Summary
This is a story of a young boy, Hugo
Cabret, who learns to work with mechanical things at his father's
knee. Hugo's father is fascinated with a broken mechanical man that
sits poised to write. When Hugo's father dies in a fire, Hugo
returns to his father's work to retrieve the mechanical man and the
notebook that will help him piece the man together. Hugo feels that
the machine will write something that would help him.
Hugo lives inside a train station with
his uncle who is the clock keeper. Hugo learns to keep the clocks
accurate and continues to do so even after his uncle disappears.
Later Hugo learns that his uncle drowned when he fell down drunk into
a river. In order to make his mechanical man work, Hugo needs parts
that he steals from the toy seller who has a booth in the train
station. The toy seller catches Hugo and takes his notebook away
from him. Hugo tries to befriend the toy seller's goddaughter,
Isabella, in order to get the notebook back. Isabella follows Hugo
into his room inside the walls of the train station. There, she sees
the mechanical man and the two embark on a journey to solve the
mystery of the mechanical man and the secret identity of the toy
seller.
Impressions
This is a wonderful mystery book set in
Paris in the early 1930's. The story begins with black and white
sketches of Paris at night. As dawn breaks over the city, people
enter the busy train station where twelve year old Hugo lives inside
the walls, behind the clocks. Hugo enters through a grate in the
wall and peeps through the number five of the clock set in the wall
directly across the toy seller's little shop.
The pictures tell the story so well,
the artwork is expressive and reminiscent of old black-and-white
movies. The black pages are trimmed in black and the drawings are
stark, which further emphasizes Hugo's sad situation as an orphan,
dependent only upon himself, stealing food when he needs it, and
working diligently to try and piece the automation together. Hugo is
desperate to save himself, but he does not know how and feels the
automation would be the answer to how he will live the rest of his
life. The Invention of Hugo Cabret is not simply a book, it is an
old motion picture in book form. The pictures do not just compliment
the story, they are an intricate part of the story. A reluctant
reader will not be intimidated with this mystery. It is a great book
to introduce to children who find words laborious, and those who love
to read graphic novels.
Use in the library
A book club discussion in the library
that introduces graphic novels would be one way to introduce the
mystery genre to students who normally choose humor or action graphic
novels. It is also a great book to introduce to reluctant readers,
since the words are limited while the pictures tell most of the
story. The discussion could center around the readers'
interpretation of the pictures, and how Selznick portrays the
setting, characters, and plot all through pictures.
Reviews
"Combining
text and pictures creates a hybrid graphic novel. The subdued
drawings catch the grayness of Hugo’s underground life. Selznick’s
website, www.theinventionofhugocabret. com, provides additional
information about early film making, including A
Trip to the Moon.
Endnotes in the book validate the accuracy of the cinematic history
and reinforce that Hugo and Isabelle are fictional characters. The
reader, mesmerized by the original artwork and film stills, will
accompany the two of them through the mystery woven in Selznick’s
narrative."
Reviewed
by Judith A. Hayn, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, USA.
" The interplay between the
illustrations (including several stills from Méliès’s frequently
surreal films and others from the era) and text is complete genius,
especially in the way Selznick moves from one to the other, depending
on whether words or images are the better choice for the moment. And
as in silent films, it’s always just one or the other, wordless
double-spread pictures or unillustrated text, both framed in the
enticing black of the silent screen. While the bookmaking is
spectacular, and the binding secure but generous enough to allow the
pictures to flow easily across the gutter, The Invention of Hugo
Cabret is foremost good storytelling, with a sincerity and verbal
ease reminiscent of Andrew Clements (a frequent Selznick
collaborator) and themes of secrets, dreams, and invention that play
lightly but resonantly throughout. At one point, Hugo watches in awe
as Isabelle blithely picks the lock on a door. “How did you learn
to do that?” he asks. “Books,” she answers. Exactly so."
Reviewed by R. Sutton, Horn Book
Magazine.
Resources
Hayn, J.A. (2007,
October). [Review of the book The invention of Hugo Cabret, by B.
Selznick]. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 52(2),
189. Retrieved from
http://www.reading.org/general/publications/journals/jaal.aspx
Selznick,
B. (2007). The invention of Hugo Cabret. New York, NY:Scholastic,
Inc.
Sutton,
R. (2007). [Review of the book The invention of Hugo Cabret, by B.
Selznick]. Horn Book
Magazine, 83(2),
173- 175. Retrieved from http://archive.hbook.com/magazine/
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