Common Sense Media Review
By Andrea Beach
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Moving WWII graphic novel has loss, offers hope for future.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 3 parent reviews
Based on 12 kid reviews
Kids say the book is a poignant and beautiful exploration of friendship set against a WWII backdrop, evoking strong emotions and providing valuable lessons. However, some felt certain elements, such as violence and a controversial ending, might be inappropriate for younger children, while many appreciated the artistic illustrations and engaging story.
- emotional impact
- friendship values
- appropriate for older kids
- informative storyline
- beautiful illustrations
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
WHITE BIRD: A WONDER STORY finds Julian at a new school working on a project for his humanities class. He decides to call his grandmother in Paris and ask her to tell him more details about her life and what happened to her during World War II, when she was a young teen living in occupied France. When the Nazis began rounding up Jews in their small town in the countryside, Grandmother Sara went into hiding for more than a year, led to safety by an unlikely friend, her shunned classmate Julien. He and his parents protected and fed Sara in secret for the duration of the war. During her interminable hours alone in a hayloft, and through the daily visits from Julien and his mother, Sara starts to see the world through other eyes, and to understand how spoiled and self-centered she's been. She also learns the enormous value of kindness, and how in the worst of times it becomes a beacon of light that saves us and preserves our humanity. And now that it's time for a younger generation to learn the lessons of the past, former bully Julian determines to speak out against injustice and carry on the legacy of kindness toward others handed down in his name.
Is It Any Good?
Keep a tissue handy as you near the end of this moving World War II story, beautifully written and lovingly illustrated by R.J. Palacio. The author of Wonder and Auggie & Me gently but unblinkingly tells a fictional story that enfolds one of humanity's greatest tragedies in the hopeful embrace of messages about the importance of kindness and speaking out against injustice. White Bird: A Wonder Story may well raise questions about how and why the Holocaust happened that are difficult, maybe even impossible to answer or understand fully. Learning about and understanding the past so that it doesn't happen again is a central theme that, along with others, can help young readers process large-scale tragic events.
Palacio deftly weaves details about Julian's story that will be familiar to her readers, like his experience as a bully, with events in his grandmothers life -- from her complicit shunning of a classmate to her eye-opening realization that she was reviled by some not because of something she did, but because of something she was. Naturally, a story that takes place during the Holocaust has its share of tragedy and loss, which Palacio handles elegantly, but it also shows how to be a beacon of hope, how those beacons mean everything for the sake of humanity, and how readers of any age should be beacons of light themselves, whenever and however they can.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the Holocaust and how it's shown in White Bird: A Wonder Story. Did you know anything about it before you read this book? Why is it important to learn about what happened in the past?
Does Sara's experience with Julien change the way you look at or think about people who are different from you, or different from most people? Sara regrets not defending Julien sooner, but it takes a lot of courage to speak up when no one else does. How will you react the next time you see someone being mean, or see something unjust happening in the world?
Have you read any of the other books in the Wonder series? Which one's your favorite? If you haven't read them, would you like to now?
Do you like the illustrations? How do they help tell the story? What are some of your favorite graphic novels, and how does this one compare?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : R.J. Palacio
- Genre : Graphic Novel
- Topics : Friendship , History
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Alfred A. Knopf
- Publication date : October 1, 2019
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 224
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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