Bibliographic Information:
Selznick,Brian. The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Scholastic Press; First Printing edition (January 2007). ISBN-10: 0439813786
Book Awards:
Caldecott Medal
Plot Summary:
Hugo is an orphan who lives in a hidden room in a Paris train station. He has taken over his missing uncle's job of winding and fixing all of the station clocks, so that the stationmaster will not come looking for his uncle and stumble on Hugo. In his spare time, he works on a mysterious invention left by his father. When, desperate to complete it, he steals a gear from a grouchy toymaker, his life begins to spiral out of control. He is followed to his secret room by a nosy girl, and the toymaker catches him in the act! The girl has some mysteries of her own, however, and the toymaker seems to have a tiny soft spot. The invention, the girl, Hugo's father, the toymaker: how are they all related? Join Hugo at the Paris theatre to find out!
Critical Evaluation:
This book is one of the first of its kind, and has librarians scrambling to decide where to put it: graphic novels, or fiction? Whole sections of the story are told by Selznick's stunning, full-page pencil drawings: the words just stop, and the next piece of the story is comprised of ten or so pages of drawings. The style is pretty straightforward, without a great deal of difficult vocabulary, making this an ideal crossover book for graphic novel mystery fans. Hugo is a very sympathetic character: the reader cannot help but feel for his loneliness, and admire his dogged self-reliance and determination in the face of adversity.
Reader's Annotation:
Can an orphan in a train station fix a broken robot? Find a home? Solve a decades-old mystery? Bring peace to a bitter old man?
About the Author:
Brian Selznick was born in New Jersey, and attended the Rhode Island School of Design. He worked at a children's book store, painting window designs, and illustrating several children's books. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, and San Diego, California. Although he has written a few other books, The Invention of Hugo Cabret is his longest book to date.
Genre:
Mystery
Curriculum Ties:
History, Visual Arts
Booktalking Ideas:
- stealing food
-why automaton does what it does.
Interest Age:
9-12
Challenge Issues:
None.
Reason Included:
This book garnered a lot of attention because of its combined elements of picture book, novel, and graphic novel. I wanted to see if the author pulled it off. I don't really think it could be called a picture book, but I did love the story and the drawings.
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