After a bizarre lightning strike during a terrible storm renders him deaf, Ben sets out on his own to search for his mysterious father, travelling all the way to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. With the sudden passing of his mother and no memory of his father, Ben feels alone and without a purpose. The story begins with Ben, a young boy living with his aunt and uncle in Gunflint Lake, Minnesota during the 1970s. Schneider Family Book Award Winner (2012).A Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book of 2011.
Interweaving the two stories, one told in pictures, the other in text, this is the book your students will be talking about all year. Two children, born 50 years apart, begin parallel journeys that lead them to the Museum of Natural History in this remarkable novel.
For enriched classroom discussion, it may be helpful for students to research these topics and draw meaningful connections between these references and the main characters.
In addition, Wonderstruck references real-world locations and events, such as the Queens Museum of Art, the 1964 New York World's Fair, and the New York City Blackout of 1977. A brief lesson about different aspects of history museums, including the importance of dioramas, panoramas, and "cabinets of wonder," will give students greater context about the setting of the novel. Some students may be unfamiliar with the depictions of museum culture prevalent in Selznick's book. Students should discuss the different ways deafness affects the main characters as the novel progresses and comment on how communication between characters is depicted throughout the narrative. While Ben became fully deaf because of an accident, Rose was born without the ability to hear. Selznick's descriptive language and detailed illustrations will keep even the most reluctant readers engaged in the story.īoth Ben and Rose are deaf, a trait that manifests in clever ways throughout the novel. Wonderstruck touches on the enduring themes of the passage of time, the importance of family bonds, and the challenge of communication without words. In pictures, we see the story of Rose, beginning with her youth in the 1920s to her later years in 1970s New York City.
In words, we learn the story of Ben, a lonely boy searching for a father he has never met. Connecting two narratives through prose and pictures, Brian Selznick's Wonderstruck is the perfect novel to inspire conversation, creativity, and curiosity in readers of all ages.
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