|
Loading... The Invention of Hugo Cabretby Brian Selznick
LibraryThing recommendationsMember recommendations
Loading...
won't like
will probably not like
will probably like
will like
will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. I was immediately intrigued by the 544 page book that won the Caldecott Award, because Caldecott books are often less than 40 pages. The book jacket flap describes The Invention of Hugo Cabret as a book that combines facets of picture books, graphic novels, and film, and the result is a unique masterpiece that eludes traditional book description vocabularies. (  )1   ThorneStaff | Nov 9, 2009 |  This is a touching story about an orphaned boy living in hiding in a train station in Paris. Hugo Cabret fixes the clocks in the train station, a trade he learned from his recently deceased father, who also left him the mysterious project of fixing the automaton, an amazing mechanical man who, after Hugo fixes, proceeds to draw a picture that will change Hugo's life. After meeting a new friend Isabelle, and her mysterious papa Georges, Hugo's life changes rapidly. He must find out who Georges Melies really is, or was in his past. He must learn to trust and confide in Isabelle, and he must figure out how to keep away from the station master who might throw him in an orphanage if he catches Hugo sleeping in the station at night. The plot is moved along so well with the beautiful & enticing illustrations done by the author himself. Many of the most action packed chase scenes are done completely visually, like a film. The book also opens and closes like a film. Selznick's passion & inspiration for old French films, the automaton, and magic are well communicated through this wonderful novel. 1 annashapiro | Oct 23, 2009 | This hybrid graphic novel/written novel is a treasure. The Leprechaun brought it home one day and raved about it. I was simply floored by the scope of the project. So many illustrations. Such mystery. The illustrations are top notch pencil renderings depicting Paris in the 30s. They work in tandem with the written part of the story, both passing off the baton of narration throughout the book. I found them charming and evocative. They especially make full use of graphic novel storytelling tools to convey mood, tension, and information. The story is told in two parts. The first is for the reader and concerns the plight of young Hugo who is orphaned and surviving in a cold, adult world as he solves the mystery of the automaton. The second is more self-indulgent and features the author's fascination with French film maker, George Méliès. I found it less compelling. It is nonetheless still interesting. The format of the book is a marvel and well-worth taking a look at. I am glad to have this book in my collection. My only complaint is that the characters are as flat as the paper they are drawn on. The heavy lifting for emotion and context is done through the nuance of illustration. The narration tends to be uninspired. Therefor the characters never more than puppets moved about a felt board by the author. I suspect this is because Selznick's forte is illustration, not writing. He may have been better served pursuing a more traditional graphic novel approach utilizing word balloons and letting the art carry the story completely. That being said, I am still very impressed with the effort and look forward to his next project. This was a massive undertaking along the same lines as Shaun Tan's "The Arrival". Highly recommended. (  )2 darkstream | Oct 21, 2009 | This huge book is a combination of a traditional novel and a picture book. The pictures are more than simply illustrations; they are part of the narrative itself and help to tell the story. Hugo Cabret is a young orphan living with his uncle the clock keeper in a Paris train station. After his uncle disappears, Hugo, afraid of being discovered and taken to an orphanage, takes over his uncle's duties and cares for all of the clocks. He can't figure out how to cash his uncle's paychecks, so he steals food to survive. When a cranky old shopkeeper catches Hugo trying to steal a small mechanical toy, the man forces Hugo to empty his pockets and takes Hugo's greatest treasure--a notebook filled with drawings made by his father that Hugo is using as a guide to fix the mysterious automaton that was nearly destroyed in the museum fire that killed Hugo's father. The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a stunning work of art that incorporates elements of mystery, history, art, and film into a satisfying and moving story. Don't miss this one! ( )1 mrsdwilliams | Oct 17, 2009 | The story takes place in 1930's Paris. The title character is an orphan who is living on his own after the death of his father and the disappearance of his uncle. His father was a watchmaker and taught him the skill. Having the ability to fix things and superior hand and eye coordination is an imporant aspect in this story. Through the use of illustrations along with words the story is told. The illustrations are shown in a unique manner and the use of perspective is important. 1 anncampbell | Oct 16, 2009 | 
Gr 3-6 Brian Selznick's atmospheric story (Scholastic, 2007) is set in Paris in 1931. Hugo Cabret is an orphan; his father, a clockmaker, has recently died in a fire and the boy lives with his alcoholic Uncle Claude, working as his apprentice clock keeper in a bustling train station. When Hugo's uncle fails to return after a three-day absence, the boy decides it's his chance to escape the man's harsh treatment. But Hugo has nowhere to go and, after wandering the city, returns to his uncle's rooms determined to fix a mechanical figure-an automaton-that his father was restoring when he died. Hugo is convinced it will "save his life"-the figure holds a pen, and the boy believes that if he can get it working again, it will deliver a message from his father. This is just the bare outline of this multilayered story, inspired by and with references to early (French) cinema and filmmaker George Méliès, magic and magicians, and mechanical objects. Jeff Woodman's reading of the descriptive passages effectively sets the story's suspenseful tone. The book's many pages of pictorial narrative translate in the audio version into sound sequences that successfully employ the techniques of old radio plays (train whistles, footsteps reverberating through station passages, etc.). The accompanying DVD, hosted by Selznick and packed with information and images from the book, will enrich the listening experience. Selznick's unique, visually arresting illustrated novel is transformed into an equally unique audiobook-plus-DVD presentation here. The story of 12-year-old Hugo Cabret—orphan, clockmaker's apprentice, petty thief and aspiring magician—and how a curious machine connects him with his departed father and pioneering French filmmaker Georges Méliès is full-bodied material for Woodman. The narrator dives in, reading with both a bright energy and an air of mystery—befitting the adventurous plot. Listeners will likely cotton to Woodman's affable tone and be fascinated by all the unusual elements here, including the sound-effects sequences (footsteps, train station noises) that stand in for Selznick's black-and-white illustrations, which appear like mini–silent movies in the book. Selznick himself takes over as host on the making-of style DVD, in which he divulges his love of film and his inspiration for the book, discusses (and demonstrates) his drawing technique and even performs a magic trick. The "chapters" of his interview are interspersed with excerpts from the audiobook, as he explains how the recording was a translation of both his words and pictures to sound. This inventive audio-visual hybrid will be a welcome addition to both home and classroom libraries. Ages 9-12. (Mar.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information Orphaned twelve-year-old Hugo Cabret lives in a train station in Paris in 1931, managing to survive by stealing food and keeping his uncle's disappearance a secret. Hugo runs the clocks in the city for his uncle and pilfers small toy parts in the hopes of fixing an automaton that he received from his father. Eventually his plan of surviving on his own fails, and he befriends a young girl and her grandfather, who owns a toyshop in the train station. The grandfather recognizes Hugo's talent for repairing machinery and employs him at the toy store. The girl's grandfather turns out to be the famous filmmaker Georges Melies, who adopts Hugo and fosters his love for magic. Selznick's artwork in this "novel in words and pictures" is stunning. Beautiful, full-page black-and-white illustrations are interspersed throughout the book and advance the story, often in critical areas of the plot. Readers will also love the still film images that are used when the characters discuss Melies's films. The novel is loosely based on the actual French filmmaker, and the credits section at the end gives more information about Melies, films from the early movie era, and automatons. Part mystery, part feel-good drama, and part picture book for older readers, this novel will fly off the shelf simply because of its visual appeal.
Amazon.com (ISBN 0439813786, Hardcover)Book Description:Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery. Amazon.com Exclusive A Letter from Brian Selznick When I was a kid, two of my favorite books were by an amazing man named Remy Charlip. Fortunately and Thirteen fascinated me in part because, in both books, the very act of turning the pages plays a pivotal role in telling the story. Each turn reveals something new in a way that builds on the image on the previous page. Now that I’m an illustrator myself, I’ve often thought about this dramatic storytelling device and all of its creative possibilities. My new book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, is a 550 page novel in words and pictures. But unlike most novels, the images in my new book don't just illustrate the story; they help tell it. I've used the lessons I learned from Remy Charlip and other masters of the picture book to create something that is not a exactly a novel, not quite a picture book, not really a graphic novel, or a flip book or a movie, but a combination of all these things. I began thinking about this book ten years ago after seeing some of the magical films of Georges Méliès, the father of science-fiction movies. But it wasn’t until I read a book called Edison's Eve: The Quest for Mechanical Life by Gaby Woods that my story began to come into focus. I discovered that Méliès had a collection of mechanical, wind-up figures (called automata) that were donated to a museum, but which were later destroyed and thrown away. Instantly, I imagined a boy discovering these broken, rusty machines in the garbage, stealing one and attempting to fix it. At that moment, Hugo Cabret was born. A few years ago, I had the honor of meeting Remy Charlip, and I'm proud to say that we've become friends. Last December he was asking me what I was working on, and as I was describing this book to him, I realized that Remy looks exactly like Georges Méliès. I excitedly asked him to pose as the character in my book, and fortunately, he said yes. So every time you see Méliès in The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the person you are really looking at is my dear friend Remy Charlip, who continues to inspire everyone who has the great pleasure of knowing him or seeing his work. Paris in the 1930's, a thief, a broken machine, a strange girl, a mean old man, and the secrets that tie them all together... Welcome to The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Yours, Brian Selznick Amazon.com Exclusive
--Brian Selznick More from Brian Selznick
 The Boy of a Thousand Faces (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:01 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
Abebooks |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dear readers, 
Brian Selznick on a "Deleted Scene" from The Invention of Hugo CabretThis is a finished drawing that I had to cut from The Invention of Hugo Cabret. I was still rewriting the book when I had to begin the final art. There was originally a scene in the story where this character, Etienne, is working in a camera shop. On one of my research trips to Paris I spent an entire day visiting old camera shops and photographing cameras from the 1930's and earlier, as well as the facades of the shops themselves. I researched original French camera posters and made sure that the counter and the shelves were accurate to the time period. I did all the drawings in the book at 1/4 scale, so they were very small and I often had to use a magnifying glass to help me see what I was drawing. After I finished this drawing I continued to rewrite, and for various reasons I realized that I needed to move this scene from the camera shop to the French Film Academy, which meant that I had to cut this picture. I tried really hard to find ANOTHER moment when I could have Etienne in a camera shop, but, as painful as it was, I knew the picture had to go. I'm glad to see it up on the Amazon website because otherwise no one would have ever seen all those tiny cameras I researched and drew so carefully! 
