We bribed our son, not too long ago, to read for a certain number of minutes in exchange for a new book. For his reward, I bought the coolest looking novel I have ever seen. Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Scholastic Press, 2007) opens with a black and white sketch of the moon set against a black background. More sketches follow as you turn the pages, and you feel almost as though you were watching a film instead of reading a book. An intriguing mix of drawings and text uncover the story of an orphan boy living in Paris in 1935 and the mystery he encounters.

After reading the book, my son has been fascinated by Georges Melies, a magician filmmaker from the turn of the last century, who plays a starring role in the story. Selznick includes a list of resources for learning more about Melies and the films mentioned in the book.

2 Responses to “a book for cool kids”

1. Holli says:

   26 August 2008 at 6:21 pm

   This has become Jay’s book to read at school now. He likes to show it off.
2. Lori W says:

   3 October 2008 at 3:58 pm

   I checked it out from the library for my 6th grader. I was so caught up in it that I read it first. I loved that the sentences are rather simple – like the old silent movies would be. The illustrations were fantastic. I wanted to study each one but the story was good enough that I had to get to the next page.
   Then my husband picked it up out of curiosity and read it. Finally I gave it to my son. He loved it…and passed it on to his younger sister. It’s overdue now but she isn’t quite done!
   Great recommendation.