We couldn’t be more proud of the reception this year’s book received. So many people read the book, shared it’s message, attended programs, and took the idea of Choose Kind to heart. We hope that you keep the idea in your hearts and minds as you journey on through the rest of 2013 and beyond.

As a final thought, here is a letter from a Fairfielder touched by Wonder:

My precept:  We don’t always get what we deserve.

When we found out I was pregnant with my first child, my husband and I were overjoyed.  Cautiously optimistic.  Excited.  You can’t help but worry, of course.  Worry is the work of pregnancy and I’m a really skilled worrier.  But everything would turn out fine.  It always does. I didn’t smoke, drink, or eat much sugar during my pregnancy.  I mostly ate green apples and plain yogurt and I only allowed myself to eat desserts on Saturdays.

My son arrived two weeks early.  When I pushed him out into the world, they handed him over to me, an ooky baby who stared up with his big, dark eyes.  I was startled at his resemblance to me, and I also noticed that he had a brown birthmark the size of a pencil eraser on his right cheek.  Kind of like John-Boy from “The Waltons.”  I liked John-Boy.  That was fine with me.

Six weeks went by, November and December of 2000 were filled with dimpled chads and court wars.  My son was turning more into a real baby, no more  wrinkles or dark pink skin.  One night he lurched forward and hit his face on my husband’s thumb while my husband was holding him, and we thought he had a bruise on his cheek.  We were wrong.  Now that his skin had faded to a normal tone, we could see it clear as day, a birthmark that was a large triangle with the broad part of it spanning most of his right cheekbone, with the lesion coming to a point close to his jaw line.  The original dark pencil eraser spot that I had seen was actually part of a much larger, giant mole.  Like a monster freckle that had been blown up and  pasted on my son’s face in a very unfortunate spot.

We were shocked, and didn’t quite know what to do.  Thankfully we had had six sleepless weeks to bond and get to know our baby without having the shocker handed to us right away. Eventually, the birthmark grew darker and darker and by four months it was the color of light coffee. Spring was upon us, with warmer sun and flower buds, and I was taking my son for a walk in his stroller.  A four year-old was out playing in her in driveway and asked to see the baby.  “Why does he have a dirty face?” she asked.  This was the first of a long line of questions to come.  I couldn’t help myself; I went home and cried.  It wasn’t the four year-old’s fault.  But at that point I finally realized this wasn’t going to be easy.  You’d do anything you could to take pain away from your child but there was nothing I could do to prepare him for this.  I couldn’t trade faces with him.

We went to a parade of surgeons, we decided that removal was necessary not only for cosmetic reasons but also because a congenital hairy nevus carries an elevated risk for melanoma.  My son underwent two surgeries at the age of 2.  It was emotionally disturbing to willfully turn a perfectly cute child with a round face in for a surgery that made him cry, thrash, scream, become swollen, mangled, and in pain afterwards.  It was awful, and so hard not to second-guess our decision.  After the second surgery, he couldn’t walk because they needed to harvest a tendon from his thigh in order to create a sling that would provide internal support for the scar, attached at his cheek and sewn in behind his ear.  We carried him everywhere for about a week.

Things calmed down, life returned to normal.  Then nine months after the second surgery, in the sunlight I saw something brown and fuzzy in the scar line.  Not again.  When I called the doctor, the nurse matter of factly told me that the pigment had regenerated in the scar line.  We thought we were done.  We were shattered and couldn’t handle anymore.  Along with the fights with our insurance company and medical bills (which totaled enough to buy a new car), the emotional roller coaster was too much, and we had to take a break.

Fast-forward to preschool, didn’t have the easiest time there, the age of four is a time of self-awareness and one day when bringing a Q-Tip in for “letter Q day,” my son started crying in the car.  “I use a Q-Tip to put (bleach) cream on my cheek.  Why doesn’t my cheek look like everyone else’s?  Why did God have to make me this way?  Why can’t I look like everyone else?”  Out of nowhere.  Sobbing in the car on the way to school.  About a Q-Tip. What do you say to that? I have nothing to offer but apologies.  “I’m sorry.  I wish I could take it away from you, but I can’t.  We have to make the best of it.  Everybody has something (wrong), it just so happens that your something is right where everyone can see it.”

Kindergarten and its brown speckled scar brought its own challenges too, 60 new kids with questions.  Some were nicer than others.  One kid brought it upon himself to ask what the birthmark was about once a month, when there was nothing else to do.  Can a five year-old really be passive-aggressive?

On our way to his kindergarten birthday party at a local bowling alley, we went to the grocery store to pick up the cake.  We were in a hurry in the bathroom, washing our hands, and we bumped into a clerk on our way out.  “Oh My God Honey Are You OK?  Did You Fall Down On The Playground,” she said emphatically, in her mushy, slightly demeaning little-kid voice.  “Do you want to tell her, or do you want me to?” I said to my son.  He looked at her and said, “I was born with a birthmark on my face and I had two surgeries.  This is my scar.”  Thank you, person, who thought that my kid’s face on a normal day was the same as a kid who has had a horrific playground accident.  Thanks for deflating what had been a joyous happy day.

As the years passed, the scarline proceeded to become more and more brown and fuzzy, but we just couldn’t stomach another surgery.  Finally in third grade, we went to a different surgeon (to spare us further financial calamity inflicted by the first guy).  My son had his third surgery a week after his 9^th birthday.  They reopened the entire six-inch scar line in order to remove the pigment and stitched it back up.  He had a bandage glued to his face that was supposed to come off on its own in ten days.  In fact, 10 days turned into about six weeks.  The day the first part of the bandage finally came off, it exposed a red, raw ugly stretch of scar.  My son cried and cried.  How was he supposed to go to school like this, to face his friends with a face that looked so raw and awful?  I wiped his tears away but forced him to go to school.  The first thing his friend said when he arrived was, “I am so happy for you that your bandage is finally falling off!  I know it has been so itchy and uncomfortable!”  And that was it.  How wonderful was that?

Fast forward, another happy couple of normal years, relishing a normal daily life.  Everyone at school had a new-found empathy for my son because they had journeyed with him through the process of recovering from surgery and sitting in the office for indoor recess (thankfully he had a long line of friends wanting to be his buddy doing puzzles with him because it was a really cold winter!), that he had to wear his weakness under a gross bandage that was stained with chocolate and spaghetti sauce…and that he had to wear his weakness, red, raw, and unhealed, for the entire world to see when the bandage finally revealed his truth.

Sixth grade presented its own challenges.  Three hundred new kids.  Being thrown into a huge environment.  My son came home with exciting reports the first few days, but after awhile he became worn down.  One night before bed, he admitted to me that he just wished that people would say something different when introducing themselves.  Something different than, “What happened to your face?  Did you have stitches?” because his identity was far from that, and it was frustrating to get past that when introducing yourself to three hundred new faces.

I think of all of the challenges that my son has had, catching people staring at him when he’s in a sea of new people.  I can’t save him from that.  I can’t save him from the person in the supermarket who thought that his face on a good day looked like he fell on the playground.

While I can’t save him, I can teach him a thing or two about love.  I don’t love you any less because you were not born perfect, with your weakness out in the open for all to see, so vulnerable.  As a matter of fact, I love you more.  And you’ll learn more about other people and what they feel about the difference between false appearances and what’s on the inside, because your true friends will always be accepting of you even if your physical flaw stares them in the face.

All of the people who know and love my son tell me that they don’t see it.  They don’t see the scar, and neither do we.  We only see it when the rest of the world asks us impolite questions about it and wakes us up from our happy routines.  We are blind to the imperfection.  We only see love when we look at this kid (unless he hasn’t picked up his dirty clothes again).

When I think about everything we have been through, I think about what we did to deserve this.  Absolutely nothing.  And when I see  a child with ADD, who can’t stay focused, I think about what that parents did to deserve that.  Absolutely nothing.  Or the child isolated at the “nut-free” table every day because of a life threatening allergy.  What did the parents do to deserve this?  Absolutely nothing. Or the child with cerebral palsy who is confined to a really expensive wheelchair and a really expensive van that accommodates the wheelchair.  I think about what the parent did to deserve this.  Absolutely nothing. Or a non-verbal autistic child whose parents’ dream is to have his or her child just to be able to say, “I love you.”  What did those exhausted parents do to deserve this?  Absolutely nothing.

And so, I ask you, the residents of Fairfield, to ask yourselves the next time you see a person who isn’t perfect.  Maybe the imperfection is staring you in the face, or maybe it’s not.  Just give a handshake, look the person in the eye, and a smile and say hi.   Because while that person didn’t necessarily get what he deserved, he does deserve extra love and kindness from the people around him.

Choose Kindness, because we all deserve it.

We look forward to bringing you another outstanding One Book One Town in 2014. Feel free to submit your suggestions to our attention. And have a wonderful summer!

In just two days, R.J. Palacio will visit Fairfield to talk about what inspired her to create our One Book One Town selection, Wonder. But there are still many insightful programs inspired by this amazing book coming up later in March. Here are just a few that you simply cannot miss!

Saving Civility with Author Sara Hacala

Saturday, March 16 at 1:30 pm – Fairfield Public Library, Rotary Room

Sara Hacala will explore how we, as individuals, can each contribute to making the world a more pleasant place to live through mutual respect, consideration and acceptance. The author of “Saving Civility: 52 Ways to Tame Rude, Crude and Attitude for a Polite Planet,” Ms. Hacala is president of Sara Hacala & Associates LLC, which provides full-service training and seminars in all aspects of business etiquette, manners and civility for organizations and individuals.

An Evening with David Harrell

Thursday, March 21 7:00 pm – Fairfield Public Library, Rotary Room

Actor and disability advocate David harrell was born without his right hand. In his entertaining presentation, David will talk about what it’s like to grow up with something that sets you apart physically, the importance of acceptance of self and others, and the journey of discovering what is normal. As an actor, David has performed in theater, film and has even appeared on Law and Order: SVU.

Writer’s Contest Public Reading

Tuesday March 19 at 7 pm – Main Library, Memorial Room

What does the concept of kindness mean to you? The winners of our writing contest will read their works at the Library on March 19. Stop by and listen to the amazing and inspired works of your friends and neighbors!

Register online for these events and keep the spirit of Wonder going all through the month of March. See you there!

Do you love our One Book One Town selection Wonder by R.J. Palacio? What would you say to the star of the story, Auggie Pullman, if you could? Well, here is your chance!

Visit the second floor of the library on Monday, March 4 and Friday, March 8 from 3 to 5 pm and leave a video message for Auggie telling him what you thought of his story. These ‘letters’ will be compiled and shared with both author R.J. Palacio and attendees of our signature author event next week.

This is a great way for Fairfielders of all ages to get involved with One Book One Town so stop by the library today to thank Auggie and Ms. Palacio for sharing Wonder with us!

Are you on Instagram? In honor of One Book One Town, we are sponsoring a contest on the the photo-sharing social network site with big prizes for the winners!

Take a picture on Instagram between now and March 10th that demonstrates the theme of ‘Choose Kind.’ It can be of someone helping another person out or an image that inspires the idea of kindness when you see it. Use your imagination!

Use the hashtag #fplwonder to submit your Instagram to the contest. Please note: If you have a private profile, please set it to public just for the days of 3/10 and 3/11 so we can see your pictures for judging purposes.

The three finalists will be invited to a special reception and the author presentation with R.J. Palacio on Thursday, March 14th at Fairfield University. The grand prize winner will receive $150.

This is a quick and easy way to participate in One Book One Town and promote the idea of choosing kindness. Go forth, snap some pictures and have fun!

Not on Instagram? Send your photos to nscherer@fplct.org to participate. Please note: Any photos submitted may be used for promotional purposes during the One Book One Town celebration.

For the One Book One Town season we are asking all of Fairfield to ‘Choose Kind.’ You’ve seen the t-shirts and the signs on the road and that is just the beginning! We understand it’s not always easy – minor frustrations can add up and make a good day a bad day in no time at all.

We are doing our best to encourage the little things you can do to brighten your day and the days of everyone around you. So, we present to you Fairfield Compliments.

Send a message to this Facebook profile and it will be reposted for all to see – anonymously! If there is something nice you want to say but don’t quite know how, you can tell Fairfield Compliments and they will deliver the message. Add Fairfield Compliments as a friend to see all the kindnesses that are being shared. It will make your day – and if you participate, you’ll make someone else’s day. It’s an easy way to Choose Kind!

Only sincere messages will be reposted: No snark or sarcasm! The page admins will err on the side of caution, so make sure what you say is clear, concise and above all, kind!

It’s been a little over two weeks since we announced our selection for Fairfield’s 2013 town-wide read: Wonder by R.J. Palacio.

This picture of the books feels like a mirage. We haven’t seen a copy of the book in the library since the day of the big reveal: As soon as a book is returned, it gets put on hold for another Fairfielder! We are ordering even more copies and e-books (available for free through our digital library) as we speak!

Have you read Wonder? Have you shared it with others? We’d love to hear what you think…

And remember: Registration for all events will begin this Friday, February 1 at 9:00 AM. For more information on events, take a look at the Events and Programs tab.

A few weeks ago, when we announced our selection of Wonder for One Book One Town 2013, staff members and friends of the library sported special t-shirts emblazoned with one of the themes of the book, “Choose Kindness.” The shirts made an impact rather quickly.

An hour later, a patron paid another person’s overdue fines at the Main Library circulation desk. The two people were strangers to each other. Was this a ‘random act of kindness’?

No. It wasn’t. There was nothing ‘random’ about the act. It was a choice. A deliberate decision to be a little kinder than is necessary. And those two strangers, the one who gave and the one who received weren’t really strangers, even though they had never met before that moment. They were, and are, neighbors. As citizens of the same town, aren’t we all neighbors to each other?

We hope that you will read Wonder and take the idea of ‘Choosing Kindness’ to heart. Make the decision to be a little more thoughtful, a little slower to judge and a little faster to help. It’s not random. It’s a choice. And it makes a difference.

“I know I’m not an ordinary ten-year-old kid. I mean, sure, I do ordinary things. I eat ice cream. I ride my bike. I play ball. I have an XBox. Stuff like that makes me ordinary, I guess. And I feel ordinary. Inside. But I know ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. I know ordinary kids don’t get stared at wherever they go. If I found a magic lamp and I could have one wish, I would wish that I had a normal face that no one ever noticed at all. I would wish I could walk down the street without people seeing me and then doing that look-away thing.

Here’s what I think: the only reason I’m not ordinary is that no one else sees me that way.”

Introducing the selection for our sixth annual town-wide reading celebration:

August Pullman, the protagonist of Wonder, was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school – until now. He’s about to enter fifth grade at Beecher Prep, and if you’ve ever been the new kid, then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie’s just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he’s just like them, despite appearances?

First-time author R.J. Palacio has crafted an uplifting novel full of wonderfully realistic family interactions, lively school scenes, and writing that shines with emotional power. R.J. will be visiting Fairfield for our signature One Book One Town event on Thursday, March 14 at the Fairfield University Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. More information on this and other One Book One Town events and programs is coming soon.

Pick up your copy of Wonder at the Fairfield Public Library, the Fairfield Woods Branch Library, the Pequot Library or the Fairfield University Bookstore.

We will officially announce the selection for 2013′s townwide read tomorrow, Thursday, January 10th at a press conference in the lobby of the Main Library. All are welcome!

Here’s one last hint…feel free to make your guess by commenting below:

The book contains a myriad of pop culture references, including two ‘galactic’ favorites: Space Oddity by David Bowie and the Star Wars film franchise.