Sunday, April 6, 2008

The Invention of Hugo Cabret


While here in Utah, I picked up a book that my mother-in-law had lying around called The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. This 2008 Caldecott Medal winning book is rather unique in its format. A description from it's website says:

"This 526-page book is told in both words and pictures. The Invention of Hugo Cabret is not exactly a novel, and it’s not quite a picture book, and it’s not really a graphic novel, or a flip book, or a movie, but a combination of all these things. Each picture (there are nearly three hundred pages of pictures!) takes up an entire double page spread, and the story moves forward because you turn the pages to see the next moment unfold in front of you."

I rather enjoyed the format. It makes for a very quick and interesting read. The story is about a boy who works with clocks and resorts to becoming a theif to build a mechanical man with a mysterious past. The book also delves a little bit into early French film history. The pictures don't supplement the written word but replace it when they are used. Truly utilizing the thought that "a picture is worth a thousand words." I would recommend this book mostly because of the interesting writing format though I did enjoy reading it (in the couple hours it took for me to do so).

1 comment:

Bekah said...

I absolutely loved that book!!