I read a lot of middle grade novels. I think it is my favorite genre. There is an innocence to them that is lost in YA and adult books, yet the stories can be quite complex. One I read recently that has stuck with me is called
Wonder by R.J. Palacio. It is a book about a fifth grade boy starting school for the first time. He has been home schooled his whole life due to a severe facial deformity. It is a story about bullying, but more over it is a story about kindness. There is a section at the end of the book where a school administrator is addressing the students and parents. In his speech he ushers a challenge for how he wants his middle schoolers to live. He says:
"If every single person in this room made it a rule that wherever you are, whenever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than is necessary-the world really would be a better place. And if you do this, if you act just a little kinder than is necessary, someone else, somewhere, someday, may recognize in you, in every single one of you, the face of God."
What a wonderful thought.
Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrsdkrebs/7553779830/">mrsdkrebs</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>
