The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Scholastic Press - Scholastic Press
Release date: 2007-01-30
Hardcover
Author: Brian Selznick
Juvenile Historical Fiction, Juvenile Mysteries, Juvenile Fiction, Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction, Children: Grades 4-6, Family - Orphans & Foster Homes, Juvenile Fiction / General, Juvenile Fiction / Mysteries & Detective Stories, Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories, Historical - Europe, Fiction, Orphans, Railroad stations, Robots
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The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Date undefinedThis book is geared toward young adults, but don't let that stop you. Selznick offers an exciting story in a novel format. The book is neither traditional novel nor graphic novel: Selznick mixes pages of text with pages of wordless illustrations which flesh out characters and advance the plot.
Hugo Cabret is an orphan who lived in the train station, where his uncle keeps the clocks running. But his uncle has disappeared, so Hugo keeps the clocks going while trying to fix a mysterious automaton his father left behind. Add in a toy peddler, an audacious young girl, a bookseller, and an adolescent cinephile, and you have a recipe for success! (And we learn something about early cinema to boot.)
Although the book is 550 pages, it took about two hours to read (due to all the picture pages): It was the most pleasurable and easy two hours I've spent in a long time!
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Date undefinedThe Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick is an utterly delightful read for children and adults will enjoy it as much as the kids do. Since the graphic novel MAUS was awarded the most prestigious award several years ago, graphic novels have been much acclaimed by critics and bibliophiles as authentic literaturee, and now the excellent art of Selznick brings it into the realm of outstanding children's literature. With a captivating and mysterious story of a young orphaned boy who lives in the walls of a train station in Paris, France, you will find this a page turner. But you will stop many times to pour over the excellent full page drawings of this work of art. Brian has built this fanciful story based on a real person who created some of the world's early films, Geroges Melies, and a few of Melies own drawings appear in the book also, as well as some historic art, reprinted with permission. The early days of film-making play a central part as the mystery unfolds, and of course, everyone lives happily ever after. This is a treasure of a book for the family! And you'll want to order more by Brian Selznick who has many to his credit.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Date undefinedSo yeah, the illustrations were neat. Yes, I highly liked the design and the color of the pages. But the story itself? Overrated. Nothing much happens. The passages are short. At the end of the book, it's revealed that the entire story is based on a real person, really ruining the book for me. It started out really powerfully and you think, hey, this might actually be a neat, slightly supernatural mystery, but nope, all you've got is a boring book about artists and film-makers. It took only half an hour to read, and the majority of the book just had me flipping through pictures, when I had expected it to be an "illustrated" book as in 'there are small images maybe once per chapter.' This had such potential, and I'm having lots of trouble understanding all the hype surrounding it. Not as tremendous as it should have, could have, and is portrayed to be.
