Genre 1-Review of Caldecott award medal book
1.Bibliography: Selznick, Brian. The invention of Hugo Cabret. New York: Scholastic Press, 2007. ISBN 0439813786
2. Plot Summary: The invention of Hugo Cabret is a look into the survival of Hugo. As he is dealing with the loss of his father and disappearance of his uncle, he is left as the sole time-keeper at a train station in Paris. Throughout the story, we see Hugo’s obsession with obtaining parts rebuild the automaton, a machine found by his father that is made with cogs and gears and has the appearance of a man. After his father’s death, Hugo makes it his mission to finish what his father could not. During a meeting with a mysterious man who owns a toy store and his goddaughter, Isabelle, Hugo discovers that his ability mechanical ability and parts from the toy store are the keys to finishing the automaton.
3. Critical Analysis: Brian Selznick uses the element of time throughout the novel in both the writing and the illustrations. The theme of the novel is that Hugo must find what he needs before he runs out of time, always mindful of the chance of being discovered. As the story progresses, we see that Hugo’s character goes through many complications and conflicts. Hugo is left to his own devices to maintain the clocks without alerting the station manager. In this combination of a picture book and novel, we see a connection between the skill of working with clocks, known as horology, and the world of magic. Many magicians were very accomplished at repairing broken toys or machines . The awarding winning illustrations are done in black and white, and are filled with details that depict the city as dark and mysterious. Many of the pictures actually make the reader feel as though they are looking through the angle of a camera. This is tie-in to the toy maker, who was an actual film maker in 1890’s to the 1920’s. George Melies was an accomplished magician as well. He is credited with creating the world’s first science fiction movie, A Trip to the Moon.
4. Awards:
2008 Caldecott Medal
National Book Award Finalist
A New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2007
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2007
2007 Quill Award Winner
2007 Borders Original Voices Finalist
2007 #1 Best Book for Kids from Barnes and Noble
Parenting Magazine "Mom–Tested Book of the Year"
Miami Herald Best Kids Book of 2007>
Rocky Mountain News Best Book of 2007
San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2007
Kansas City Star Top 100 Books of 2007
Columbus Dispatch Best Book of 2007
Los Angeles Times Favorite Children's Book of 2007
Kidsreads.com Best Book of 2007
5. Connections:
The following books can be used to extend the topics of films in the early 1900’s:
Smith, Kath. Let’s Make a Movie. ISBN - 10:1840891904
Brown, Don. Mack Made Movies. ISBN: 0761315381
The following books can be used to discuss concept of time and clocks:
Koscielniak, Bruce. About Time: A First Look at Time and Clocks. ISBN: 0618396683
McCaughrean, Geraldine. My Grandmother’s Clock. ISBN: 0618216952
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