The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Hugo Cabret is a twelve-year-old orphan and clock winder living in the walls of a Paris train station. His only friend is the broken automaton his dad was trying to repair before he died.  When Hugo is caught stealing parts from an old man’s toy shop to fix his automaton, he begins an unlikely friendship with the man and his young goddaughter. With the help of a heart-shaped key and a picture of a rocket in the eye of the man in the moon, Hugo and his friends begin to create The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

Set in 1930’s Paris, this book tells the story of a lonely young orphan and a disappointed old man who form an unlikely friendship that saves them both. Told in both pictures and words, this award-winning book is highly recommended for all young adults in a public or school library setting.

Teen Interview

"I read this book because I like graphic novels and with all of the pictures in this book I thought it wouldn't be too different to read...  I liked it.  It seems like a huge book, but lots of it is the pictures so it doesn't actually take that long to read... I thought it was cool how he used his drawings to kind of take over telling the story, and then had pictures from the old movies and stuff that he was talking about, too."
--Kyle C., age 13

Kyle mainly reads graphic novels, and has read the steampunk graphic novel Dragonero by Luca Enoch and Stefano Vietti with illustrations by Giuseppe Matteoni.  He reads about 5 graphic novels a month.  Kyle is on Facebook but does not use it very often.  He likes to play online video games (massively multiplayer online [MMO] games) with his friends.

Awards

2008 Caldecott Medal
2007 National Book Award Finalist
2007 New York Time's Top 10 Best Illustrated Children's Book

Learn More

Learn more about Brian Selznick, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and his other books on his website.  You can also see clips from some of the old movies mentioned in Hugo, read about the directors and writers who influenced Selznick, watch interviews with Selznick, and watch a slideshow of illustrations from Hugo.

Watch an interview with Brian Selznick below where he discusses the making of Hugo.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret was made into the movie Hugo in 2011.  Watch a preview of the movie below:

Selznick, Brian. The Invention of Hugo Cabret. New York: Scholastic Press, 2007. Print.
9780439813785; Hardback; $15.00; 533 pages

Also available in paperback and audiobook format.