The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonerstruck by Brian Selsznik

Hello again! Sorry for the lack of posts, but what with the holidays, I haven't had time to go online.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznik is an award-winning book about a young boy named Hugo Cabret.  His father, who died in a fire, was working on an automoton. Ever since, Hugo has been trying to fix the mechanical man, while keeping up with his duties of winding the clocks in the train station where he lives above Paris. Hugo's days are fairly uneventful, until he is caught stealing mechanical parts from a toy shop...and neither his nor his friend's lives will ever be the same again. 

Hugo's story was made into a movie last year (2011). I saw it on New Years Eve in 3D. Hugo's official website is www.theinventionofhugocabret.com. 

Wonderstruck is a completely unrelated book by the same author. It tells the story of Ben and Rose. While their stories are set 50 years apart, they intertwine in a way that no-one could have imagined. Deaf, daring Rose and orphan, hard-of-hearing Ben are about to have the adventure of their lives in New York City. 

Rose's story is set in 1927 and Ben's in 1977. Hugo's story is set in 1931. A unique thing about these book is that they are told in both beautifully illustrated pictures and words. The pages that have pictures don't have text and the pages with text are lacking artwork. When I started these stories I found this format difficult to comprehend but as I went on I realized it helped me appreciate the lovely black and white illustrations.

Wonderstruck's official website is www.wonderstruckthebook.com.

Enjoy!

-A.Story