I mean, really, doesn’t the title just grab your attention right away?  And what a stunning cover!  Winner of the 2008 Caldecott medal, Brian Selznick’s novel does not disappoint.  One of the things that I loved right away about this book is that it is neither a chapter book nor a picture book, but the two combined.  There are many illustrations, mostly drawings, that help tell the story.  They are not additions to the story, they are actually telling the story.  And Selznick does a great job of making the pictures add suspense to the story.  We see Hugo, then we see a close up of Hugo’s eye or what Hugo is looking at, and we wonder – what’s going to happen?  Is he ok? 

    Another thing I loved about this story is it’s unique plot and setting.  It takes place in the train station in Paris, France.  Hugo lives within the station’s walls maintaining the station’s clocks and surviving any way he can after being abandoned by both father and uncle.  The plot also involves automata (mechanical wind-up toys), a fire, a friend, a notebook, and a grumpy old man.  All the makings of a great story!

This book is recommended for children 9 – 12.   There is a bit of a scary scene at the beginning so use caution with younger children.  

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 27th, 2008 at 12:00 am

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