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Book a flight of the imagination today

March 6, 2007 12:35 am

N EWLY ORPHANED Hugo is living behind the walls of a busy train station in Paris, where his uncle, who takes care of the station's clocks, has taken him on as his apprentice.

When his uncle disappears one night, Hugo takes over the job of repairing the station's many clocks, hoping to maintain the fiction that his uncle is still at work. But that's not Hugo's only secret: In his hidden apartment he keeps a broken automaton--a mechanical windup figure holding a pen--that his father was trying to repair just before he died. Hugo is certain that once he manages to restore the automaton, what it writes will be a message from his father.

Brian Selznick's "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" has all the elements of a good story: mysteries, secrets, orphans, an atmospheric setting and a briskly paced narrative. But what makes this book stand out is its unusual blending of art and story.

The first few dozen pages are entirely wordless, with only Selznick's trademark pencil drawings telling the tale. With striking use of black and white, cross hatchings and dramatically varying perspectives, Selznick tantalizes readers with the mystery of where and why Hugo is in hiding.

A few pages on, drawings of his father's notebook, where his plans to repair the automaton are recorded, explain more clearly than words just what this mechanical man looks like. The brilliant 36-page-long picture sequence showing Hugo escaping from the station master through the tunnels and stairs of the station has the breathless pace of a thriller.

Selznick has also used old movie stills--the early filmmaker George Melies figures significantly in the plot--to tell the story, which owes as much to the tradition of silent films as it does to traditional narrative.

The book has already risen to the top of the New York Times best-seller list. Warner Brothers plans to produce a film based on the book, and rumor has it that Martin Scorsese may direct. Wow!

The book hit library shelves only last week, so the verdict from kids is not in yet. But I predict that readers from about 9 to 12 years old will find the story intriguing, and won't be put off by the 500-plus pages--especially once they see the illustrations.

Selznick's softly shaded pencil drawings also illustrate Pam Muñoz Ryan's picture book, "Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride." Based on a true story, this tells of a magical evening when Amelia Earhart, after attending a dinner at the White House, takes Eleanor Roosevelt for a plane ride over Washington. Selznick includes numerous authentic details, adding a pale purple-colored pencil to his black and white drawings for a look that's both elegant and mysterious.

A dinner party held inside a dinosaur skeleton was the inspiration for Barbara Kerley's "The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins." For the story of this Victorian artist who was the first to build life-sized dinosaur models, Selznick uses full color and a suitably flamboyant style.

The title page shows Hawkins on stage, crimson curtains drawn back and his dinosaur models looming behind him. This mixture of history, theater and melodrama will appeal to budding engineers, artists and dinosaur fans.

Selznick obviously enjoys researching the quirky corners of history, and with "Hugo Cabret" he has combined his love of history and art to create a fresh new version of the venerable illustrated book.