The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Reviewed by Lori
Invention Of Hugo Cabret
Title:  The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Author:  Brian Selznick

Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 14355

Description:  Hugo, an orphaned clock keeper living in a Paris train station, finds his secret life jeopardized when he meets an old toy seller and his goddaughter.

2008 Caldecott Medal Winner

Rubric Rating: Level 4: Love It

Why I Read It: Just flipping through this book it was the illustrations that got me.

Lori's Notes:  This book is a tome but the majority of the novel is beautiful pencil illustrations.  The writing is easy to read and follow, and is surrounded by extensive white space.  The story is fantastic.  After his father dies in a museum fire, Hugo is adopted by his alcoholic Uncle and moves into the Paris train station.  When his Uncle fails to return home one night, Hugo, takes it upon himself to become the station's clock keeper.  By using materials he finds (read: steals) around the train station, Hugo attempts to repair an old automaton that his father had been working on before his death.  Hugo believes this mechanical marvel holds a secret message for him, if he can just get it to work.  The characters in this novel are all interconnected and the toy seller's goddaughter, Isabelle, holds the key that Hugo needs to make his automaton work.  What they discover is more than either of them could have imagined. The novel works very much like a silent film.

Recommended Readers:  Everyone.  This is a fantastic book for kids and adults.  The illustrations will engage reluctant readers and the story is captivating.  It lends itself very well for a book to movie comparison.

Themes: Relationships, Orphans, Movies, Automatons, Connections, Friendship, Extended Family, Secrets

Cross-Genre Links:
Movie: Hugo (2011)
Movie: Metropolis (1927)
Media Search: Automatons
Media Search: Georges Melies
Movie: The Astronomer's Dream (1898)

Possible Discussion or Essay Topics:
  • Why does Hugo continue keeping the clocks after his Uncle disappears? 
  • Discuss the Relationships between the characters in this novel.
  • Toy-Seller or Story-Teller what do you think of Papa Georges?
  • Why would Georges keep his identity secret?
  • Does the automaton really have a special message for Hugo?

Other Support Materials:
The Invention of Hugo Cabret on Playaway Audio

Other Titles by Brian Selznick:
Wonderstruck
Boy of a Thousand Faces
The Houdini Box

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for Reading!

Popular posts from this blog

Bluffton by Matt Phelan

Reviewed by Lori
Image
Title:  Bluffton: My Summers with Buster Author:  Matt Phelan Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 138305 Description:    Henry bonds with a young Buster Keaton over games of baseball while the latter summers locally with a troupe of vaudeville performers. Rubric Rating:   Level 3 - Laud It Why I Read It:  A growing interest in Graphic novels and a fascination with silent films. Notes:   I really liked this graphic novel.  The images are soft – softly coloured and softly focused.  This is the story of Henry Harrison and the summers that Buster Keaton and the Vaudeville troop come and stay at Bluffton.  While Henry is a fictional character Buster Keaton is not and the novel is based on his autobiography. The arrival of Buster brings excitement to Henry’s life.  They fill their summer days with baseball, pratfalls, and pranks. When Buster leaves for the show, Henry’s life returns to normal, helping his father at the har...
Read more

Cardturner by Louis Sachar

Reviewed by Lori
Image
Title: Cardturner Author: Louis Sachar Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 43908 Description: When his wealthy uncle, a champion bridge player who has lost his vision, asks seventeen-year-old Alton to be a cardturner for him, Alton has no idea how much he will ultimately learn from his eccentric relative.  Includes appendix by Syd Fox with information about bridge. Rubric Rating: Level 3 - Laud It Why I Read It: I really enjoyed the novel Holes and this book is by the same author. Lori's Notes: Alton's rich uncle, a champion bridge player, is blind and needs a cardturner for him to play.  A fantastic story about families and relationships, it weaves together the storylines of Alton and his uncle and first loves.  It does delve a little into the paranormal/ghostly but it wasn't distracting to the overall sense of the novel.  It also touches on the idea of how relationships change and change us.  I'm not a bridge player at all and had no idea how the game was p...
Read more

Finding Reading a Challenge During a Pandemic

Reviewed by Lori
Image
I love reading.  I have always loved reading.  But reading during a pandemic has been more than a little bit challenging.   Between worries and distractions my mind is constantly somewhere else.  I've found that I can't sustain my focus for more than a chapter or two.  I pick up a book, I put it down.  Then I struggle to remember what I just read, so I have to start all over again.  I've tried new books, old favourites, audio books, and ebooks.  The result is always the same, another book added to the "to be finished" pile.  And it isn't like I don't have the time to read, I have scads of it.  But then I'm never alone and the moment I pick up a book to try again, someone and/or something needs my attention and whatever little time I had to myself has now blown away like dandelion seeds in a stiff breeze.   You'd think given the situation, with multiple lockdowns and unending time at home, I would use reading as an escape -...
Read more