The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Selznick,B. (2007). The invention of Hugo Cabret. New York: Scholastic.

Hugo is a young boy who lives in a Paris train station. His father died and his uncle took him in as an apprentice. His uncle taught him how to keep the clocks in the train station running, and provided him a home with in the clock towers. One day his uncle did not return, so Hugo kept the clocks running, and collected his uncles paychecks. When he was young, his father worked part time at a museam and found an old automaton. His father vowed to make it work, and filled his notebooks with drawings of it. Unfortunately his father died before he was able to make it work, so Hugo hung on to the notebook his father had given him for one of his birthdays. One day Hugo found the automaton among the ashes of the museum that had been burned down. He took it back to his room in the train station and vowed to finish what his father had started. Since his uncle was gone, Hugo depended on scavenging and stealing to survive. In his quest to fix the automaton, he began to steal parts from a toy maker across from one of the clocks. Unfortunately for Hugo, the old toy maker new what Hugo was doing. He had Hugo's notebook and would not give it back to him until he worked off his debt. The old toy maker had a godaughter names Isabelle, and she helped Hugo get his notebook back. In the process he discovered that she had the missing key that would make the automaton work. One day he stole the key from her, and ran back to his room to see if it matched. Isabelle followed him back to his room and took back her key. Hugo begged and pleaded with her, and finally showed her why he needed it. The key made the automaton work, and to their surprise drew a picture that bore the name of her godfather Papa George. After that, the two joined forces to solve the mystery. It turned out that Papa George was a famous film maker, who the world thought had died. Hugo and Isabelle helped Papa George get his old life back. Papa George, aka George Melies was honored at a gala that celebrated his life. Papa George and his family decided to take Hugo in, so he would never be homeless again. The highlight of this book is its wonderful charcol drawings. They bring the reader in, and make them part of Hugo Cabret's world. The author does a fabulous job of interconnecting the story with the drawings. There is a seemless connection between the two that keep the readers wanting more. This book could be enjoyed by students in grade three and up, but the drawings can be enjoyed by all. Amongst the books ability to be used in a literature class, I can forsee it being used in an art class. The illustration are a fantastic example of shading being used to create light and shadow. They also have wonderful examples of the artists use of perspective.