{"id":36974,"date":"2020-01-27T23:02:20","date_gmt":"2020-01-28T03:02:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=36974"},"modified":"2020-01-27T23:02:20","modified_gmt":"2020-01-28T03:02:20","slug":"review-of-white-bird-by-r-j-palacio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=36974","title":{"rendered":"Review of White Bird, by R. J. Palacio"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>White Bird<\/em><\/p>\n

by R. J. Palacio
\ninked by Kevin Czap<\/p>\n

Alfred A. Knopf, 2019. 220 pages.
\nStarred Review
\nReview written December 29, 2019, from a library book
\n2019 Sonderbooks Stand-out<\/a>: #6 in Children’s Fiction
\n2020 Sidney Taylor Book Award Winner<\/p>\n

This beautiful graphic novel written and illustrated by the author of Wonder<\/em><\/a> is framed as a story told by the grandmother of a boy who\u2019s a bully in Wonder<\/em>. But his grandmother tells him the story of how she was hidden in a barn during the Holocaust \u2013 and that story will touch anyone\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

The boy who helped her escape and whose family saved her life had been crippled by polio. So the other children mocked him, and Sara did not stand up for him against that bullying, even though she\u2019d sat next to him for years because their last names both started with B.<\/p>\n

The story of Sara\u2019s escape, and then the constant fear of discovery, and the way Julien and his mother helped her keep her courage up \u2013 but at great risk \u2013 all makes gripping reading. The story is not true, but there is information at the back telling about how it is all based in fact.<\/p>\n

In the present, Julien\u2019s grandmother tells him this was the boy he and his father were named after \u2013 someone who showed great kindness when any kindness felt like a miracle. The image of a white bird found throughout the book and the lessons drawn about standing up to evil and showing kindness make this a story that will resonate.<\/p>\n

rhcbooks.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Fiction\/white_bird.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a>