The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Invention of Hugo Cabret by Grian Selznick

"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 types of parts they need. So I figure if the entire world is a big machine, I have to be here for some reason, too."
-Brian Selznick, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Pg.378







Summary:  The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a book combining pictures and words to tell a story of a orphan boy named Hugo Cabret.  On the death of his father Hugo is sent to live with his Uncle.  His Uncle lives in the walls of the train station and it is his job to wind the clocks.  When Hugo’s Uncle disappears Hugo takes his Uncles job, secretly winding the clocks.  He is terrified he will be found out and the only comfort he has is the automaton that his father had been working on.  Hugo is sure if he gets the automaton to work it will give him a message from his father. Hugo’s life comes in contact with a toymaker, whom Hugo is caught stealing parts from, and the toymaker’s niece Isabella.  As Hugo learns to trust again he discovers that he is not the only person who has secrets.

Themes: Trust, Loss, Creativity, Integrity, Overcoming Obstacles, Friendship 

Grade Level: 4^th to 6^th grade

Possible Student Reaction: Some students will pick this book up thinking it is an easy and fast read because of all of the pictures but I think they will catch themselves viewing some of the pictures slowly and going back to take a second look.  They will also be sucked into Hugo’s life in a way that has them invested in Hugo’s life and adventure.  Students will be also sad that Hugo’s and Isabella’s parents have died but they will not be shocked or thrown off by that element in the story.  So many young adult novels and kid movies have the element of the missing parents that it is easily accepted by them as a common part of a story.  Adding the pictures and the fact that the character of Georges Méliés was a real person could spark some interesting internet searches about him, silent films, and Paris in the late 1800’s.  

Analysis:  I originally expected some hidden clues or messages in the artwork in this book.  What I was surprised by was how the artwork moved the action along in the story, not so fast as to cause you to flip through the pictures, only skimming them, but as a fully integrated piece of the story line.  The artwork is not extra to the text it is an organized piece of the story.  It is reminiscent to a silent movie, which is what the character of Georges Méliés made in his lifetime. 

This book is has a darker mood than I expected from a “picture book”.  It is still a quick read but with the emotional depth and energy of a story with many more words.

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Discussion Questions

• Are the words or the pictures more important to this story? Or are both necessary?
• This book has also been produced in audiobook, with sound effects in place of the pictures. Listen to a little bit of it. Does this change your view of the story? How?
• There was a real person named Georges Melies, who was one of the earliest film directors. The old films mentioned in the story were real, too. You can watch one of them here:
• The Arrival of a Train
• How are the book's illustrations similar/different from these movies?
• Hugo sometimes lies and steals so he can stay in the train station and solve the mystery. Was this right or wrong to do? Could Hugo have done things differently?

These discussion questions and more can be found at All About Adolescent Literacy  and at The Invention of Hugo Cabret.