The Invention of Hugo Cabret

I work at Barnes and Noble. Which means I pretty much get paid to read books. Last week I was supervising the children's department, so my selection was limited to an elementary reading level. My book of choice was "a novel in words and pictures" called The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.

It was fantastic.

The book is 530 pages, but half of them are of illustrations. Instead of describing the action with words, he uses pictures to speed up the process. And the illustrations are amazing. I spent more time gawking over them than I did reading. I finished the entire book in one 7-hour shift.

What's it about? I'm glad you asked. It's set in Paris in 1930 and tells the story of a boy named-- you guessed it-- Hugo who lives in a train station. He spends his days stealing small pieces from toys to fix up an automaton his father found. With the help of the toyshop owner's goddaughter, he discovers a hidden message in the toy and a whole new world is open to him. The story focuses on the filmmaker Georges Melies and his silent film A Trip to the Moon. (If you've never seen it you should. It's only about 12 minutes long and is pretty hilarious.)

If you have the time (and you should) go read it. If you really can't motivate yourself, they are making it into a movie with Jude Law and Sacha Baron Cohen.

Other children's book recommendations:
I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll; a picture book about a boy who can't go to sleep without a monster under his bed.
Llama Lama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney; the title should be enough for you.