The back matter from the author talks about this story and it's historically based, but it's still a fiction story. I was surprised. It felt so possible that I thought this was a non-fiction account. The premise is that Julian, part of the Wonder gang, has an assignment at school to ask his grandmother to tell a story. He gets her on the phone and asks about her story and she then tells him of her time as a teen girl in southern France during WWII as a Jew and how she survived. It was such an en...

***NO SPOILERS***White Bird is proof that a story about suffering is not only not held back by the graphic-novel format but could actually be at its best, most powerful told this way. Specifically here, author R.J. Palacio used the format’s magic pairing of text and illustration to tell a Holocaust story--that of Sara and how the Holocaust triggered a personal transformation when her carefree life was upended. Palacio put her exhaustive research to phenomenal use here, as Sara’s account could ea...

Cut out the last 8 pages and this is a 5 star middle grade graphic novel. That's what I'll be doing when I share it with my nieces and nephews some day.The illegal immigration issue in the United States is not in any way similar to the Holocaust. That someone could draw that comparison boggles my mind and dishonors the sacrifices and deaths of millions of Jews and those who helped them.When people break the law of a country, they cannot expect that country to welcome them with open arms or to lo...

This was a really good book. But at the end when the author compared the holocaust to trump and immigration it made me decide to give this book a four star rating.

Wow! I borrowed this today from the library. I was going to concurrently read it with the other two library books I have at home and other reading material too. I had three phone calls I meant to make today. I picked up the book to start it, and I didn’t put it down until I finished it. I did not expect that. This is a Wonder story. I’d wanted more information about Julian and this book provides it. I love Holocaust stories and often enjoy graphic novels so when a GR friend recommended this book...

I have never given a poor book rating before, but must follow my conscience. I find it egregious to compare the extermination of 6 millions humans to illegals sneaking across the border. It is an insult to my ancestors who waited in line for their turn to enter the US legally. The ending of this book does not give the young minds who read it an accurate picture or comparison.

White Bird is a gorgeous graphic novel in the same genre of Wonder where we learn the backstory of Julian (and in so-doing, grant some humanity back to this character from Wonder who was the bad guy in that story). Julian needs to do a report for school about his family and he asks his grandmother about her story. We then go back to Occupied France where she spent the war like Anne Frank in hiding. She falls in love with a polio victim who saves her life. It is a moving story using the image of

Phenomenal historical fiction graphic novel re: the Holocaust. And yes there’s a sticker saying it’s a Wonder story but it’s really not related to Wonder at all besides being 100% Julian’s grandmother’s history. I’d put this at an older level than Wonder for sure not because of reading level but simply because of the deeper topics of war, genocide, death, etc. I’ll be putting it in my elementary and middle school libraries but selling it way harder at the MS level.

I love R.J. Palacio's books. She does such a great job at telling everyone's stories and connecting them to each other. I was extremely impressed with this story because she taught about the holocaust, but didn't make it gory. This is definitely a book that I plan on reading with my students in the future. Also, they should turn this story into a movie."A Wonder story. In R. J. Palacio's collection of stories Auggie & Me, which expands on characters in Wonder, readers were introduced to Julian's...

I got the arc of this at the ALA conference, and it was amazing! The story was so sad, but it was really really good. In fact, I was so desperate for it not to end that I read all the way into the authors note and the research, which was very interesting. I especially appreciated the tie in to today, which was very important and moving.

Julian (from Wonder) has a homework assignment, and asks his grandmother to tell a story. This book is her story of being a teenage Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied France. Being separated from her parents when the Nazis came to her school, the hatred they fomented, and their vicious search for the Jewish children. She escapes, thanks to a boy classmate with polio, whom she has mostly ignored, and how his family hides her. It is a story of human kindness and bravery in a world gone mad. 4.5 stars, a...

What a wonderful read! Kindness is hope! “You might forget many things in your life, but you never forget kindness. Like love, it stays with you …forever.”

For a Graphic novel that is quick to read it packs a punch. I haven't cried at the end of a book for a long time. This is a story set in France during world war 2, it is told from a Childs point of view, her name is Sara. It shows her lovely life before the war then when the Germans turn up at the School to take the Jews children Sara hides and gets help from an unexpected person and his whole family help hid her for well over a year. This isn't a story about anger and hatred but of Courage and

This exceptional graphic novel was written by R.J. Palacio, author of Wonder and Auggie & Me. Palacio begins the novel with Julian, a character from Wonder, video-calling his Grandmere to learn about the Holocaust for a school assignment. We see a different side to Julian, who has started a new school year with some regrets about his prior behaviour. Julian’s grandmother agrees to tell him everything in the hope that the future generation will not repeat past mistakes. Julian is moved by his Gra...

I loved everything about this graphic novel....it was a fabulous story of World War 2 and the story of the narrator’s Grandmother. It was delicately told and heart-wrenching. It seemed to be ending well until it became clear the political agenda was strong and had to be thrown in at the end. Ugh - that was disappointing. It was a strong story, all on its own, without having to throw in an agenda. But the story was good and it’s always good to remind us to focus on kindness.

This is such a touching story. It hooked me from page 1 and had me crying by the middle. By the end I was sobbing in joy, and in pain for the main character. And it's a graphic novel, I mean, how great is that. Is it just me or am I the only one who has never seen a hardcover graphic novel? Content: Two people are killed in this book, a main character and a side character of importance. This book is about the holocaust in France, and talks about what happens in just the slightest detail, and men...

A short and heart tugging read about a girl who escaped the holocaust. But most importantly about how well meaning individuals who did nothing allowed it to happen. I picked this up on a whim although I have never read the book Wonder. I'm happy I did because in a time like this of unrest, I was able to sit hard and think on how I can make sure I am apart of the resistance instead of a passive observer.

The Holocaust is in no way similar to what is happening at the US Southern Border. To link the two is an insult to those who suffered and died during the Holocaust. If that hadn’t been in this book, 5 stars. With it? 1 star. Not saying what is happening currently at the Border is a-ok, but it is NOT a concentration camp. It is NOT the attempted extermination of a people, or even of one person. 1, highly surprised and saddened by this book, star.

Would have been great if the author eliminated the last few pages which took a beautiful story about a horrific time in history, and used it to make an anti-Trump comparison to the border situation. Which the author should have known better. To compare the rounding up and extermination of legal citizens who broke no laws, simply because of who they are, to illegals breaking into a country, breaking laws, and being rounded up to be returned (not killed) is despicable. Outrage that was never there...

Such a good read with a powerful message. I can’t even imagine What these people went through…