Why I Discarded 15 Copies of Wonder

Don't worry. It's not what you think. I didn't put 15 copies of R.J. Palacio's brilliant blue-covered book in the trash. I did discard 15 copies from my library catalog, though.

Why in the world would I do that? Didn't I know that this was one of the best books in recent years? Hadn't I heard about the upcoming movie? What was wrong with me?

The truth is, I have a LOT of copies of Wonder.  I purchased 50 copies years ago when a sixth grade teacher dreamed aloud about teaching the novel to her class.  The teacher was ecstatic, the students loved the book, and all was right in the world.

But then the copies languished on the shelves. You see, a lot of kids have read Wonder  by now. "I'll create a library display promoting Wonder," I thought. "That will do the trick!"  And I have had students come in and check out the book since the start of school. But there were still plenty of copies of Wonder waiting to be taken to a good home.

Today, I was making my afternoon coffee, when two teachers were having lunch in my library office. (It's a great arrangement for collaboration.) These teachers were lamenting the fact that their classroom libraries were....GASP....RUNNING LOW ON BOOKS!

I had a choice here. I could smugly survey my library palace, gleaming with rows upon rows of fascinating books. Or I could play library superhero and save the day. But how?!?

One of the teachers wistfully eyed my copies of Wonder in the storage room.

"You have a lot of copies of Wonder," she said.

And before I knew it, I said, "Do you want them?"

Well of course she said yes. She wanted ten books, and her grade level partner wanted five.

So I discarded the books from the library catalog, and covered my bar codes with address labels proudly proclaiming the teachers' names.  But I was sad to let my books go.

And then I realized that they weren't my books at all. They belonged to the students. And if the books were going to get more use in the classroom libraries where the fifth grade students would see them everyday in the neat little baskets by the cozy reading rug, then that's where the books belonged.

Because this isn't about me. It's not about any of the teachers, really. It's about the students. So yeah, I discarded 15 copies of Wonder today. And I don't regret it.

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