INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET (FICTION) and VISIT TO READING REPTILE
FICTION
THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET by Brian Selznick (Scholastic)
From Wikipedia:
In 1913 Georges M�li�s' film company was forced into bankruptcy by the
large French and American studios and his company was bought out of
receivership by Path� Fr�res. After being driven out of business
M�li�s became a toy salesman at the Montparnasse station. In 1932 the
Cinema Society gave M�li�s a home in Ch�teau d'Orly. M�li�s did not
grasp the value of his films, and with some 500 films recorded on
cellulose, the French Army seized most of this stock to be melted down
into boot heels during World War I. Many of the other films were sold
to be recycled into new film. As a result many of these films do not
exist today. In time, M�li�s was rediscovered and honored for his
work, eventually taking up stage performance.
The scene opens. The moon sets and the sun rises over a bustling train
station, so crowded, it's hard to differentiate one person from the
other, but no...here is one Hugo Cabret, a wide-eyed boy looking
furitively over his shoulder. Does anyone see him disappear into the
walls, does anyone see him peer from behind the hands of a large clock
at the doings of the station's toy booth, where he will pilfer yet
another mechanical toy for parts to repair the mechanical man he has
hidden away, an "automaton," rescued from a fire? If he can make the
automaton work, Hugo feels sure its metal hand will write a note from
his departed father, conveying a plan to keep him safe. But when the
hot-tempered man in the toy booth discovers Hugo's misdeeds, and his
notebook with cryptic sketches that the peddler inexplicably
recognizes, all bets are off. Only the telling of well-kept secrets by
all the characters can free them.
I always felt that Brian Selznick reinvented the illustrated novel
with THE MEANEST DOLL IN THE WORLD, but with HUGO CABRET, 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. Selznick builds the action not
only with words but with illustration, heightening, tightening with
close-ups and pans, an artistic technique that magically puts the
action into real time. As you read this book, you can feel that you
are reading something new and old at once, like you are discovering a
carefully machined nineteenth-century technology that has been long
dormant in some attic, but still manages to inspire wonder..an
automaton, perhaps? No, it is a book, a book that breaths new life
into both publishing and reading, and one that, at last, speaks to
kids from a world where they have been inundated with images. Selznick
often manages to weave his own interest in magic, art and cinema into
his work, and his personal affection for his subjects are contagious.
So many times children want to read long books for status (Harry
Potter effect) but the themes or story are not necessaily
developmentally suitable, but here we have a book that feels long and
thick but is truly readable and appropriate for intermediate readers,
ages 9-12. This book with the feel of another time is for this time, a
generation of children who have been preparing for the visual
acrobatics that HUGO provides. This groundbreaking mystery is pure
excitement that will allow young readers a sense of accomplishment in
its completion. It's a great read-aloud, a must read for anyone who
keeps up with the award contenders and an absolute must-share for any
boy. A few favorite lines:
Hugo thought about his father's description of the automaton."Did you
ever notice that all machines are made for some reason? he asked
Isabelle. "They are built to make you laugh, like the mouse here, or
to tell the time like clocks, or to fill you with wonder, like the
automaton. Maybe that's why a broken machine always makes me a little
sad, because it isn't able to do what it was meant to do....
"Sometimes I come up here at night, even when I'm not fixing the
clocks, just to look at the city. 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 one big machine, I have to be here for some reason.
And that means you have to be here for some reason, too."
On a personal note
Must gush.
My trip to Reading Reptile in Kansas City, MO for the DNA Festival of
Children's Literature can only be described as transcendental. It was
one of the nicest weekends of my entire life both as an author and as
a reader. I got to speak to hundreds of school children, and also had
the pleasure of speaking to educators and listening to other great
talents present: the effervescent Pam Munoz Ryan (have you read RIDING
FREEDOM, a great fictionalized chapter-book biography of the first
woman to vote in California, years before any other woman, by
disguising herself as a man?) Kadir Nelson (who is as beautiful and
brilliant in person as his artwork is on the page), my new friend Mark
Teague (who is not actually a dinosaur), a rare appearance by Paul
Goble who traveled all the way from England, my favorite genius Brian
Selznick, and dear heart Mordicai Gerstein, who I was especially
excited to see so I could tell him how I had just recently read aloud
his brilliant and under-recognized CAROLINDA CLATTER to a rapt
audience of children (book review below). The Reading Reptile is a
true traveling bibliophile's destination, a children's booklover's
dream come true. Co-owner Pete is an Aslan-like kid-lit leader with an
outspoken and sparkling wit, and kind, generous and patient angel
co-owner Debbie is also a ridiculously talented paper-mach� artist who
our 3-D world, and going to the store was like getting to walk around
some fantastic real-life Viewmaster. Honestly, I walked around and
around that store eating up the eye-candy for at least an hour, and
every time I took another spin there was something wonderous that I
hadn't noticed before. From the handmade No, David! puppets to the
room you can walk into that looks like a scene from James Marshall's
George and Martha to the Babar fresco on the ceiling to paper mach�
scupltures of Harry the Dirty Dog and Tintin and Rosemary Well's bunny
Max to a parade of characters inspired by Kevin Henkes to Shel
Silverstein's The Giving Tree to Dr. DeSoto fixing a Fox's teeth and
dragons and Daniel Pinkwater characters and Wild Thing Max and a
stampede of gerbils flying from the ceiling, and...and...and...will
you indulge me in a few photographs?
Caps, caps for sale! Fifty cents a cap! (as inspired by the work of
Esphyr Slobodkina)
Interesting collections were interspersed throughout the shelves,
protected by plexiglass like little museum exhibits
The George and Martha room, as inspired by the work of James Marshall
Brian Selznick and Esme Codell: if they mated! See our love child?
No, David! puppets, as inspired by the work of David Shannon
Goodnight, Gorilla swings from the ceiling, as inspired by the work of
Peggy Rathmann
A wonderful frieze inspired by Ruth Stiles Gannett's My Father's
Dragon
Baby Sunny from Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events hangs in
her cage from the tower
Jean de Brunhoff's Babar makes for a celestial ceiling
Illustrator Kadir Nelson can't resist a little browsing...
Even the seat cushions were inspired by children's books!
Fun flying in from every corner!
I think Harry the Dirty Dog inspired by Gene Zion's book was my
favorite!
On top of these wonderful opportunities to talk to folks, our posse of
book-creators were treated to a home-catered meal of salmon and
noodles and a sauce that was so glorious, it elicited tears, trembling
and groans of joy. I promise you, I could not have enough film to
capture all the delightful pieces in this haven. I thought nothing
could beat Wisconsin's House on the Rock for sheer artistic
inspiration, but Reading Reptile sure gave it a run for the money.
Mordicai Gerstein made some resonating closing remarks at the
presentations about the importance of imagination, and how we live in
one another's imagination through the environments we create and the
ideas we share. I just feel so blessed that I could walk around for a
little while in Pete and Deb's imagination, and also meet their
amazing children, staff, friends and family. When I say my links to
Amazon on my wesbite are for informational purposes, I mean it; they
may be a great resource for reviews and opinions, but walk into a
place like Reading Reptile and you will see why independent
booksellers have something that no chain or on-line seller can ever
come close to replicating, and why they deeply deserve our support.
This place had so much heart and warmth and a remarkable selection of
books clearly chosen by people who knew what kids love, this store
conveyed a real desire not only to sell books but to spread the
pulsating and visceral joy, and P-O-W-E-R of children's literature.
Reading Reptile is a living testament to how independent booksellers
can build community and support the arts. After my visit, my new goals
in life are a) to get better at working with paper mach� and b) write
something or be someone worthy of canonization in their magnificent
and magical space. Going to Reading Reptile was like getting to stand
inside a firework, a zinnia, a book come to life . I hope you all get
to go someday.
On another personal note:
I will be speaking and signing at The International Reading
Association (IRA) conference in Toronto next week, presenting on
Wednesday a.m., in a session with Katherine Paterson and signing my
favorite, VIVE LA PARIS at the Hyperion booth at noon....if you are
coming, please do say hi! I can't wait. Wish me luck!
And on another personal note:
Ah, I'll pace myself...a lot going on. I'll share in the weeks to
come.
Also of interest:
CAROLINDA CLATTER
by Mordicai Gerstein (Roaring Brook)
A giant's unrequited love with the moon causes him to cry himself to
sleep. "After a hundred years, grass grew all over him. After a
thousand years, his eyes became two ponds. His tears became two
waterfalls. His beard and the hair on his head became forests." The
town of Pupickton is built on the mountain that looks like a giant,
right on his belly, and through the years, the townspeople whisper
"Shhhh! You'll wake the giant." This is too tall an order for
Carolinda Clatter, who is born noisy and whose clamor ultimately
rouses the giant from his sleep. Can this boisterous girl find the
song to soothe his broken heart? This book is a delight to read aloud
(if you can manage the catch in your throat on the last few pages)
with an original plot and pictures that capture all the colors and
moods of this magical man and mountain. As always, Gerstein's work
captures something deep; not just the lightning bug, but the glow of
the lightning bug, not just the tear, but the salt, and in this noisy
book is the whisper of things universal: the need to be loved, the
need to be ourselves, the need for peace. In the body of work of this
gentle giant called Gerstein, this title is one of the great romances
of children's literature and is not to be overlooked. (6 and up)
And it has come to my attention that some young people in this country
still have not read Rick Riordan's PERCY AND THE OLYMPIANS series
(Hyperion)! Gasp! This is a very grave situation! Children MUST not
miss out! This is our American Harry Potter, the thrilling chronicles
of a boy who thinks he has behavioral disorders, only to find out that
his father is a Greek god, thus making him a demi-god and prone to,
uh, learning differences, and more than a few breathtaking adventures!
Children can brush up on Latin and mythology subliminally, and best of
all, the series has kids disappearing for hours to read, carried off
and away by the fantasy. The latest one, THE TITAN'S CURSE, is out
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