The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Brian Selznick
2008 Caldecott Medal National Book Award Winner
Published by Scholastic Press Copyright 2007
544 Pages
Magical, Visually Captivating, Suspenseful, Emotionally
Charged, Refreshing
Brian Selznick
intertwines stunning original artwork with exciting and emotionally charged
text in order to create a story that captivates audiences of young and old.
Hugo Cabret grows up the son of a French clock maker who moonlights at a local
museum. Shortly before a tragic accident, Hugo’s father makes a fascinating
discovery in the attic of the old museum that will bind the young man to a personal shroud of secrecy and emotional torment. The
Invention of Hugo Cabret is precisely that; the invention of a young boy
who holds on dearly to the only artifact that can keep the spirit of his father
close to his heart in order to create a meaningful future. The story follows Hugo through tumultuous interactions and
relationships as well as a suspenseful story that is sure to capture the
imagination of any reader. This story is reminiscent of living a childhood
dream, both emotionally and visually capped by an ending that will provide
motivation to follow your own deep seeded dreams.
Reading Level
Ages 8-12, Lexile Measure : 820L
Suggested Delivery
Multi-class read aloud
Electronic
Resources
“Explore Hugo Cabret” Available at http://www.scholastic.com/hugocabret/
is an interactive site created by Scholastic where students will first be
greeted with an introduction by the author and then be able to interact by
moving around Hugo’s room in order to discover even more materials that
accompany the book. This tool provides background into the stories behind each
character and will provide a real life connection with the students in order to
form enthusiasm for the book.
Another electronic resource that could be used is to view
the trailer of the movie that was made based upon the book. This preview can be
found on youtube.com at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjSNBP4P9RU
This activity can be used either before the reading, in order to engage
students who are highly visual learners, or after the reading in order to
continue the learning process by teaching students that books are often turned
into movies and then comparing and contrasting the two forms of media.
Key Vocabulary – Illumination (Lighting), Automaton (Wind up
toy that moves and in this case produces art), Accusation (Being told you did
something), Invention (Creating something new), Mechanical (Machine like,
usually has moving parts), Painstakingly (Usually referring to a task which
takes a lot of time and is very challenging).
Teaching Strategies –
Before –
Before reading it will be important to pre-teach the key vocabulary mentioned
above in order to provide a better understanding of the story as well as
helping with comprehension of the text. Another strategy that may be used
before reading is to provide some background on French Culture since the book takes
place in Paris. This could include simple items such as the food eaten
(Croissants show up in the book) as well as the importance of clockmakers in
the past.
During –
During the reading it would be useful to create an ongoing story map that would
help to keep track of the relationships that evolve throughout the book. This
can help with literal comprehension by linking each character as
well as aiding in inferential comprehension by asking questions about how the
characters feel about each other as evidenced through their interactions. Using a visual organizer would provide a
great scaffold that the students can go back and reference throughout the
reading.
After –
Building on the visual organizer while reading will encourage students to further develop a
plot line of the story. This will be used to develop an understanding of the
literal points of the story and can then be linked to determine the how and why
of the story. Students can break into small groups (4-5) and pick on plot point
and act out the scene in order to bring the story to life.
Writing Activity
