- The Plot:
- Hugo Cabret, a young boy living in Paris in the 1930's lives in the secret passages behind the walls of the train station. Trained to repair the clocks in the station by his father (deceased) and uncle (disappeared), Hugo must keep his presence in the station a secret so he isn't hauled to an orphanage or worse, prison. Along with food, Hugo steals bits of machinery from the station's toy stand so he can repair the mechanical man his father died to rescue from a fire. When his thievery attracts the attention of the toy stand's owner, Hugo is drawn further into the mystery of the mechanical man, its origins, and the history of French cinema.
The Review:
What makes this book unique is the fact that it's a blend of pictures and words. Unlike a graphic novel, which is formatted like a comic book, or a picture book, which combines words and images on the same page, Hugo Cabret is a story told in words and images. Some 200 of the pages are black and white drawings. The format is both the genius of the book and its weakness. The whole project is meant as homage to an old silent movie. Pages with type are formatted like cue cards held up to inform the audience of things the audience wouldn't understand strictly from the images. Extreme close-ups in the pictures mimics techniques used by early filmmakers that called attention to important objects by focusing closely on them. While these techniques are clever, they sometimes slow down the story and leave the written word portion of the work feeling choppy. Reluctant readers will love the idea that most of the book is pictures, but may struggle with making sense of the actual story.
- Good to Know:
- Age Range: 8 - 12 years
- Grade Level: 3 - 7
- Lexile Measure: 820L
- Publisher: Scholastic Press (January 30, 2007)
- ISBN-10: 0439813786
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