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Parents' Guide to

White Bird: A Wonder Story

By Andrea Beach, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Moving WWII graphic novel has loss, offers hope for future.

Book R.J. Palacio Graphic Novel 2019
White Bird: A Wonder Story Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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age 11+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Meaghan E.
Meaghan E. Parent of 11 and 14-year-old
August 14, 2023
age 11+

Beautiful story with an unfortunate social justice message at the end

Beautiful illustrations and great historical fiction. I wish the author did not feel the need to bring current social justice issues in at the end and compare United State’s current events to Nazi Germany. It would have been a 5 star review without trying to over-influence children on social justice issues. Teach them history without bias.
Michele2008
Michele2008 Adult
December 29, 2019
age 10+

Fantastic book

My (almost-10-year- old) daughter loved this book and we immediately read it again after she was done the first time. It does deal with some violence and some death but it’s set during the historical period of the Holocaust si to be expected. Very touching book.
See all 2 parent reviews

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?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (9 ):

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

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