Ten years ago this week, Knopf published R.J. Palacio’s debut children’s book, Wonder, which introduces Auggie Pullman, a boy born with a facial difference who wants only to be treated like an ordinary kid when he begins fifth grade at Beecher Prep—but his new classmates have trouble getting past his extraordinary face. Over the past decade, this novel underscoring the power of empathy, compassion, and kindness has touched the hearts of readers of all ages—and lots of them.

Published in more than 55 languages, Wonder has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide, received more than a dozen Best Books accolades, and spent more than 500 weeks on the New York Times middle-grade bestseller list—213 of them in the #1 spot. Auggie’s story will find additional fans on February 15, when Knopf releases an illustrated edition of the novel, featuring the art of Tad Carpenter and an essay by Palacio reflecting on 10 years of Wonder. The book has an announced first printing of 100,000 copies.

Also marking Wonder’s anniversary is Random House Children’s Books’ expanded partnership with myFace, a 70-year-old nonprofit dedicated to providing individuals and families with craniofacial conditions access to the holistic comprehensive care, education, resources, and support they need to navigate their journey successfully—and to letting them know they are not alone.

In 2015, recognizing the power of Palacio’s story to change the way people think about differences, the organization launched the myFace Wonder Project, a program bringing Palacio’s message into schools nationwide, which has reached more than 60,000 students in the U.S. to date.

Sharing Auggie’s Word and World

RHCB’s renewed partnership with myFace will extend the reach of the Wonder Project into primary schools for the current academic year. Through virtual school assemblies and a variety of resources, classroom materials, and activities, the program educates students about the importance of accepting differences (particularly facial anomalies), celebrating uniqueness, and choosing to be kind.

Dina Zuckerberg, who wrote the introduction for the illustrated Wonder, has served as myFace’s director of family programs for eight years and helms the Wonder Project. She has witnessed how deeply Auggie’s story resonates with readers—and acknowledged that she feels an especially close connection to the protagonist. Explaining that she was born with a cleft lip, hearing loss, and no vision in her left eye, Zuckerberg said, “I didn’t feel like the other children. I thought I was different, and people would stare. From the time I was three, I wore a hearing aid. I also had six surgeries, years of orthodontics, and speech therapy.”

After reading Wonder in a single sitting, Zuckerberg said, she was spurred into action by Auggie’s story. “The book changed my life in so many ways,” she noted. “It mirrored everything I had been feeling for so long. I was inspired to create a curriculum guide, and then we at myFace designed programming around it to present to schools.”

Key professional development aspects of the myFace Wonder Project include interactive teaching strategies to build students’ understanding of different perspectives, to help them develop critical reading and thinking skills, and to help teachers create classroom environments that allow for the safe discussion of sensitive issues such as prejudice and bullying.

“The Wonder Project brings to life the book’s central themes of acceptance and inclusion in real, meaningful, and teachable ways,” Zuckerberg added. “I have been able to see first-hand the impact I can have by sharing my story of growing up with a facial difference after I had so long shied away from talking about it. There is power in letting others know they are not alone.”

The New Look of ‘Wonder’

Carpenter, who worked with art director April Ward on the illustrated edition of Wonder, has written and illustrated more than 25 books for readers of all ages, and runs Kansas City design and branding studio Carpenter Collective with his wife and partner Jessica Carpenter.

Fans will discover that Wonder’s new cover, created by Carpenter, who was the artist behind the original edition’s iconic cover, contains elements both familiar and new. “We wanted to do something recognizable and to stay true to the original cover while introducing something new, and my imagination went down several paths,” Carpenter recalled. “We deliberated how much to depict and how much not to depict on the new cover.”

In the end, Carpenter incorporated the image of Auggie featured on the original 2012 edition of Wonder into the new cover design. “To celebrate the book’s 10-year milestone, we have added a dust jacket that portrays Auggie’s beloved astronaut helmet,” he explained. “The helmet is printed using metallic foils and includes a die-cut revealing the original cover.”

For the interior, Carpenter created more than 25 hand-drawn, pen-and-ink color illustrations. He was grateful to Palacio for setting the stage for the art so vividly. “Raquel did such an amazing job of describing the characters and environment that I didn’t have to make up too much—it was right there,” the illustrator said. “It was challenging doing this at the beginning of the pandemic—such scary, uncertain times—but this was a project I was passionate about. Wonder provides such a wonderful opportunity to talk about and understand the craniofacial community, and this illustrated edition celebrates the fact that we want it to be seen rather than hidden. I am so happy that I got the chance to do that for Wonder.”

Palacio, in turn, was pleased that Carpenter’s illustrations expanded Auggie’s story in such a candid and affecting manner. “I felt it was important that Tad not hold back in his portrayal of Auggie’s differences,” she said. “And he did not shy away from them. His illustrations are true to the book, and true to what craniofacial differences are. The boy Tad portrayed matched my vision of what Auggie looks like, and I’m grateful for that.”

The author, who wrote Wonder at night while working as editorial director of children's books at Workman by day, said she did not know at the time what kind of reception her first novel would receive, which was worrisome.

“I wrote this as a meditation on kindness and the impact it can have on others, to inspire people to be kinder,” she said. “What kept me up at night is knowing that the story was something worthwhile and that it should see the light of day—but having no idea if it would resonate with the public in any way, or if I could even find a publisher for it.”

Obviously, Palacio’s concerns were unfounded, and Wonder landed on bestseller lists a month after Knopf released it. “From the very beginning, this book has been an amazing experience in terms of the goodwill it has engendered,” she noted. “I am tickled and so moved by the continued reception that is given to Wonder. This book has sparked so many relationships for which I am so grateful. For 10 years, Wonder has brought one blessing after another.”

Wonder: Illustrated Edition by R.J. Palacio. Feb. 15 Knopf, $24.99 ISBN 0-593-37817-5