THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET
By Brian Selznick
Scholastic Press, 2007
Category: Hmmm. This one is in a category all its own; Lisa Yee suggests we call it Selznickian
My mind prefers words to images. I am not sure why this is so; it just is. And so I was afraid I might not enjoy THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET the way the rest of the world has. And, truth be told, I was feeling less-than-attached (emotionally speaking) early in the story. But then I got to this moment:
“The black engine was zooming right toward Hugo and he was caught, unable to look away, as though he were watching a movie.”
and realized I was in the hands of a capable and talented writer. By the time I closed the covers I understood that this book was more than words and pictures. It was a three-dimensional experience served up in a gorgeous two-dimensional package. The accolades being heaped upon this book are well-deserved; give it a read, er, a look …