The Invention of Hugo Cabret
by Brian Selznick
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Book Reviews of The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Book Review: Caldecott winner proves it's mettle
Summary: 5 Stars
I discovered The Invention of Hugo Cabret when doing research on the Caldecott winners for my Illustration class. It was so wonderful, not only did I spend all of Sunday afternoon glued to this book, it also inspired me in my chosen profession of Illustrating children's books.
I found it most helpful to have read the introduction and visited the website to get an in depth look at how the book was created, before I actually read the story. It's very complex, the way it is put together. As an older adult artist of 61 years, I was excited by the beautiful illustrations and descriptive story telling. This book made me feel fortunate to be the age I am and still be in touch with the child within.
One thing is for certain, the Caldecott Medal is not given out because of popularity. It is awarded by a very select group of jurors as described here by Wikipedia:
The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published that year.
One of the criteria being:
The book must be considered for the artistic technique employed; pictorial interpretation of story; appropriateness of style of illustration to the story; delineation of plot, theme, characters, setting mood or information through the pictures; and recognition of a child audience.
Book Review: Very original!
Summary: 5 Stars
This was a very unique book and I really enjoyed it! It did take me a few chapters to get completely absorbed, but after that I was thoroughly interested in the plot and how everything would be resolved.
The book is unique in multiple ways, but two stand out for me. The first of which, is that it's probably one of the least predictable books I've read lately. You can guess how the overall ending will probably turn out, but the specifics and the "how" were (at least to me) pretty unpredictable.
Also, the book uses pictures to help tell the story, instead of depicting what's already been written. For example, The text might read something like, "Hugo walked into the train station," followed by four or five drawings, one of Hugo walking into the station, one of him seeing a friend, one of him running to meet his friend, and one of him tripping. The text would then say something link, "Hugo's friend offered him a hand up." That's probably very confusing, but I hope it helps a little. I think it would be a great book for a young reader who isn't too keen on reading, because it is a thick book, but because of all the drawings, you can get through it fairly quickly, yet you still have a great sense of accomplishment. So, I think it would probably be a good jump-start sort of book.
Though, let me emphasize that, even if you are an avid reader, it's still a great book!
Book Review: A Glorious Picture Book for All Ages
Summary: 5 Stars
Absolutely glorious black and white drawings are interspersed between the pages of text to create a first rate classic. Brian Selznick has written a simple, yet touching story of an orphan who finds his true calling as a magician.
In order to reach that end, Hugo Cabret must suffer the indignity of having to steal to survive, must work at a job he hates, and must finally face his fears. Through it all, Hugo pursues goal to restore the mechanical man that his late father found and was repairing prior to his death. In doing so, Hugo helps the toymaker (who is actually a great film maker and the mechanical man's creator) receive the recognition which he deserves.
This is a book that anyone who enjoys a good story will love. The black and white line drawings remind one of Maurice Sendak's work. The story is simple enough to be read aloud to younger children; it is a classic work from a simpler time. The drawings actually tell the story as well as the words; one can almost imagine this book as an old fashioned picture book.
I'm not sure that the age group for which "Hugo" is recommended will enjoy the book, only because it is a somewhat old fashioned story without wizards, fantasy, or evil beings.
If you have a child you love, or if you are a child at heart then you will definitely want to add this book to your collection.
Book Review: Small Is The New Big
Summary: 5 Stars
read an awesome book on strategy by Seth Godin on the flight here called "Small is the New Big and 183 other riffs, rants and remarkable business ideas".
I seem to be drawn to strategy books lately. Strategy is what I am thinking about. Being in a low margin business makes me think.
Seth's challenge is to be truly unique, edgy, new, add value. He give many examples of companies who have done this. Part of what he pushed is the next big idea. I like that but also know ideas are cheap, excellent implementation is what is difficult. I am a big believer in acting small but being big. Take the best from both worlds.
Seth's challenge on CEO blogs are they need to offer at least 4 of the following 6:
Candor
Urgency
Timeliness
Pithiness
Controversy
Utility
To that, I would consider adding humour. People never mind that.
Thinking about how I stack up...
I loved his comments on lawns. Why have a lawn? Just because everyone else does. Of course those who know me well know I have no lawn and grow strawberries, squash, potatoes etc on the "front lawn". Probably drives the chemlawn neighbours crazy. Just FYI, this is definitely not a time saver. It takes more work to care for a garden.
Overall - an excellent highly recommended read.
Book Review: Fun, interesting, and fast-moving
Summary: 5 Stars
First let me say this: Try to read as little as possible about this book, especially the reviews here, because it's a really good book that's definitely worth reading but some of the reviews have spoilers.
OK, now on to some comments. The book is a really fast read: even though it's over 500 pages, perhaps a third or more are full-page pictures, and most of the text pages are only a paragraph or so. I read the entire thing in three hours and I'm not a particularly fast reader.
There's a lot to like in this book but I'll leave you to discover that on your own (or, at your peril with spoilers, to find in other reviews here), but there was one thing that bothered me: Some of the characters have secrets that seem to be secrets merely as a plot device. For example, Hugo refuses to explain some things and we're never given enough motivation-- he just doesn't want to tell, even though it would be to his advantage. Things like that feel contrived and, to me, take away from the overall enjoyment. It would be like if in a movie someone in Los Angeles wanted to get a bottle of milk, but instead of just going to a local store, got on a flight to New York to get the milk there and the plane got hijacked, leading to a big adventure.
But despite that caveat, I still highly recommend this book for people of all ages.