Tell me a (picture) story: The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Selznick, B. (2007). The invention of Hugo Cabret. New York: Scholastic.

Description:

"ORPHAN, CLOCK KEEPER, AND THIEF, twelve-year-old Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric girl and the owner of a small toy booth in the train station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message all come together...in The Invention of Hugo Cabret."

"This 526-page book is told in both words and pictures. The Invention of Hugo Cabret is not exactly a novel, and it’s not quite a picture book, and it’s not really a graphic novel, or a flip book, or a movie, but a combination of all these things. Each picture (there are nearly three hundred pages of pictures!) takes up an entire double page spread, and the story moves forward because you turn the pages to see the next moment unfold in front of you." Retrieved from the website for the book on 10/2/2017.

Awards: 

Caldecott medal 2008

Recommended for ages 9-12 by Publisher's Weekly (See source below), and
Grades 3-6 by School Library Journal (Retrieved from Barnes & Noble Website 10/2/2017).

Review:

Publishers Weekly Starred Review

"Here is a true masterpiece - an artful blending of narrative, illustration and cinematic technique, for a story as tantalizing as it is touching. Twelve-year-old orphan Hugo lives in the walls of a Paris train station at the turn of the 20th century, where he tends to the clocks and filches what he needs to survive. Hugo’s recently deceased father, a clockmaker, worked in a museum where he discovered an automaton: a human-like figure seated at a desk, pen in hand, as if ready to deliver a message. After his father showed Hugo the robot, the boy became just as obsessed with getting the automaton to function as his father had been, and the man gave his son one of the notebooks he used to record the automaton’s inner workings. The plot grows as intricate as the robot’s gears and mechanisms: Hugo’s father dies in a fire at the museum; Hugo winds up living in the train station, which brings him together with a mysterious toymaker who runs a booth there, and the boy reclaims the automaton, to which the toymaker also has a connection. To Selznick’s credit, the coincidences all feel carefully orchestrated; epiphany after epiphany occurs before the book comes to its sumptuous, glorious end. Selznick hints at the toymaker’s hidden identity (inspired by an actual historical figure in the film industry, Georges Méliès) through impressive use of meticulous charcoal drawings that grow or shrink against black backdrops, in pages-long sequences. They display the same item in increasingly tight focus or pan across scenes the way a camera might. The plot ultimately has much to do with the history of the movies, and Selznick’s genius lies in his expert use of such a visual style to spotlight the role of this highly visual media. A standout achievement. Ages 9-12. (Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved." 

Retrieved from the website for the book 10/25/2017.

I am adding this book to my collection for grades 3-5  because it is so unique and enchanting. As the description says it is neither novel, picture book, nor graphic novel, but a hybrid of all three formats. Children may be inspired by this book to pursue future studies in drawing, filmmaking, or engineering. This book is at every level inspiring. The illustrations are breathtaking and riveting. The compulsion to turn the page and take in more is strongly felt in both the drawn and written sections of the book.

Keywords: Automaton, Clockworks, Orphans, Georges Méliès

This work can be used for the Kentucky Education Standards for 3rd grade media arts. 
MA:Re7.1.3
a. Identify and describe how messages are created by components in media artworks. 
b. Identify and describe how various forms, methods, and styles in media artworks manage audience experience.
Retrieved 11/27/17 from the Kentucky Education Standards p. 31. 

Kentucky Department of Education. (2017). Kentucky DAcademic Standards. Retrieved November 27, 2017, from https://education.ky.gov/curriculum/standards/Pages/default.aspx