It won! The Invention of Hugo Cabret is the 2008 Caldecott Medal winner! (January 14, 2008)It's quite exciting when teachers start talking about a new book that is as amazing as The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. I'd been hearing about this book from my sister, also a teacher, and then from Ms. Beckett, a third grade teacher at Lindbom. She thinks it could be the first book to win both the Newbery and Caldecott Medals next year and she may be right! I asked her to write the posting for our blog and she did! Read on to see what Ms. Beckett had to say about The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. I'm sure you'll want to read it soon!
by Ms. Beckett --
Imagine if you will - a heart-shaped key, a blue mechanical mouse, a journal, a machine that can draw, and clocks. Add to that a filmmaker, a sad old man, a bookish young girl, and an orphaned boy with a talent for machines and magic. These objects and characters come together to create a beautiful and thrilling story.
The Invention of Hugo Cabret is one of the most interesting books I’ve read in a long time. It tells the story of a twelve year old orphan named Hugo, who, when his uncle disappears, takes over his job of fixing clocks at a train station in Paris. He lives at the station and has to steal food and sneak around to avoid the Station Inspector. Hugo is also trying to fix a broken mechanical man, called an automaton, which has a secret message for Hugo, if he can repair it. Hugo has high hopes that the secret message will be from his father who recently passed away. Hugo also has to deal with a nosey girl named Isabelle, who hangs out in Papa Georges’ toy store, which is also located in the train station. She eventually holds the “key” that will allow Hugo to make the automaton produce its message.
The book would be fascinating to anyone who is interested in the movies, or magicians, because both movies and magic become very important to the story - but I won’t say how! The best part of the book, though, is the style in which the author tells it. The book has almost three hundred pages of pictures that help tell the story just as much as the words. Brian Selznick, the author and illustrator of this book, does a brilliant job of creating pencil drawings that look so real, you might think they were old black and white photographs from the 1930s, which is the time period of this story. During the Saturday afternoon I spent reading the book, I was constantly torn between wanting to look at each picture carefully and wanting to get to the next part of the story! I kept wondering, “Can Hugo manage to keep his secret safe from the Station Inspector and find out the secret message? Will I ever find out how all of the characters are connected?”
After finishing the book, I now know the answers to these questions, but I don’t want to spoil it by telling you more. If you’re curious, and I bet you are, you’ll have to read and watch this book! I can hardly wait to hear what you think.
You may also want to visit the website The Invention of Hugo Cabret.
