Bibliographic Citation: Selznick, Brian. (2007). The invention of Hugo Cabret. New York: Scholastic Press
Summary: Hugo is a 12-year old orphan and thief living in the walls of Paris train station in 1931 where he repairs the station clocks. Hugo has a secret and an undercover life. Both of which are put in jeopardy by a small toy booth owner and the owner’s eccentric goddaughter.
Reviews: “Here’s a dilemma for the Newbery committee . . . and the Caldecott: what do you do with an illustrated novel in which neither text nor pictures can tell the story alone? Not to mention the drama to be found in the page turns themselves. A brief introduction sets the time (1931) and place (Paris) and invites readers to imagine they’re at the movies. And with a turn of the page, they are, as, over a sequence of twenty-one double-page wordless spreads, a story begins….” R., S. S. (2007). The Invention of Hugo Cabret [Review excerpt]. Horn Book Magazine, 83(2), 173-175. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
“Combining words and black-and-white pictures inspired by silent films, Selznick reveals the connections between a Parisian orphan and an elderly toymaker. The 2008 Caldecott Medal winner and a 2008 Notable Children’s Book.” The Invention of Hugo Cabret. (2008). Booklist, 104(13), 10. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Personal Impressions: I had heard good things about this book prior to reading it myself; especially about the illustrations. The illustrations are so beautiful that it is easy to see why it won the Caldecott award. Part picture book and part novel, this book is filled with mystery. The illustrations have a sense of mystery about them as they explain the story. The detail of the drawings is just so incredible; it is almost as if the characters would just jump out of the book. You can feel the emotion of the characters and the suspense as you read this book. It’s a wonderful book.
Suggestions for Use: This book is great to include in a collection of books about inventors during National Inventor’s Month in May.
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