The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Monday November 16, 2009
Brian Selznick achieved the highest honor a children's picture book illustrator can receive in the United States when he was awarded the Caldecott Medal for The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which he wrote and illustrated. His win was something of a surprise, because The Invention of Hugo Cabret is not your typical picture book, although like good picture books, both illustrations and text are used to tell the story. Instead, it is a fascinating adventure novel for 9-14 year olds, set in 1931 Paris. As the title page describes the book, it is "A Novel in Words and Pictures." The book is more than 525 pages long; 284 of those pages contain Selznick's dense pencil drawings. Along with the text, sequential double-page spreads of illustrations wordlessly move the reader through time, space, and the story of the orphan Hugo Cabret. I highly recommend it. Have you and/or your children read The Invention of Hugo Cabret? If so, click on "Comments" below and share your opinion.
(Cover art courtesy of Scholastic Press, An Imprint of Scholastic)
We bought this book this past summer and my husband and 9 year old daughter are reading it together. I love illustrated books and was so sad when she moved on to chapter books that had fewer “pictures”. The drawings are amazing and pull you right in; I may have to re-read it myself one day since this is “their” read together. And even though I am not familiar with the story, that hasn’t stopped me from recommending it to everyone!