Module 3 (Part 2): The Inventions of Hugo Cabret: a Novel in Words and Pictures by Brian Selznick


Citation:

Selznick, B. (2007). The inventions of Hugo Cabret: a novel in words and pictures. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Summary:

Hugo Cabret is a young boy who has lost a lot in his life. He lost his mom, his dad, and now his only relative he had left, his uncle, passed as well. The one thing he does have left from his family is the love of machines, which comes from being from a family of clock makers. Hugo tries to fix his fathers prized possession, an automaton. This automaton can write, or at least he thinks it can if only he could get his hands on the parts he needs to fix it. The story starts with Hugo getting caught stealing by the toymaker whose toys have all the parts Hugo needs. The toymaker sees Hugo’s notebook, where the boy keeps the drawings of the automaton; then, threatens to burn the book. Hugo meets the Shopkeeper’s goddaughter and together they try to convince the shopkeeper to let Hugo fix this machine.

My thoughts:

The combination of written story and pictorial story give the book much detail that would have been missed otherwise. The details of the drawing, the machinery, the movies at the end, and even some of the action would have made a very different story without the pictures. This is one of the stories I would recommend to reluctant readers because it is so enticing.

Professional Review:

Gr 4-9-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. He employs wordless sequential pictures and distinct pages of text to let the cinematic story unfold, and the artwork, rendered in pencil and bordered in black, contains elements of a flip book, a graphic novel, and film. It opens with a small square depicting a full moon centered on a black spread. As readers flip the pages, the image grows and the moon recedes. A boy on the run slips through a grate to take refuge inside the walls of a train station-home for this orphaned, apprentice clock keeper. As Hugo seeks to accomplish his mission, his life intersects with a cantankerous toyshop owner and a feisty girl who won't be ignored. Each character possesses secrets and something of great value to the other. With deft foreshadowing, sensitively wrought characters, and heart-pounding suspense, the author engineers the elements of his complex plot: speeding trains, clocks, footsteps, dreams, and movies-especially those by Georges Melies, the French pioneer of science-fiction cinema. Movie stills are cleverly interspersed. Selznick's art ranges from evocative, shadowy spreads of Parisian streets to penetrating character close-ups. Leaving much to ponder about loss, time, family, and the creative impulse, the book closes with a waning moon, a diminishing square, and informative credits. This is a masterful narrative that readers can literally manipulate”
Lukehart, W. (2007. The inventions of Hugo Cabret. School Library Journal, 53 (3).

How to use this in a library:



This would be a great book to use for a STEAM program. Have the  pre-teens create automatons of their own that can be used to draw a picture, like in the book. An example would be one made in this youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU4RVNl_QPw.

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