The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. 544 p. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic Inc., March, 2007. 9780439813785.
Hugo, a twelve-year-old orphan, lives in the Paris train station and works to keep the clocks on time. He also harbors secrets and is a thief. He steals items he thinks might help him repair an automaton. One day, he is caught by a grumpy, old toymaker and is brought to the man's home, where he meets, Isabelle, the man's goddaughter. It seems the toymaker has secrets as well, and Hugo and Isabelle work together to uncover them.
Selznick, no stranger to the Caldecott, having won an Honor for illustrating Barbara Kerley's The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins in 2002, turned the children's literature world upside down when this 500+ page book received the Award.
This is a book I loved to give reluctant readers. Their eyes would widen with disbelief that they could ever get through such a brick! Then, once shown that it was mostly illustration, they happily checked the book out.
The book was adapted for film and I was privileged to be invited to a screening, which included a talkback with the author afterwards. The film was gorgeous and quite faithful to the book. Selznick even had a cameo in the final scene.
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