The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Selznick, Brian. 2007. THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET. New York, N.Y.: Scholastic Press. ISBN 0439813786
Hugo Cabret is a twelve year boy that becomes an orphan after his father’s death. He is taken by his uncle who lives and works as a timekeeper in a Parisian train station. The uncle teaches Hugo how to set and repair the clocks in the train station. Life for Hugo is lonely and secretive. Hugo finds a friend in a young girl, Isabelle who he has seen at the toymaker's shop. The two find themselves drawn together as they begin to unravel the mysteries of a notebook of drawings, an automaton, and the man that owns the toy shop. There are secrets, people and coincidences that lead to answers the two of them never expected to discover. The illustrations tell the story as much as the words. The illustrations were drawn as a camera would zoom in for a close up then out for the bigger picture. The charcoal drawings are able to convey the dark and light of the situation as a cinematographer would do in the movies. The details of the face and body as Hugo moves about the train station in secrecy show the insecurity and fears he has about being caught. There are more than 250 pages of images in this picture book that appears more like a graphic novel. The book brings in the magic of the movies with movie stills and art from Georges Méliès estate included for a touch of the real life influences in this fictional journey. As the reader comes to the text it is printed simply on a plain white page. The words are as cinematic as the illustrations with the words appearing on the plain white screen of the cinema.
Awards and Reviews:
Caldecott Honor Award (2008)
Starred review- School Library Journal 03/01/07
Starred review-Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Book Links (A.L.A)-05/01/07
“The way the illustrations told the story was so exquisite,” said Karen Breen, chairwoman of the Caldecott judges committee and the children’s book review editor at Kirkus Reviews. “It was a favorite right from the start.”
2007 National Book Award Finalist,
Young People's Literature
This book would be a good example of how storytelling is not just in books but through movies. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick is a great example of storyboarding for older children who are looking for a “grown up” way of exploring art, design, film and writing. After reading this book I had two immediate thoughts, “Do middle school and high school art and language arts teacher know and use this book?” and my daughter needed to buy this book for her father. He is a cinematographer and would truly appreciate the art and cinematic influences in this book.