Brian Selznick studied at The Rhode Island School of Design. After graduation, he went to work at a children's bookstore in New York City where he often painted murals on the windows for holidays. While working at the store, he also developed his interest in children's books.
Selznick's first book was The Houdini Box (Antheum Books for Young Readers, 1991). He went on to illustrate books for many other authors, including Pam Munoz Ryan and Barbara Kerley, whose book, The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins (Scholastic, 2001) earned Selznick a 2001 Caldecott Honor Award. Inspired by Georges Melies's early movies, automata, and clockworks, Selznick has written and illustrated the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret;.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Hugo is a young orphan who lives in the walls of a Paris train station. He had lived with his uncle after his father died, but his uncle has disappeared. In order to escape being discovered, Hugo keeps the clocks running as his uncle used to do.
Hugo is also working on fixing up an automaton his father left behind. His father had been working on fixing the man, when he was killed in a fire at the museum he worked at. Hugo has his father's drawings, but he must steal clockwork toys from a toy shop in the train station to get the parts he needs.
The owner of the toy shop catches Hugo stealing and takes away his journal. He makes Hugo work for him cleaning the shop. The old man is cranky and threatens to burn Hugo's journal. The man's granddaughter, Isabelle, becomes Hugo's friend and returns his notebook. She also introduces Hugo to a young filmmaker named Etienne.
Isabelle and Hugo repair the automaton, who they discover draws a picture of the moon and signs the name Georges Melies. Isabelle tells Hugo that is her grandfather's name. They take the picture to Isabelle's apartment, and Georges becomes upset and ill.
The children work to get money for medicine. Etienne finds Georges old movies which everyone thought had been destroyed. The trio work together to get Georges to agree to show his movies again.
Inventive Format for The Invention of Hugo Cabret
This book is told alternately in pictures and in prose. The reader is given the opportunity to read, but then is presented with images which help move the story along. Neither could stand on its own as they combine to tell Hugo's story. When asked about the format, Brian Selznick said, in his 2008 Caldecott acceptance speech, that since the story concerned silent movies, he felt it appropriate to have parts of the story actually unfold entirely as illustrations.
The book contains over 300 two page pencil drawing illustrations. These illustrations include both Selznick's illustrations and ones from the silent movies mentioned. In addition, several of Georges Meiles's actual drawings are included in the book. This mix provides an excellent opportunity for today's readers to experience these historical works.
The illustrations earned Selznick the Caldecott Award in 2008. This book, with 526 pages and over 300 illustrations, is the largest book to ever win the award for the most distinguished American picture book.
History Behind The Invention of Hugo Cabret
In order to understand Automatons and how they function, Selznick visited the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. This institute is home to an automaton much like the one owned by Georges Meiles. Selznick watched the automaton to see exactly how it worked. He discovered that automatons are mechanical figures that, with clockworks, could do amazing things like the one in the book that drew a picture and signed a name. Melies's automaton was destroyed by a museum, further inspiring Hugo's story.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret mentions many old movies. These movies all existed and their inclusion gives weight to an otherwise fictional story. The reader should be reminded that, even with the wealth of historical references, The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a fictional story. None of the events in the book occurred except in the imagination of Brian Selznick. In addition, Selznick imagined the personality of Melies for his book.
Uses of The Invention of Hugo Cabret
This book is large and will shock young readers who view it simply as a picture book. It would be a great book for parents and early or pre-readers to read together. Parents could read the actual words with the youngster reading the pictures to help move the story along.
Another use for the book would be a jumping off spot for research about one of the many historical events or items mentioned in the book. While a work of fiction, it does include many historical references, which are included by Selznick in a credit listing at the end. He also suggests books and websites to visit to learn more.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found it a unique experience to be reading along and come to several pages of illustrations which were required viewing to move the story along. Selznick's book definitely deserved to win the Caldecott.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret Written and Illustrated by Brian Selznick
Scholastic Press, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-439-81378-5
References:
www.theinventionofhugocabret.com
Kelley Huston - A reader of all kinds of books, Kelley is an teacher who loves crafts and scrapbooking. She is a Disney fan who loves all things Disney.
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