The Girl (age 11) loved The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick so much that she read it in a little more than a day. As a budding artist, she loved the combination of illustrations and prose in what she calls an adult-size novel. She’s looking forward to reading Selznick’s latest book, Wonderstruck, as her choice for our book club meeting in June. (I was touched that the members of the new book club were happy to welcome her to read any book that we read that’s appropriate for her age and even invited her to nominate books and lead the discussion one month.) Here are her random thoughts about The Invention of Hugo Cabret.
Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo’s dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery. (publisher’s summary)
*I learned a new word, automaton, which means self-operating machine.
*I loved the illustrations. They were beautifully sketched and important to the book.
*The pictures sometimes helped with the scenes, but sometimes the author’s writing was so beautiful you could picture the scene without the illustrations.
*Hugo was my favorite character because you could imagine him exactly without the pictures and better than any other character. I also like him because he was interesting and always in trouble, which was sometimes funny.
*I can’t wait to see the movie!!
Disclosure: The Girl borrowed The Invention of Hugo Cabret from our local library. I am an IndieBound affiliate and an Amazon associate.
© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
Sounds like she really enjoyed this one. Sounds like one I should check out too.
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Yes! She told me I really should read it, but we had to take it back to the library before I had a chance. I’m waiting to see how I feel about Wonderstruck; if I like that when we read it for book club, I’ll probably read Hugo.
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I loved the artwork in this book too! It was amazing! I can’t wait to see the movie too! Great review!
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Thanks, Beth! I flipped through the book after she read it, and the artwork did look great.
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Another great review! And I love that your bookclub is welcoming her!
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Thanks! It really made her day, which of course, made mine. 🙂
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I think my nephew would love this one.
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It seems to be popular with the younger crowd.
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I was going to ask if The Girl has seen the movie! I really want to read this book and I’m glad The Girl loved it. It sounds like you have a wonderful book club.
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So far, so good with the book club. She is dying to see the movie, but she’ll just have to wait for the DVD.
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Top-notch review of a book I had not heard of before! 🙂
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Thanks, Suko! She’ll be glad to hear that.
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That is really the beauty of this book (and Wonderstruck). It has a universal appeal. I promise the movie will meet expectations. See it in 3D. I think it will win some things at the Oscars…
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She hasn’t seen the movie yet but was thrilled to see that it won some Oscars.
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What a great review of the book. I am trying to convince my son to read it and he is almost 9 but he admitted the size of the book scares him and we are actually waiting for it to come back from the school library so that I can show him its not all the bad,
I hope she enjoys the movie.
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He shouldn’t worry about the size. It’s pretty evenly split between artwork and prose.
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I’m intrigued… ::adds to incredibly long list of things to read::
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And if you’re like me, that list gets longer ever day!
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My daughter (same age as you) read it and liked it. We now want to see the movie, too. Wonderstruck is touching and the illustrations just as fantastic.
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Glad to see you enjoyed Wonderstruck. I can’t wait to read it for the book club, and I know my daughter is itching to get her hands on a copy!
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Great review! It makes me want to read this book all the more. When an author can paint pictures with words, that is the best!
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I probably will read it after Wonderstruck. Her gushing about this book has made it sound so interesting.
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I had already forgotten it was a book, duh. Oh well, I will watch the movie 😉
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I didn’t take any notice of the book when it first came out. That’s the power of the movies. 😉
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I thought the artwork was spectacular in this one too! Lovely review, The Girl!
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Thanks, Staci!
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SO COOL that The Girl has been so welcome in your book club. I think that’s fantastic and I loved reading her thoughts on The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Great book, and I can’t wait to read Wonderstruck myself. 🙂
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She was thrilled because she really wants to talk about books with other people. There was a short-lived book club at her school, but she said they were reading “fluffy puppy books” and that isn’t her thing. LOL
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This is one of my family’s favorite books. I’m glad the Girl enjoyed it, too! We are looking forward to Wonderstruck (still on the waiting list at the library). We loved the movie, which was such a relief, because it’s always a risk when they put a beloved book on the screen.
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Glad to hear you enjoyed the movie. I’m looking forward to watching it with my daughter.
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[…] (Cherished)98. Quieted Waters (Mr Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater)99. The Girl @ Diary of an Eccentric (The Invention of Hugo Cabret)100. Anna @ Diary of an Eccentric (The Golden Hour)101. Anna @ Diary of an Eccentric (The […]
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[…] *I can’t decide if I like this book better than The Invention of Hugo Cabret. […]
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