The Invention of Hugo Cabret

The Invention of Hugo Cabret
written and illustrated by Brian Selznick, 2007. New York: Scholastic Press. (0439813786).

Author Website: http://www.theinventionofhugocabret.com/index.htm

Media: pencil on Fabriano Artistico watercolor paper, film stills, sketches by Georges Melies

Awards and Honors: 2008 Caldecott Medal; National Book Award Finalist; A New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2007; A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2007; 2007 Quill Award Winner; 2007 Borders Original Voices Finalist; 2007 #1 Best Book for Kids from Barnes and Noble; Parenting Magazine "Mom–Tested Book of the Year"; Miami Herald Best Kids Book of 2007; Rocky Mountain News Best Book of 2007; San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2007; Kansas City Star Top 100 Books of 2007; Columbus Dispatch Best Book of 2007; Los Angeles Times Favorite Children's Book of 2007; Kidsreads.com Best Book of 2007

Annotation: 
A thieving orphan, a one-eyed man, a strange little girl and a mean old man are the characters in Brian Selznick's 500 page, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, a book that blurs the lines between novel, picture book, graphic novel and movie. 

Personal Reaction/Discussion of Artwork: 

     Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret is an ambitious, original and impressive book for children. The plot line is classic mystery/thriller, but the unique physical form of the book is what really sets it apart. Selznick says of the book that it is "not a exactly a novel, not quite a picture book, not really a graphic novel, or a flip book or a movie, but a combination of all these things". 
  
     Hugo is a twelve year old orphan who lives in the walls of a Paris train station. After his tippling uncle disappears, leaving Hugo to fend for himself, his existence consists of tending to the clocks in the station and trying to fix up an old automaton that his father had been working on when he mysteriously died. Hugo tries to make existence a secret, but when he is discovered stealing parts for the automaton from an old man who runs a toy shop in the station, his life as he knows it changes forever. 
 
     The plot winds and turns as Selznick introduces new twists that keep Hugo (and the reader) guessing. To Selznick's credit, he keeps the action neatly uncoiling, even as the plot becomes more and more involved. There are a few story elements that don't get wrapped up (What really did happen to Hugo's uncle, and what of the dead man found in the river with his uncle's flask? Was there something sinister behind the mysterious circumstances of Hugo's father's death?), but Selznick's knack for pacing the complicated storyline is satisfying.


     The writing is serviceable, but it's Selznick's illustrations that really shine here. They move the story along and give it a truly cinematic feel. I found myself reading quickly through the written parts in anticipation of the next illustrated sequence. They're dark, moody crosshatched graphite drawings that draw readers in immediately- you feel that you're a part of the action during the illustrated scenes. The illustrations have the feeling of camera shots and Selznick uses them to establish setting, further the narrative and add detail to the story. I also applaud the decision to adorn the spine of the book with the close up drawing of Hugo's face. I actually first found the book while I was perusing the fiction shelves of my library and the book stood out amongst the rest of the plain, solid spines. Selznick includes sketches and movie stills from early cinema (which figures in the plot to a great degree) in the book. The result is a rich, magical, multimedia experience that children will enjoy.