Wonder Lesson Plan

Before publishing Wonder in 2012, R.J. Palacio (whose real name is Raquel Jaramillo) worked in publishing for more than 20 years as an editorial director, art director, and book jacket designer for numerous other authors' works. Palacio had always hoped to write her own novel someday, but the time had never seemed right.

Then one day, an accidental encounter with a child similar to Auggie made Palacio realize that the time to write her novel had finally come. Palacio had brought her son to get ice cream at a nearby shop and he began to cry when a girl with facial birth defects sat by him. Palacio tried to quickly remedy the situation by moving her son away, but then an ice cream spill...