Senor Parrot's Perch

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a sensational book by writer and illustrator Brian Selznick. I have been snatching a few moments of free time to savor reading and looking through it whenever I can. I’m about half way through this book and I’m enjoying it immensely. I highly recommend it. Here are a few interesting  sites, reviews, and posts about the book.

Expanded Books produced an interview with Brian Selznick about his terrific Kids’ Book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Brian Selznick discusses his inspiration for the book, his approach to illustrating it and some of the story of the multifaceted man Georges Melies, the magician, film-maker, and toy-store owner who is at he center of the book.

There is more about this book with a few good links to more sites of interest over at Hypothetically Thinking, a good kids book blog.

Outside of a Cat has more good stuff to say about this book. He’s also posted the the video of the important short film by George Melies’  A Trip to the Moon, the silent film referenced frequently in the book.   This is a must see for you interested folks.

My favorite post  by Esme Raji Codell in her blog , describes her own reaction to this book:

“I think he has managed to create a whole new genre in children’s literature: the cinematic novel. An astonishing hybrid of screenplay, graphic novel and good old fashioned page-turner, this is as perfect a foray into the new as was Georges Melies’ movie, “A Trip to the Moon,” which, fittingly, is featured in this novel.”

It really is something new. Selznick’s storytelling technique that jumps from text to drawing and back again is like a reversion of the silient movie technique of jumping from motion picture to text, except his illustration tell the story, rather than explains it. If you are acquainted with silent movies and their technique, you’ll understand how Selznick uses his drawings to convey the story with every bit as much life as his text does.

Technique alone isn’t why this is such a terrific book. It is excellent storytelling, full of drama and mystery, and very compelling. Now, if I didn’t have that job, the lawn, weekend biking with the kids, the lawn, the job, the lawn, I’d be done with that book. 

Related posts:

1. The Dangerous Book for Boys! or How I Intend to Misspend my Summer
2. Got Started-Finally!
3. Essence of a good kids book
4. Book Review: The 12 Days of Christmas: a carol-and-count flap book, by Tad Hills, ISBN 0-689-84976-1
5. St. Patrick’s Day Family Movies: Leprechauns of the Silver Screen

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 6th, 2007 at 4:21 am and is filed under Book Reviews, Children's Books, General, Illustrated Books, Movies, Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.