The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Bibliography:
Selznick, Biran. 2007. The Invention of Hugo Cabret. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN-13 9780439813785 ISBN-10 0439813786

Plot Summary:
The Invention of Hugo Cabret is about a twelve year old boy’s interactions with an old toy maker and his god-daughter while working as a secret timekeeper in a Paris train station. The boy, Hugo, has only two main goals: avoid detection by the Station Inspector and fix an old automaton in order to discover the message it can write.

Critical Analysis:
The illustrations that Brian Selznick includes in this book do not simply supplement the plot, but in many cases tell whole sections of the story. The power the images play in the novel can be summed up in a line said by the character Isabelle, “You can make up our own story when you look at a photo”. The story is then made real through the occasional use of actual photographs and images of the time. This freedom of imagination given to the reader, combined with realistic aspects, helps the story and the characters come to life.

The ending, revealing even why the illustrations are black and white sketches, wraps up the story so well that even the book in the readers hand becomes a part of the story. It is a wonderful book, suitable for all ages, that shows how a simple drawing can change a life forever.

Review Excerpts:
Starred Review in Publisher’s Weekly: “a true masterpiece—an artful blending of narrative, illustration and cinematic technique, for a story as tantalizing as it is touching.”
Starred Review in School Library Journal: “With characteristic intelligence, exquisite images, and a breathtaking design, Selznick shatters conventions related to the art of bookmaking in this magical mystery set in 1930s Paris… This is a masterful narrative that readers can literally manipulate.”

Connections:
Here are three other books that deal with famous artists:
Warhola, James. Uncle Andy's: A Faabbbulous Visit with Andy Warhol. ISBN 9780399238697
Rumford, James. Seeker of Knowledge: The Man Who Deciphered Egyptian Hieroglyphs. ISBN 9780395979341
Krull, Kathleen. The Boy on Fairfield Street: How Ted Geisel Grew Up to Become Dr. Seuss. ISBN 9780375822988