The Invention of Hugo Cabret

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick is the winner of the 2008 Caldecott Award. This book is an amazing combination of novel, picture book, and graphic novel. It was inspired by the true story of Georges Méliès, one of the earliest filmmakers and the father of science-fiction movies. But the characterization of Mr. Méliès was completely imagined. Hugo Cabret is a twelve-year-old orphan who lives in the walls of a Paris train station at the turn of the twentieth century, where he tends to the clocks and steals what he needs to survive. Hugo's recently deceased father, a clockmaker, worked in a museum where he discovered an automaton. It turns out that the automaton was created by the toy maker who works in the train station, who it turns out is Georges Méliès. Hugo befriends his godchild, Isabelle, which leads to his discovery of these secrets. This is a fascinating page-turner in which the pictures don’t just illustrate the story, they help tell it. At the end, Hugo finds his true calling and becomes a magician named Professor Alcofrisbas, who wrote the introductory letter at the beginning of the book. I was fascinated, touched, and relieved throughout the book at various points. It's size appears daunting, but because of the numerous beautiful pencil drawings and the font used, this book did not take as long to read as you would expect. Plus, it's well worth it!