives in the village of Athlone that it is revealed that she is there to observe 11-year old Anna O’Donnell who has not eaten for four months. Lib’s job is clear: she is to watch Anna at all times (she shares her shifts with a nun) and make note of whether or not Anna is eating. Needless to say, Lib is beyond skeptical about her young charge. Lib is furious. She’s a woman of science, a nurse, a person who has devoted her young life to caring for patients to the best of her ability, and she has no time for either the religious explanations or the traditional fears about the fairy folk. A story that shows the impact of the Second World War and the rise of fascism on what had been a pastoral, fairy-tale childhood, with White Bird pulling no punches in connecting that historical moment to what’s happening in the world today.” — The Hollywood Reporter

This resource pack includes:

A fascinating read with a highly unusual topic that I've never encountered before. And so well-done Hmmmm . . . well, not too sure about this one. I enjoyed it okay, but it made me uncomfortable and I wasn’t satisfied with the plot progression. I am not sure that I have a great way to explain it other than it is a “feeling” I have. This story about the investigation into claims of a young Irish Catholic girl living on nothing but water for four months was initially slow to engage me. I think this was because I disliked the main protagonist so strongly. The novel, written in English, has been translated into 29 other languages for worldwide sales: Spanish, Catalan, Japanese, German, French, Portuguese, Danish, Czech, Serbian, Arabic, Hebrew, Norwegian, Icelandic, Swedish, Faroese, Turkish, Dutch, Persian, Italian, Finnish, Russian, Korean, Chinese, Ukrainian, Polish, Croatian, Greek, Romanian, Vietnamese and Slovenian. [18] The book centers around the experience of August "Auggie" Pullman, a 10-year-old living in North Riverside Heights in [lower Manhattan]]. He has a genetic condition, Treacher Collins syndrome, which has left his face disfigured and required countless surgeries and special care. Due to his condition, August has been homeschooled by his mother for some years; however, wanting him to experience a larger world, his parents enrolled him into Beecher Prep, a private school, for the start of fifth grade. Auggie has an older sister, Olivia "Via" Pullman, who is entering her first year of high school.

Elizabeth Lib Wright, una joven enfermera inglesa, es contratada por un comité de ciudadanos del pueblo para vigilar a la niña durante dos semanas, con el objeto de otorgar credibilidad al “milagro”. Se turnará en esa vigilancia con una monja, la hermana Michael. THE WONDER by EMMA DONOGHUE was an intriguing, gripping, mesmerizing, and a beautifully written Historical Fiction novel which was set in a small Irish village from the nineteenth century that grabbed my attention from the very first chapter.There are many who agree that her fasting for so long without dying is a religious miracle of some sort, but we must remember this is also the Ireland of the Little People. Auggie struggled with his health when he was younger. However, his main problems during the book are caused by other people’s unkindness. The Wonder posed some interesting questions, and Donoghue unfurled her plot and ratcheted up the tension, little by little. While I had my suspicions about how the story would tie itself up, it is tremendously compelling from start to finish, although it certainly was a little disturbing as well, because I don't understand the type of religious devotion which imbued the characters. Chocando con las supersticiones irlandesas, que ella no entiende, y la fe estricta y firme de la familia y de la gente que peregrina. Fanatismo.

I absolutely needed to know what was happening. I needed to know whether something otherworldly was at play, whether this child was being betrayed by those she should have been able to trust most, or whether she herself was behind it. I was pulled in by the atmosphere, by the mystery, and by the sexism that saw the local doctors dismissing Lib's opinions and cutting her off mid-sentence. Modern nursing was a very new thing at the time of this novel's setting and nurses were generally looked down upon by doctors, considered capable of watching and cleaning patients, but not offering a prognosis. Olivia, known as "Via" by her family, is Auggie’s older sister. She is 15 years old and has just started high school. During the book she explains how she is having trouble finding her own identity and feels left out by her friends. William Byrne es un periodista al que envían allí para cubrir este caso, y Lib, acaba refiriéndole algunas de sus observaciones. At the end of the book, Mr Tushman presents Auggie with an award for kindness and bravery, and makes a speech about how kindness is a choice. He says that they should: Lib has been nursing wounded soldiers during the Crimean War, trying desperately to keep men alive and as free of pain as possible. She was trained by the famous Miss N, as they called her, Florence Nightingale, and when she arrives in Ireland to take up a position, she is greeted warmly as “A Nightingale!”

What’s the story?

I was completely absorbed into the mystery of what was going on in this quiet, rural Irish village. How could she have survived without food? Was it all a crazy scheme invented by the family? Could something else underhanded be going on? Or could it really be an act of God like so many of the locals seem to believe? R.J. Palacio has said that she wrote Wonder after she saw a young child with a severe facial difference when she was out with her two sons. Miranda was one of Via’s best friends at middle school. She started hanging out with a different group of friends when she moved to high school, making Via feel like she’d been left behind. Miranda really cares about Auggie and misses how safe she felt with Via’s family. As time passes, Lib learns the dynamics of this small community, its legends and superstitions, as well as the family’s belief system which is deeply religious. Anna, in fact, is obsessed with religious passages and cards.

Auggie cuts his hair shorter by the end of the book which shows that he is no longer hiding his face. It's not long before Lib becomes very attached to Anna. Will she figure out what's going on? Can she save Anna?Nearly 4.5) A nurse investigates the case of an Irish girl surviving without food for months: miracle or hoax? The novel draws on about 50 historical cases of “Fasting Girls” that occurred in Europe and North America in the 16th to 20th centuries. It sets up a particularly effective contrast between medicine and superstition, that “fug of the ineffable” that so troubles Lib. Donoghue writes convincing and vivid historical fiction, peppering the text with small details about everything from literature to technology. Fate was faceless, life arbitrary, a tale told by an idiot. Except at rare moments such as this one, when one glimpsed a way of wrestling it into a better shape." The tension escalates as Lib befriends a young male journalist from Dublin who wishes to engage in conversations about this "Fasting Girl". Lib is caught up in a web of trying to sustain her professionalism, and at the same time, give in to the maddening desire to lay out all the irregular pebbles of stone before her. I loved this book so much. So much. I can easily see why it won't be for everyone - truth be told, the plot moves fairly slow - but I was just so engrossed in the story and atmosphere. I suppose it just depends how much this kind of tale appeals to you; whether or not you want to know more. Meanwhile, Via's best friend Miranda has started avoiding her, for reasons unknown to Via. Both audition for the lead in their school play, but Miranda ultimately gets the part, with Via as her understudy. On opening night, Miranda sees Via's entire family in the audience and feigns illness so that Via can take her place for the evening. After the show, the two reconcile.