Module 3 - The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Cover art retrieved from the listing on WorldCat.org

 

 

Bibliography

Selznick, B. (2007).  The invention of Hugo Cabret: A novel in words and pictures.  New York: Scholastic Press.

Summary

Thirteen-year-old Hugo leads a secret life within the walls of a Paris railway station.  He spends his days secretly taking care of the railway clocks and stealing from people to survive. After being caught stealing from a mysterious toy seller and meeting the toy seller’s goddaughter Isabelle, Hugo’s life and the secret that he’s been hiding becomes threatened. Together, Hugo and Isabelle solve mysteries before coming to a surprise conclusion.

My Opinion

In my opinion, this book isn’t solely for children because even adults will enjoy this very interesting tale. The pictures are superb and help drive the story.

Reviews/Awards

• The author-illustrator creates a novel that is an interplay of fast moving text studded with cliff-hangers, relieved by pages of illustration that show rather than tell the action. (Susie Wilde from Children’s Literature.)

• Throughout the creative process, Brian Selznick has clearly been thinking well outside the box and, for so doing, he is to be congratulated. The Invention of Hugo Cabret perhaps provides a glimpse into the future of children's literature. (Gregory Bryan from CM Magazine, March 30, 2007 (Vol. XIII, No. 16))

• The book, an homage to early filmmakers as dreammakers, is elegantly designed to resemble the flickering experience of silent film melodramas. Fade to black and cue the applause! Kirkus from Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2007 (Vol. 75, No. 2))

• Texas Bluebonnet Award, 2008-2009

• Book Sense Book of the Year Award, 2008

• Quill Awards, 2007

Activity Suggestions

Since the setting of this book is a Paris train station, students could be led on a scavenger hunt at the library to find nonfiction books about Paris, trains, or train stations.