In the attic of the museum he finds an amazing automaton, a man sitting at desk, holding a pen, poised to write. Hugo Cabret is the son of a clockmaker who runs his own shop, and also works at a local museum, repairing clocks, automata, and other machinery. This is a fictional story of Méliès in his later years, and the young boy who helps to pull him out of his decline. He then lost nearly everything, including his films and his automata, due to business and financial reverses and the development of film beyond where he had taken it. Georges Méliès was a magician who became a legendary early French filmmaker, the first to use complex special effects to tell imaginative stories that did not reflect the real world. I'm not familiar with Selznick's other books, but if The Invention of Hugo Cabret serves as any sort of an example, he's definitely an author and illustrator to follow.Experiments in Reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a heartwarming story and the work well deserves the Caldecott Medal it has been awarded (among all the other awards it has collected). Fortunately, Selznick has provided a good starting point with his "Acknowledgements" and "Credits" sections at the end of the book. As any historical fiction should do, The Invention of Hugo Cabret whet my appetite for investigating the time period and subject matter further. In some ways, it was like a silent film (complete with a dramatic chase sequence) only in book form. ![]() Occasionally, the text to illustration ratio seemed a bit off, but for the most part the story flowed beautifully.The book is stunning and the illustrations are gorgeous. The interplay between the illustrations, images, and text is expertly executed-the prose describing what can't be seen and the art describing what can. The original illustrations are executed in pencil while black and white stills from early films and sketchbooks are also included when appropriate to the story. This allows him to be unerringly consistent in their portrayal, even when their general appearance has substantially changed. Selznick uses real-life people as models for the inspiration of the look of his characters. Although the story is a delight in its own right, what really impresses is the use, quantity, and quality of the artwork. However, Hugo's devotion to secrecy can be a little frustrating at times. It is historical fiction of the best kind and can be appreciated by younger and older readers alike.Oh, and what exactly the invention is is revealed at the end of the book it certainly put a smile on my face. Using illustrations to help tell the story directly, Selznick has created a wonderful tale of mystery. But when he is caught by the bitter toymaker, Hugo and the secrets he keeps are put in jeopardy. Hugo lives in the walls of station, caring for all its clocks like his uncle showed him to and hiding from the station inspector. He steals to survive-bottles of milk, warm croissants, even small mechanical toys from the toymaker's booth. I can only imagine the amount of effort the author and illustrator, Brain Selznick, put into this "novel in words and pictures." The Invention of Hugo Cabret truly is an impressive achievement.Hugo Cabret is a young orphan living in a Paris train station in the early 1930s. ![]() So, it is much less daunting than it first appears-for the reader, at least. The book clocks in at well over five hundred pages, but nearly three hundred of those are original illustrations. It's not often a tome of such size is published for younger readers. ![]() The Invention of Hugo Cabret tended to catch my attention whenever I saw it on the shelf, but it wasn't until now that I actually picked it up to read.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |