This is a good year for author and illustrator Brian Selznick. A movie and a new book.
First the movie. If you haven’t read his intriguing 533 page book The Invention of Hugo Cabret with your kids, rush to do so. It centers around an orphan who tends clocks in a train station and tries to restore a mechanical wind-up figure called an automaton. Finely detailed illustrations and a cinematic feel make this treasure hunt of a tale all the more tantalizing. Selznick’s inspiration came from his fascination with Georges Méliès, who was known as the first “cinemagician.” Fittingly, a movie based on the book is coming out soon.
Once you’re familiar with Selznick’s unique work you’ll want more.Thankfully his second (even bigger) book is now out. Titled Wonderstruck, it relates parallel stories of two children. One story takes place in 1977 and is told in text, the other in 1927 and is told entirely in illustrations. The two tales converge into a single, wonderfully satisfying story in the end.
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I read Wonderstruck first, and then raced to the library to grab Hugo. Both are amazing. My husband mocked me for sobbing through the last 40 pages of Wonderstruck.
Thanks for this article! I was very curious about theses books and the movie! I can’t wait to take my kids to the movie.
I just finished Wonderstruck last night!
I think there’s something refreshing about “reading” the pages and pages of wordless pictures. My brain appreciated being used in a different way to experience story. Also, you feel so PRODUCTIVE when you can read a 600 page book in a matter of hours!
I read Wonderstruck first, and then raced to the library to grab Hugo. Both are amazing. My husband mocked me for sobbing through the last 40 pages of Wonderstruck.
Thanks for this article! I was very curious about theses books and the movie! I can’t wait to take my kids to the movie.
I just finished Wonderstruck last night!
I think there’s something refreshing about “reading” the pages and pages of wordless pictures. My brain appreciated being used in a different way to experience story. Also, you feel so PRODUCTIVE when you can read a 600 page book in a matter of hours!