Wonder
by R. J. Palacio
A boy with a facial difference starts school for the first time and changes how those around him see kindness. Warm and told from several viewpoints. Read the full description
Best for: Ages nine and up, and parents to read along
Wonder is #65 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 60 out of 100.
Wonder: reading interest over the past 12 months
Sources: Open Library’s public reading-log and ratings data (dump of 2026-08-31), Wikipedia page views and Wikidata. Monthly counts are exact; they show relative interest among readers of these public sources, not total readership.
Ranked against the other books on this list, Wonder’s reading interest has run from #76 to #96 over these 12 months. Interest rank blends shelf adds, Wikipedia page views and rating activity, each compared with the other 99 books that month.
Shelf adds by month
Wonder was added to Open Library readers’ shelves 260 times in the past 12 months, peaking in September 2025 with 37 (71% above its monthly average of 22). Over the latest three months (Jun 2026 to Aug 2026) shelf adds were up 98% on the three months before. 85% of the adds were “want to read”, 8% “currently reading” and 7% “already read”.
Want to read Currently reading Already read
Wikipedia page views
Its Wikipedia article was viewed 154,533 times in the past 12 months, peaking in January 2026 with 17,826 views. The latest three months were down 14% on the three before.
Source: Wikimedia monthly page views for the article Wonder (Palacio novel).
Adaptations
- Wonder (film), 2017
Adaptations are listed from Wikidata; a release date near a rise in the charts above is context, not proof of a cause.
Awards and honours listed on Wikidata: E. B. White Read Aloud Award for Middle Readers.
What the data says about Wonder
- Moderate swings. Monthly shelf adds averaged 22 with some ups and downs.
- Busiest and quietest months. September 2025 was its busiest month (37 adds), about 6.2 times its quietest, December 2025 (6).
- Attention and shelf adds move independently. Its Wikipedia views and its shelf adds did not rise and fall together over these 12 months (correlation -0.31).
- Ratings above the list’s middle. Its Open Library average of 4.29 from 241 ratings is 0.17 higher than the middle book on the list (4.12).
- Against its genre. It had 60% fewer shelf adds than the average Children book on this list.
- Share of the list. It accounts for 0.2% of all shelf adds recorded for the Top 100 over these 12 months, #98 of 100.
- Its age. First published in 2012 (14 years ago), it is older than 36% of the books on the list.
Each finding is computed from the public data above and shown only when the numbers support it.
Wonder on the Top 100: rank history
First charted in September 2026. The chart gains a point with every monthly update, so its peak, climbs and falls will show here as they happen.
| Month | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | #65 | 60 |
Is Wonder rising or falling?
Cooling It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level.
On Open Library, Wonder ranks outside the top 200 this week, #113 this month, and #255 over the past year. A longer bar means a higher position. Comparing the three windows shows whether readers are arriving faster than the book's long-term pace. Readings as of 2026-09-30.
Why Wonder made the Top 100
Wonder made the list mainly on reader love (+18.1 points) and being read right now (+17.6 points). Its smallest contribution is staying power (+4.4). The BookWard Score blends five public signals, each scored from 0 to 100 and weighted as shown.
The reading-now, rating and rank signals come from Open Library’s public data, not from BookWard’s own readers. The score measures reading interest, not quality or sales. How the score works.
Open Library reader stats for Wonder
Source: Open Library public reading logs, as of 2026-09-30. BookWard’s own monthly snapshots are added to the picture, and anonymous BookWard reader data will be layered in as the community grows.
More readers have Wonder open right now than 46% of the other books on this list. These counts come from one public source, so they show relative interest rather than total readership.
Where it sits among Children books
It is #3 of the 5 Children books on this month’s list.
About Wonder
A boy with a facial difference starts school for the first time and changes how those around him see kindness. Warm and told from several viewpoints.
Why it’s here: It is a school-and-family favorite that teaches empathy without preaching.
Best for: Ages nine and up, and parents to read along
At a glance
- First published
- 2012-02-14
- Genre
- Children
- Also described as
- fiction, children's fiction
- Length
- about 368 pages (the median across its editions)
- Languages
- editions in 13 languages listed on Open Library
- Editions
- 55 on Open Library
- Setting
- Washington Heights
- Characters listed
- August Pullman, August "Auggie" Pullman, Olivia "Via" Pullman, Mr. Browne, Summer Dawson
- Awards and honours
- E. B. White Read Aloud Award for Middle Readers
From Open Library and Wikidata public records. Missing rows mean the records do not list that fact.
Themes
- Kindness
- Facial difference
- Belonging
What reading it is like
Warm and told by several characters. Easy middle-grade reading.
At about 368 pages it is a longer read: roughly 7 hours at an average reading pace (about 250 words a minute, 300 words a page). Audiobook and edition lengths vary.
Good to know
Often used in classrooms.
The premise
August Pullman, a boy with a facial difference, starts fifth grade at a regular school. The story is told from several viewpoints, showing how kindness changes the people around him.
What you’ll get
- A warm, hopeful story
- Several narrators
- Good for families to read together
You might skip it if you dislike middle-grade tone.
Pairs well with: The Little Prince · Holes
Keep exploring the chart
Also on the chart at #64 and #66
Questions about Wonder
What rank is Wonder on the Top 100 books?
Wonder is #65 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 60 out of 100.
Is Wonder rising or falling?
Cooling. It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level. On Open Library, Wonder ranks outside the top 200 this week, #113 this month, and #255 over the past year.
Why is Wonder on the Top 100?
Wonder made the list mainly on reader love (+18.1 points) and being read right now (+17.6 points). Its smallest contribution is staying power (+4.4).
How many people are reading Wonder right now?
Open Library's reading logs show 263 readers currently reading Wonder, 3,004 who want to read it and 325 who have logged it as read (as of 2026-09-30). These are counts from one public source, not all readers.
How much interest has Wonder had over the past year?
260 Open Library shelf adds in the past 12 months (peak September 2025, 37); latest three months up 98% on the prior three; 154,533 Wikipedia views in the past 12 months (down 14% over the latest three months); Adaptations on Wikidata: Wonder (2017). Figures come from Open Library and Wikipedia public data.
Who is Wonder best for?
Ages nine and up, and parents to read along.
Ask a question about Wonder
Ask about this book's chart history, reading interest, or who it is for. Answers come from this page's data and can be wrong.
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How we know
This page is built from public data: Open Library’s dated reading-log and ratings dumps, Wikipedia page views, Wikidata, and BookWard’s own monthly Top 100 snapshots. The interest rank blends shelf adds (45%), Wikipedia page views (30%), rating activity (10%) and, for months where a snapshot exists, BookWard’s own score (15%), each as a percentile among the Top 100 books. Every month shown is real data; nothing is estimated. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Last updated September 2026. Read the full methodology.
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