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The Invention of Hugo Cabret

4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 · rating details · 71,085 ratings · 8,432 reviews

With 284 pictures between the book's 533 pages, the book depends equally on its pictures as it does on the actual words. Selznick himself has described the book as "not 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." The Caldecott Medal is for picture books, in 2008 this was first nov...more

Hardcover, 525 pages

Published April 1st 2007 by Scholastic (first published January 1st 2007)

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Community Reviews

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Oct 18, 2011 karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: kiddiwinx, mark-harmon

DUE TO INTERNET ADVICE/ABUSE FROM A COMPLETE STRANGER, THIS REVIEW NOW CONFORMS TO GRAMMATICAL STANDARDS AND ALL THAT JAZZ, BUT IS STILL, AT THE END OF THE DAY, A BRIEF REVIEW OF A CHILDREN'S BOOK WITH. OH, BUT I STILL WON'T CAPITALIZE LETTERS. EXCEPT HERE. BECAUSE HERE, I AM SHOUTING TO BE HEARD IN EVERY TROLL CAVE IN THE LAND. RECOGNIZE.

this book represents a series of firsts: the first book i have ever borrowed from work. and the first book i read for my summer class on "children's literature...more

130 likes · like · see review

Mar 30, 2012 Emily May rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens, graphic-novels, historical-fiction, 2011

3.5
I admit that for a while I thought this book might be one of those children's picture books whose ratings reflect the artwork and not the story. And yeah, the artwork is pretty nifty:

But as the story began to unfold and became entwined with historical events, I gradually turned my attention from the drawings to Hugo Cabret and co. The book is set in Paris in the 1930s and Hugo is an orphan who only manages to survive each day by clinging to the hope that he will one day fix the automaton his...more

38 likes · like · see review

Dec 12, 2008 Greg rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-for-kids

There is something awesome feeling about getting through 400 pages of a book on an hour lunch break, and still have time to use the bathroom and punch in three minutes early. So what if the book has lots of illustrations and it's written for children, it's still a real sense of Herculean reading, even if it's not that impressive.

I liked this book a lot. I considered giving it five stars. I don't read children or young adult novels so I don't have much to compare it to. The book has much more de...more

43 likes · like · see review

Feb 27, 2012 Lora rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of illustrated children's fiction

Shelves: lib-read

"The story I am about to share with you takes place in 1931, under the roofs of Paris. Here you will meet a boy named Hugo Cabret, who once, long ago, discovered a mysterious drawing that changed his life forever." So begins the introduction of The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

Shortly after the start of the story we learn that twelve-year-old Hugo has recently lost his father to a tragic fire.
A horologist working for the city's museum, Hugo's father finds an old automaton in the museum's attic one...more

16 likes · like · see review

Mar 28, 2012 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-young-adult, comics-manga-graphic-novels

As I was a little more that 2/3 through The Invention of Hugo Cabret when I started wondering how many stars that I would give it. At first, I was even considering giving it 3 stars, which suprised me since so many people had told me that it was amazing. I have, since settled on giving it 4 starts, because I can't really sum up my first reaction to the work as "It was amazing!" which corresponds to 5 stars. However, now that I have said that, the following criticisms that I have for it that have...more As I was a little more that 2/3 through The Invention of Hugo Cabret when I started wondering how many stars that I would give it. At first, I was even considering giving it 3 stars, which suprised me since so many people had told me that it was amazing. I have, since settled on giving it 4 starts, because I can't really sum up my first reaction to the work as "It was amazing!" which corresponds to 5 stars. However, now that I have said that, the following criticisms that I have for it that have prevented me from giving it 5 stars err on the side of "overburdening criticism," namely that the language was somewhat stilted and the characters weren't particularly well-developed. I also may have a bias because I found Isabelle annoying when she kept insisting that Hugo was a thief and a liar and nagging him to reveal his life story. Related to this is one of the other things that I think would've made this novel better, a more complete, but subtle, address of what I think is an important lesson in the story, that people (Hugo, Isabelle, Papa George, etc.) keep secrets that isolate them from others, that keep themselves from forming deeper personal relationships. Now, after pointing out all these criticisms, let me say that, I loved this book. As it was meant, this book spoke to me through the beautiful pictures. Although I said that the language was stilted, one could argue, is it really a sticking point? If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then Brian Selznick (or, if you've read the novel, Hugo's automaton) has spoken a million words.

Although the story was a familiar one insofar as it was reminiscent of a Charles Dickens rags-to-riches story, it explored the rich, largely untapped topic, at least in children's literature, of the beginnings of cinema and the wonder that it inspired. Through his illustrations, especially of the drawings of the labrynthine 1931 Paris train station and ending chase scene (As Hugo states, every movie should end in a good chase scene =), Selznick conveys this wonder, reawakens it, in an audience long accustomed to the magic of movies. Note, I chose to state that Selznick elicits wonder from his audience, not his readers. Initially, I wondered why Selznick didn't use a more standard graphic novel format until I realized, belatedly, that Selznick was using a novel to emulate film to convey the same sense of dreams made real, the feeling that Hugo and his father experienced the first, and every, time that they viewed Georges Méliès's A Trip to the Moon. Selznick succeeded beautifully; this book is a wondrous one, not only for children, but for adults as well, and also a springboard into the history of the origins of cinema. (less)

12 likes · like · see review

Nov 04, 2012 Jonathan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s-literature, graphic-novels, books-with-films

I'm including this in graphic novels because that is probably the best description for this rather unique book. After all it's a novel consisting of many beautiful graphics and some written pages.

While The Invention of Hugo Cabret is aimed mainly at a younger audience of children it appears to be the kind of perfect novel for parents as well. I can imagine a modern parent trying to interest their child in reading by sitting down and reading this work with their child. It is in many ways a modern...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Ronyell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: action-adventure, books-i-want-to-own, caldecott-medal, chapter-books, children-books, cult-classic, drama, fantasy, french-books, mystery, reviewed-books, ronyell-s-epinions-reviews, summer-100-book-challenge-2010, 1001-children-s-books-you-must-read, read-in-2010, my-blog-reviews

Words cannot describe how much I loved this book! “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” is one of the first chapter books to win a Caldecott Medal and is cleverly written and illustrated by Brian Selznick and it is about how an orphaned boy named Hugo finds out the secrets contained in his most prized possession…a mechanical man from his dead father. “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” is clearly one of the most exciting and amazing books ever created for children!

Brian Selznick has created a book that goes...more Words cannot describe how much I loved this book! “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” is one of the first chapter books to win a Caldecott Medal and is cleverly written and illustrated by Brian Selznick and it is about how an orphaned boy named Hugo finds out the secrets contained in his most prized possession…a mechanical man from his dead father. “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” is clearly one of the most exciting and amazing books ever created for children!

Brian Selznick has created a book that goes beyond what any children’s book has gone before. Brian Selznick has made this story extremely dramatic and exciting at the same time as it details the adventures of an orphaned boy in Paris and how he tries to uncover the mystery of the mechanical man. Brian Selznick makes the characters in this book extremely memorable, especially the main character Hugo Cabret as Hugo is shown as a boy who has a huge ambition and yet he always feels lonely and insecure when he is around other people, since he spent most of his life alone and children will easily sympathize with his situation as any child might feel a bit secluded from other people whenever they lose a loved one. Another memorable character is Isabelle, the toy maker’s daughter who is shown as being a strong heroine and she is always shown yearning for more information about life that she will not let anyone get in her way, including Hugo. Brian Selznick also makes the story extremely creative as the book is set up as two pages are filled with writing while the next few pages are full of illustrations only. Brian Selznick’s illustrations are amazingly beautiful as they are mainly in black and white colors, but the characters look so realistic that they make this book extremely beautiful to look at. The illustrations also help move the story along as there are two pages full of writing while the next four or five pages are full of illustrations that detail what happens in the story and the next few pages are full of writing again while continuing the story. Brian Selznick illustrates the characters’ expressions in such a realistic manner that ranges from shock to happiness that children will easily relate to the characters.

“The Invention of Hugo Cabret” is a truly distinguished children’s book that is ahead of its time and it will always remain to be one of the best books ever created! I would recommend this book to children ages seven and up since the length of this book might bored smaller children.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog(less)

18 likes · like · see review

Apr 25, 2011 Abigail rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Young Readers Who Enjoy Adventure & Orphan Tales / Brian Selznick Fans

Shelves: childrens-fiction

Review Temporarily Removed.

8 likes · like · see review

Mar 12, 2011 Lisa Vegan rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: all boys, all girls, all adults & young adults who enjoy movies, children’s literature &/or art

Shelves: orphaned-and-quasi-orphaned-kids, fiction, novel, childrens, picture-books, young-adult, historical-fiction, gr-groups-buddies, reviewed, altta

I’m in love with this book. It is special, very special. Unique. I see that said about so many books, and sometimes the comments are hyperbole and sometimes they are accurate. I’ve truly never seen another book such as this, and I immensely admire it.

I am so grateful (yet again) to the Children's Books group as it’s the April selection for the Fiction Book Club there, and so it finally stopped languishing on my to-read shelf and my on-deck shelf and got read.

the drawings are truly amazing and p...more I’m in love with this book. It is special, very special. Unique. I see that said about so many books, and sometimes the comments are hyperbole and sometimes they are accurate. I’ve truly never seen another book such as this, and I immensely admire it.

I am so grateful (yet again) to the Children's Books group as it’s the April selection for the Fiction Book Club there, and so it finally stopped languishing on my to-read shelf and my on-deck shelf and got read.

the drawings are truly amazing and pleasing to the eye, both as pictures and as a storytelling technique. More than half the book is pictures. Many of the text pages consist of a single paragraph, or two, though there are sometimes a few pages in the row that are full of text.

It’s a real page-turner. I didn’t want to put it down for anything.

It’s a wonderful book for boys and girls and young adults and adults, ages 6 or 7 and up.

It’s a cross between a children’s historical fiction novel and an art exhibition.

Any reader who loves movies, art, books, which I do, and magicians and magic, of which I normally have little to no interest, is likely to greatly appreciate this book.

The characters are interesting, appealing, and come across very authentically.

Overall, it was written well. I did notice one error where the ly was left off a word and I found that disappointing because it otherwise seemed close to flawless. (I’m not the most observant person so there could have been errors I missed.)

The only weird thing is even though I got emotionally involved with the characters and the story, given the subject matter of the story and the circumstances of the characters, I’m just a bit surprised I didn’t feel even stronger emotions than I did.

But, I loved this book. The story is wonderful; the pictures are amazing. It was a no-brainer for me to give it a full 5 stars, and it very nearly made my favorites shelf, and I might change my mind at some point and add it to that shelf. I’m lending it to a friend (who became very enthusiastic when I told her about it!) rather than returning it immediately to the library.(less)

11 likes · like · see review

Aug 15, 2008 Kathryn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens-picture-books

I read the entire book in a few hours this afternoon; despite being about 500 pages it only has about 26,000 words and much of the page space is taken up with interesting formatting as well as sketches that help fill in some scenes of action and emotion to move the plot forward. It's a very interesting and ingenious idea for a book, one I quite appreciated. I almost always focused on the words more than the pictures in storybooks as a child, and I suppose that remains the case here, though it wa...more

17 likes · like · see review

Nov 16, 2007 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: juvenile, fiction-adult, young-adult

If there were a rating for sheer coolness factor, this book would score off the charts, but do I approve of coolness for coolness's sake? Apparently in this case, I do. Hugo Cabret is orphaned, broke, and living a secret life behind the walls of a train station as he tries to piece together the story of a mysterious invention that his late father discovered and became obsessed with before his death. Along the way he runs afoul of the law and a crochety old man with a mysterious past who may be a...more If there were a rating for sheer coolness factor, this book would score off the charts, but do I approve of coolness for coolness's sake? Apparently in this case, I do. Hugo Cabret is orphaned, broke, and living a secret life behind the walls of a train station as he tries to piece together the story of a mysterious invention that his late father discovered and became obsessed with before his death. Along the way he runs afoul of the law and a crochety old man with a mysterious past who may be a magician or something else entirely. The book is well over 500 pages long and therefore is not easily portable, but it's an astoundingly fast read, and any kid who balks should be shown that A) about half the book consists of sketchbook-style full page illustrations and B) there are many pages that only have a line or two of type on them. It's an interesting format, and one that is pivotal in one of the plot twists, and often works to heighten already building suspense. The book is a sort of homage to old school cinema, the art of the first movies and of French filmmaker Georges Méliès in particular (although explaining why would give it away) and captures the feel of that world so well and introduces a level of sophistication and allure that I think that YAs as well as grown-up film buffs could easily find a lot to love in this book as well. All this being said, there are some flaws. There is a minor character that really exists for no other reason than for the author to put his friend's name in the book, but makes prominent enough appearances towards the beginning that it initially leads you to think otherwise. There are very grave misunderstandings that cause a lot of danger and trouble to Hugo could have been cleared up quickly and easily with a few words, but he chooses to keep silent for no apparent reason other than to allow the author to spin out the melodrama further. It seems like a bit of a cheap trick, and I suppose it is, but naturally it's effective. There are at least three different chase scenes, a lot of risk and mystery, and a good deal of suspense running throughout. If ever there was a way to do the unthinkable and connect young boys with reading, classic cinema, and art all at once---this is it, and I can't help myself; I think that's pretty darn...cool.(less)

10 likes · like · see review

Apr 26, 2012 Jo rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, own, graphic-novels, when-can-i-move-in, you-got-a-friend-in-me, 2012

OK, Goodreads was being a twonk and ruined my life by making all of the lovely pictures that I wanted to post look dodgy and skew-whiff. So, everyone close your eyes and pretend there are pictures here.

Lots of lovely pictures.

More lovely pictures.

Even more lovely pictures.

Imagination is fun.

You may wonder why I am posting so many pictures of this book for my review.
“Jo!” I hear you cry. “Where are the words?”
And I will reply:
“Exactly. Where are the words?”

I’m being clever and smart and illustrat...more

16 likes · like · see review

Aug 17, 2007 Jonathan rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: children

This odd book is less a novel and more a 500+ page short story, with full page illustrations that make up half the book. These illustrations supposedly tell part of the narrative, but the majority of the information is told in the text, turning what could have been an interesting hybrid of text/illustrated story/graphic novel into a bastard combination that doesn't quite work.

The story is quite simple and not very enjoyable. Perhaps because I haven't read "young adult" books in a long time, perh...more

11 likes · like · see review

Aug 18, 2008 Bobby rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Z

Shelves: reviewed, cartoons-graphic-novels, all-time-favorites

I absolutely loved this book! Set in Paris in 1931, the story is about a 12-year-old orphan boy who unlocks the secret of a mysterious mechanical man. The real appeal of this book lies in it's unique format. At 500+ pages, it consists of 284 pages of pencil-drawings (reproductions obviously) and is a very interesting combination of a mystery novel plus graphic novel plus film(!) In fact, reading it totally reminded me of some French New Wave films I saw back in college. I loved the grainy textur...more

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Mar 05, 2012 Fredrik rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Buku ini ... WAAAH! >__<

Jelaslah kalau hal yang paling menarik sebenarnya adalah perpaduan antara tulisan dan ilustrasi yang dibuat oleh sang penulis (dengan sangat kerennyaaah~!) sehingga menjadi suatu pengalaman membaca baru yang serupa dengan menonton film.
Dan manisnya lagi, cerita di buku ini memang tentang film.
Benar-benar canggih!

The Invention of Hugo Cabret sendiri berkisah tentang bocah Hugo yang ditinggal mati ayahnya sehingga dia terpaksa hidup bersama pamannya yang bekerja mengu...more

5 likes · like · see review

Oct 25, 2009 Sandy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, award-winning, caldecott-award

In Brian Selznick’s book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the first 45 pages of chapter one are illustrations. The story is set in Paris, France in the early morning at the train station, with commuters hurrying about. You can tell it is sometime in the early 1900’s because of the clothing people are wearing. The atmosphere is one of secrecy and suspense as the illustrations show a young boy scurrying through the station, looking behind, trying to get to where he needs to be without being noticed....more In Brian Selznick’s book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the first 45 pages of chapter one are illustrations. The story is set in Paris, France in the early morning at the train station, with commuters hurrying about. You can tell it is sometime in the early 1900’s because of the clothing people are wearing. The atmosphere is one of secrecy and suspense as the illustrations show a young boy scurrying through the station, looking behind, trying to get to where he needs to be without being noticed. This story is fascinating and heart-warming. It is about Hugo Cabret, an orphan who lives in the walls of the Paris train station and is the keeper of the station’s clocks. Hugo is just twelve, but he lives the life of a full-grown man by continuing to do his uncle’s horologist job (clock keeper/maker) at the station, after his father’s and then uncle’s untimely deaths. Hugo even collects his uncle’s paychecks, though he doesn’t cash them, so that it would appear to everyone that his uncle was still around. “Hugo quickly realized he had to make it seem like his uncle was still around. He would keep the clocks running as precisely as possible, and he’d take his uncle’s paychecks from the office when no one was looking (although he didn’t know how to cash them). Most of all Hugo would do his best to remain invisible” (p. 132). Besides keeping the clocks running at the train station, Hugo also has his father’s sketchbook of his inventions and his prized invention, the automaton. In order to survive, Hugo steals food and in order to continue his father’s work on the automaton, he steals toys from shopkeeper to use the parts. This story twists and turns as Hugo tries to keep his secret life so he won’t be put in an orphanage. The illustrations, also by Brian Selznick, are amazing. They are done black and white pencil drawings. The physical book looks intimidating since it is quite thick, 533 pages long. But a large part of the story is told in the illustrations. The Invention of Hugo Cabret is definitely an award-winner and I would recommend it to both young adults and adults.(less)

7 likes · like · see review

Jan 23, 2009 Andrea rated it 3 of 5 stars

I just finished reading Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. This is the first time I have read it to completion, although last year I read about 70 pages on my first attempt and put it down for a long while and then picked it up again, only to put it down again. I can understand and appreciate why the book won the Caldecott Award, but I do not particularly enjoy the book myself that much, mostly because of the lack of character development and character voice-things the Caldecott Award has nothing t...more I just finished reading Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. This is the first time I have read it to completion, although last year I read about 70 pages on my first attempt and put it down for a long while and then picked it up again, only to put it down again. I can understand and appreciate why the book won the Caldecott Award, but I do not particularly enjoy the book myself that much, mostly because of the lack of character development and character voice-things the Caldecott Award has nothing to do with. The story is written with such a lack of depth on the part of who the characters are and what their problems really mean to them, that I fail to get involved enough with this book, and it doesn't call to me to pick it up and find out its secrets-all because of character. My complaint with the book has to do with the writing. Its illustrations are glorious to read, fast moving and informative.

This book does a great job in fitting the criteria for the award. It is individually distinct in its illustrations and I believe it has conspicuous excellence in many ways, specifically to a child audience. The pictures flow easily from one to the next giving the audience just the right amount of information with which to interpret the significance of each pictoral blip-the zooming in and zooming out of the pictures lends the book a movie quality (which holds interesting significance, as the story pertains to early movies) as does the interesting and original angles from which the “shots” are taken, i.e. through the face of the clock, the penetrating gaze of Hugo creating an interesting parallel with the gaze of the old man and the girl...with special master work painting-like techniques: like the hands of the clock first hinted at in the reflection in Papa Georges' eye. There is even a little dream sequence of pictures in the middle to end of the book which is so movie-like in its quality that you almost feel as if you are having someone else's dream. That is all the work of a masterful illustrator/storyteller. Albeit, one that is not as much a writer/storyteller. Kids of the technology age are so adept at “reading” fast-moving visuals from tv, this is like teaching them to read a book (leading them into print literacy) using the skills they have already learned as good tv watchers. A good idea.

I love Brian Selznick’s artwork. I particularly enjoy his illustrations in The Doll People series. Probably because I feel that these books were more well-written, I can appreciate the aptness of the illustrations a little more. The pictures and the text are both of the same level of quality. Whereas, in Hugo Cabret, I wanted the writing to be more on par with the quality of the illustrations. Sometimes in the book, I did not feel the “flow” of images as I do in the beginning, when I think it was at its best- with a momentum of storytelling purpose. Although, I still looked forward to them—that is a real draw of this book:looking forward to the illustrations...and it is what also shows me that the writing is just not as skillfully done as the illustrations. I did not want to “read” more words. I wanted to “read” more pictures.

I should not belabor the point, but there are many reasons why I put this book down, and still, at this point don’t find myself recommending it to children in the library where I work. First of all being, it is not fun. Yes, the pictures are great and I LOVE the graphic novel format of the book giving the reader a break from all that writing—which for kids can be a real nice thing. Again, I found myself looking ahead to when the next picture sequence would be coming up and telling myself to just make it until the next one. The pictures in this book “read” so much better than the text. They really don't match up in terms of their quality. Tone, yes. Storytelling quality, no. But, to that end—I enjoy recommending The Travels of Thelonious by Schade and the rest of the books in his little trilogy, Faradawn and Simon’s Dream. (I recommend teachers read these—they are so much fun and the kids just eat them up, full of ideas about the future, technology, and taking care of the earth) Selznick's book has all the nice, literary devices of tying up loose ends and giving the readers a piece of the puzzle at a time—but not a whole lot of the feel and taste of what good writing can do to the reader in wanting them to come back to those characters' personalities and internal worlds. That is why I don't come to it as the other librarians do with a big “Oh, I know you'll love this!”

A main reason I did not enjoy The Invention of Hugo Cabret as much as I felt I should is that the characters just did not engage me. In one way, the pictures led me to this thought as well: the characters of Isabelle and Hugo are drawn so similarly. Their features are almost identical, except for the longer hair and lashes on the girl. I wanted to know them, and the pictures of them did not do a great job in getting me to do that either, to care for them or to be able to distinguish them from anyone else in this world. They are drawn in a kind-of generic fashion. Hugo could have been the boy from Frindle or the boy in Lunch Money just as well. I did not feel even the slightest bit connected to them, and that is partly due to the illustrations. It is too bad. I did not care if Hugo’s hand was broken or if the old man was this famous movie-making pioneer. (By the way, about whom we never knew why his mood and mental state changed so dramatically from before his work was rediscovered to after he was re-recognized). The illustrations could have helped here a little where the writing failed—in getting to know the characters and care about them. Just looking into their well-drawn, similar eyes wasn't enough.

The fact remains, I don’t care for Briam Selnick’s writing. It lacks emotional depth and sensitivity. His characters don’t engage me and I feel that they lack depth and show very little development as the book progresses. I find out very little more about Hugo or Isabelle’s real person, at the end as I knew in the beginning. I don’t know their personalities or their way of looking at things. None of the character possess real voice. And I think the book is ultimately lacking in any real voice—there is no tone of the book. It is soundly put together, with all the right pieces in place—it has the neat, cleanly-packaged little surprise ending with the book that we are holding being the work of the automataon that Hugo must have made, that being, the Invention of Hugo Cabret, solving our question from the title. All those perfectly matchy-matchy little pieces fitting so perfectly, like Isabelle having the key for the automaton around her neck, and that Hugo’s father’s favorite movie was George Melie’s mvie and that was who was working in the toy booth. So matchy-matchy. It just doesn’t feel artful to me..it just doesn’t feel. And, I feel badly that it doesn’t and to critique it so harshly in this way. It is not an artful piece of writing to me. It feels nice and neat and contrived and...in this way, it lacks true suspense for me and has no real hold on me. The illustrations cannot save the book as a whole from this fate, and I am beginning to notice that they help keep it there, in fact.

The book as a whole just doesn’t really work for me on an abstract-enter-it-into-your-heart-and subconscious level. One of my favorite quotes I read a long time back from someone was about how children's books paint pictures in the soul. I am sure this book may have done this for some people—but, the writing in this book was so lacking of real artful skill, perhaps an abstract and nameless quality, and true voice, and the pictures were well crafted and skillfully sequenced but not expressive just enough so that the book as a whole just did not accomplish this soul-etching for me. It cannot find a nook in my heart like, perhaps, Goodnight Gorilla. The pictures alone can't quite accomplish this for me either. Their sequence is great...but they too often lack voice. The pictures often lack voice. One thing I notice, is the lack of what artist call a contour line or an expressive line. His cross-hatching technique/style is so hazy, that I find myself missing that expressive line that changes in width and darkness as it outlines a shape and lends it, what I would call, voice.

I watched a little Brian Selznick video on (I think it was Scholastic) a website, and he told me everything I already thought: his thoughts when it comes to writing are put together in a sort of a dry, premeditated way, incorporating what he learned through his interest in automatons and early film. I wish I could hear him say, “The characters told me that such and such needed to happen in the story.” or “I felt I got to know Hugo as I was writing this and I wanted to learn more about him myself.” Once again, I just wish he could have had a better hold on me with his writing. But this award is not about that, and so I applaud his work with the illustrations.
(less)

9 likes · like · see review

Patricia Andrea, I don't have time for a really deep comment except that I really like the book. I was captured by the mystery of the automaton and the weaving...more
Jan 24, 2009 04:53pm

Toby Hi Andrea

I wonder if the video you watched was the DVD packaged with the audio version of Hugo Cabret. I found it amazingly helpful, to me and also to...more
Jan 25, 2009 04:22pm

Karrie This is what I love about your review -- it's different than everyone else's. It's honest and you certainly make your case. I totally get it because a...more
Mar 15, 2009 02:00pm

Sep 02, 2008 Ann rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Ann by: Katie

Shelves: mysteries, sci-fi, actionadventure, young-adult

This was a very unique book and I really enjoyed it! It did take me a few chapters to get completely absorbed, but after that I was thoroughly interested in the plot and how everything would be resolved.
The book is unique in multiple ways, but two stand out for me. The first of which, is that it’s probably one of the least predictable books I’ve read lately. You can guess how the overall ending will probably turn out, but the specifics and the “how” were (at least to me) pretty unpredictable.
Als...more

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Jan 11, 2013 Anastacia Karnauh rated it 5 of 5 stars

Amazing project!

Брутална!

Да, това е най-точната дума, която може да опише тази книга! Тя е брутална. И нещо повече - всяко дете трябва да я притежава.

Не заради крайно оригиналната й история, не заради шансовете и възможностите, които главните й герои получават, не заради наистина уникалния дизайн, който виждам за пръв път в живота си, не заради факта, че отваря хоризонта пред читателя, показвайки му нагледно колко различна може да бъде една книга, не заради моментите, в които филмът тече като н...more

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Mar 27, 2013 Nikki G. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Right now I am currently reading The Invention Of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. When you first pick it up you think that you won't finish this book until you're 80 but really you could probably finish it in a week. It looks so thick because most of it is filled with drawings Selznick has made. I really like how Selznick did this. It proves he is very creative, because not many authors write there books this way. But that isn't the only reason I like his book. Selznick uses very many good descri...more

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Feb 16, 2012 Truly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Tidak pernah ada bagian yang berlebih dalam sebuah mesin.
Jumlah dan jenis setiap bagiannya tepat seperti yang mereka butuhkan.

Jika kau kehilangan tujuanmu ... rasanya seperti mesin rusak.

HEBAT......................................!
Thx to Fredrik Nael yang sudah membuntelkan ini sebagai hadiah ulang tahun.
Sebuah buku jarang saya baca sampai dua kali, kecuali kisah-kisah saat kecil ala Lima Sekawan, Trio detektif. Tapi sejak beberapa hari yang lalu. Rasa kagum saya pada ide brilian Brian Selznic...more

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Feb 10, 2012 Alvina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, novel-grafis, punya

Judul Buku : The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Penulis : Brian Selznick
Penerjemah : Marcalais Fransisca
Penyunting : Dhewiberta
Penerbit : Mizan Fantasi
Cetakan pertama : Januari 2012
Tebal : 544 halaman, paperback
ISBN : 978-979-433-681-6

Terlebih dulu saya akan mengungkapkan betapa istimewanya buku ini. Buku setebal 544 halaman ini bercerita tentang seorang anak laki-laki, tapi kisahnya tidak hanya diceritakan lewat rangkaian kata dan kalimat. Kisah anak laki-laki tersebut diceritakan juga dalam ilustrasi...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Shawn Sorensen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, misc

An innovative, often moving book about a boy orphaned in a train station who must fix a complex automaton that may then write a message from his recently deceased father. The many complex pencil drawings, fascinating at least at the start, follow Hugo around, zooming up close to him and zooming back out like a movie camera as he struggles to keep a train station's large clocks running on time.

The book, at its heart, is a tribute to a French pioneer of some of the first movies ever made, George...more

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Jan 26, 2008 Bonnie Gayle rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of sweet stories and creative storytelling methods

Shelves: historical-fiction, reviewed, library-books, comic-or-graphic-novel, childrens

For being over 500 pages, this was about a 1 1/2 to 2 hour read, because there is a balance between words, and also full-paged pictures.
You can't talk about the book without talking about the author, who is in the movie business, and the way the pictures in the book told the story directly relates to a way a movie (especially a silent movie) tells a story. The pictures and the words worked together to create a unique and highly effective way to tell a story.

Hugo Cabret is an orphan. He lives in...more For being over 500 pages, this was about a 1 1/2 to 2 hour read, because there is a balance between words, and also full-paged pictures.
You can't talk about the book without talking about the author, who is in the movie business, and the way the pictures in the book told the story directly relates to a way a movie (especially a silent movie) tells a story. The pictures and the words worked together to create a unique and highly effective way to tell a story.

Hugo Cabret is an orphan. He lives inside of the walls of the Paris train station in the 1930's, and has been keeping the clocks running, secretly, since his Uncle died.

His sole mission, though, is to get an automaton running, which his father found and was trying to fix before his death. To accomplish his mission, Hugo has been stealing gears and small parts from an old man's toy shop in the train station, and using a small notebook full of sketches that belonged to his father. One day, though, he is caught by the old man, who takes his notebook.

Isabelle, the granddaughter of the old man in the shop becomes interested in Hugo, and tries to help him get his notebook back...but little do the two of them know how much Isabelle holds the key to getting the automaton to work.

The story was unique, sweet, and surprising. You have an instant empathy for Hugo, and that empathy helps carry the reader through the story. Getting back to the illustrations, I was surprised to notice how much thought had been put into them, even down to the fact that the single spread illustrations have more detail, so you linger over them longer, yet the multiple page illustrations are less detailed, allowing the reader to flip through them faster, giving the feeling of seeing the action progess, the way it does on a movie screen.

The only issue I have with the book, is, in fact the title. I found it misleading, and wished that the author had come up with another that was more accurate.

This one is highly recommended, and has the feeling of a new classic about it.(less)

4 likes · like · see review

Nov 06, 2007 Christina rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone!!

Shelves: odd, historical, picturebooks, science_fiction

Can I give it SIX stars?? I really really love this book! It's like watching a silent movie, in book form. It's a mysterious, heartwarming tale about an orphan boy who hides in a Paris train station, keeping the clocks running, hoping to one day uncover the secret of the little mechanical man left him by his father. It's the story of magic: the magic of clockworks, the magic of magic tricks, and the magic of the movies. It's about finding secrets, about rediscovering your past and reinventing yo...more

9 likes · like · see review

Jan 08, 2012 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens-lit

Astonishingly packaged and put together, this story of the late life of pioneer filmmaker Georges Melies is told through text and pictures. But while everyone else has raved about it, I found the writing itself a bit flat and lacking in interesting plot complication. The Washington Post summed up my take beautifully in their review, part of which reads: "The problem is that Selznick...is really not much of a writer....[M]ost of the time, the prose has a one-foot-in-front-of the-other quality tha...more

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Apr 22, 2009 Qt rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: comic-books, drama, film, picture-books-read-when-i-was-bigge

Absolutely fascinating mix of pictures and text, telling an intriguing story that is mysterious and moving! There are numerous twists to the tale, and I was surprised several times. It was a book that kept me guessing.

All the characters are well-drawn and interesting, and besides being a most engaging story, it also paints a vivid picture of life in 30s France. So many different themes and threads are woven into it that it would be easy to give something away, and half the fun is being surprised...more

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Nov 25, 2012 Kirstine rated it 4 of 5 stars

I watched the movie first, and perhaps that's why, when I think of this story my mind erupts in fireworks of shimmering blue and burning gold, evoking feelings of magic and wonder and warmth. The kind of warmth that hugs your heart a little and makes you feel so much more at ease in the world. To me, this is Hugo Cabret.

The movie differs from the book in several places, but the overall feel of it is the same. The only major loss with the book is all the side-stories that Scorsese most likely in...more

7 likes · like · see review

Apr 10, 2012 Nila rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Nila by: Ole Nadreas

Shelves: all-time-favorites

The story follows twelve-year old Hugo Cabret who after losing his father in a fire finds himself as an orphan, clock-keeper and thief as he lives his life inside the walls of a busy train-station in Paris. His current life and survival depends on anonymity. This is all set in jeopardy when he crosses paths with a toy-maker and his eccentric grand-daughter. As they get find each other more and more present in each others' lives and learn more about each other, Hugo fears that his biggest secret...more

2 likes · like · see review

May 03, 2013 Krista the Krazy Kataloguer rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-caldecott, read-childrens-books

Well, I think this book should have won the Newbery for text as well as the Caldecott for the illustrations! What a great story-- I couldn't put it down once I started reading.
Makes me want to get out my library's video on the Melies films and watch it again.

4 likes · like · see review

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About Brian Selznick

Hello there. My name is Brian Selznick and I’m the author and illustrator of The Invention of Hugo Cabret. I was born in 1966 in New Jersey. I have a sister who is a teacher, a brother who is a brain surgeon, and five nephews and one niece. I studied at The Rhode Island School of Design and after I graduated from college I worked at Eeyore’s Books for Children in New York City. I learned all about...more

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“I like to imagine that the world is one big machine. You know, machines never have any extra parts. They have the exact number and type of parts they need. So I figure if the entire world is a big machine, I have to be here for some reason. And that means you have to be here for some reason, too.” — 340 people liked it

“ If you lose your purpose ... it's like you're broken. ” — 238 people liked it

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