0439813786.01. Sclzzzzzzz Ss500 We’ve been hearing a bit about this book lately, and it sounds quite interesting: a kid’s book that blends fiction, art and movie stills in a form of “graphical storytelling.” PopMatters has a review:

The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick, is a children’s novel weighing in at an intimidating 533 pages, but the reader brave enough to dive headlong into its pages will find a multi-layered text that consists of not only a delightfully written tale, but rich illustrations that take over the telling of the story at regular intervals. Selznick’s creation navigates the grey area between picture book and graphic novel in what certainly constitutes a visual and narrative achievement and a truly original work.

[snip] Selznick has a number of balls in the air with this project: juggling the textual narrative, sustaining a 500 page mystery, while integrating the illustrated narrative, and a number of allusions and inspirations from classic film and 1930s Paris. While the novel largely defies categorization, it closely resembles a silent film, and fittingly so. In addition to the novel’s rich illustrations, Selznick employs photos and movie stills to enhance his storytelling, and build a cinematic mood. In the tradition of graphic narrative (or sequential art, whatever your term of choice), the illustrations play as integral a role in the overall story as the text. The use of illustrations is hardly gratuitous, for the pictures quite literally take over and carry out the narrative when the text disappears. And, really, who would care if the illustrations were gratuitous? They’re gorgeous.

11 COMMENTS

  1. I just finished reading this book and I have to say it’s absolutely brilliant, particularly the way it combines the storytelling of a traditional novel with great illustrated segments. Really just beautiful.

    Also, yes, it’s a tremendously thick book, but a hefty portion of that is double-page spread images. I read the entire thing in two days during my work commute. It zips by fast.

  3. I’ve also read the book and I’m currently reading it to my fourth grade students. They absolutely love it! They can hardley wait for me to read it each day. I would strongly encourage teachers to share this book with their students. It forces students to use higher level thinking skills as they read such as inferencing and visualizing.

  5. THIS BOOK IS THE BEST BOOK IN T WORLD I WANT TO LOOK FOR IT BUT I CANT FIND IT OUR TEACHER IS READING IT TO US AND I LOVE IT. IT IS AWSOME.

  6. Just by reading this, i want to find/buy this book and start reading it. I heard that there’s about 300 pages of illustrations! I think Brian Selznick is a great illustrator, by the way. He illustrated the drawings for the Andrew Clements books. Well, most of them. But i just gotta find this book!

  7. i am a fifth grader and i have read this book and it is a great book at the end it is cool because it tells you howmany pictures and words there are in the whole book

  8. i love this book it is so good and at the end it tells you how many pics and words there are in the whole book and i am a fifth grader

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