The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznik
I read this before realizing that it’s not technically a YA book because Hugo is 12 years old. So I think that it technically is a children’s book. But it was exceptionally good and since I read it, I’m going to log it here anyway :)
The artwork on the closeups was absolutely beautiful. On longer shots people looked a bit fuzzy. And the story was simplistic but it had a happy ending. This would be a great book to encourage lower level readers or reluctant readers I would think since it’s a hybrid graphic story.
Selznik, Brian. The Invention of Hugo Cabret. New York: Scholastic, 2007.
Published Review:
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Here is a true masterpiece—an artful blending of narrative, illustration and cinematic technique, for a story as tantalizing as it is touching.Twelve-year-old orphan Hugo lives in the walls of a Paris train station at the turn of the 20th century, where he tends to the clocks and filches what he needs to survive. Hugo’s recently deceased father, a clockmaker, worked in a museum where he discovered an automaton: a human-like figure seated at a desk, pen in hand, as if ready to deliver a message. After his father showed Hugo the robot, the boy became just as obsessed with getting the automaton to function as his father had been, and the man gave his son one of the notebooks he used to record the automaton’s inner workings. The plot grows as intricate as the robot’s gears and mechanisms [...] To Selznick’s credit, the coincidences all feel carefully orchestrated; epiphany after epiphany occurs before the book comes to its sumptuous, glorious end. Selznick hints at the toymaker’s hidden identity [...] through impressive use of meticulous charcoal drawings that grow or shrink against black backdrops, in pages-long sequences. They display the same item in increasingly tight focus or pan across scenes the way a camera might. The plot ultimately has much to do with the history of the movies, and Selznick’s genius lies in his expert use of such a visual style to spotlight the role of this highly visual media. A standout achievement. Ages 9-12. (Mar.)
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This book is currently on the Cochecho Readers’ List for NH and that is aimed at grades 3-4. I found it to be a great way to encourage somewhat reluctant readers that they could read a “fat book.”
For example, if you are an accountant, say that you would like to improve your knowledge in taxation. ,