Extension from Module 1: The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Selznick, Brian. 2007. The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Illus. by author. Scholastic Press: New York. ISBN: 978-0-439-81378-5.

2008 Caldecott Medal Winner

This 530 page volume is an innovation in the world of children’s literature. The first printed words are not found until page forty six. Selznick uses illustrations and changing perspectives to draw the readers into this mysterious tale. The printed text is a support to his charcoal pencil shaded drawings. These drawings provide the reader with “visual text”. Illustrations must be “read” and analyzed for the plot detail to be understood. Orphaned Hugo Cabret lives in the fearsome shadow of the Paris Station Inspector and the clocks he maintains. He sustains himself by continuing the invention started by this deceased father. When his father’s notebook is taken by a seemingly mean spirited toy shop owner, Hugo is thrust into the quest of reclaiming his lost notebook which leads him to discover an unlikely friendship with the shop owner’s goddaughter and to discover what he is capable of accomplishing. As the automaton is freed to operate and draw, characters are freed from a lifetime of secrets and solace. The beginning sequence of illustrations that appear to pull the reader into the story reverse in the closing sequence. In an interesting twist, the novel begins as it ends.