The Invention of Hugo Cabret

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Written and Illustrated by: Brian Senick

Publishers: Scholastic Press in March 2007

Genre: Graphic Novel

Readability Lexile: 820L

Summary:

Twelve year old Hugo lives in the walls of a train station keeping the clocks running. His father died in a fire and left his son to his uncle. When his uncle never comes back Hugo takes charge of the clocks so the train people think that his uncle still works there. When his father dies the only thing left behind is the auto man. When Hugo steals from the toy store he gains a relationship with the toy store owner and his granddaughter. Hugo wants to fix the auto man because it is the only thing he has left of his father. He ends up solving the mystery of the auto man, fixing it, and helping the toy owner get over his past. He gains two new friends along the way and ends up being a part of the toy store owner’s family.

Evaluation:

This is a good story that shows the struggles of a homeless and family-less boy. It is believable with the story dying and the son being put with his uncle and then losing them both, but it is hard to believe that he could keep all the clocks running on his own as a young boy. However, he does have nothing and the clocks are the only things that keep him in the somewhat home that he has in the train station so I can see how a boy like this would have the motivation and drive to do this on his own. Hugo grows throughout the story. He learns that stealing is not good (even though it is the only way that he can survive) and he ends up paying the toy store owner back by helping him operate the toy store and fixing the toys. The character has both weaknesses and strength in the story. They both seem to revolve around the fact that he does not have a family and he is homeless. He gains strength from losing his father and surviving on his own, but he also has struggles in doing so like stealing. He also is able to fix the auto man by the end of the story which takes courage and determination. The author shows us a connection that Hugo and the toy store owner have together. The toy store owner is actually the guy who invented the auto man and the picture that shows up from the auto man. It was cool seeing both stories coming together as one. The book also used illustrations to tell the story creating a fun way to read a book. There would be consecutive pages with illustrations and the consecutive pages with text, they both flowed together pulling the story together. When reading the story out loud I could picture the characters saying it and the language was natural.

Literary Elements:

-          Style- The style of this book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The pictures do not show what the text is saying, but is another form of telling the story other than text.

-          Plot- There is a conflict with Hugo and the auto man as well as him being found out by the police that he is an orphan. There is also conflict with the toy owner and his past. It is suspenseful and it all comes together with a happy ending. He moves in with the toy owner and his granddaughter creating the happy ending.

-          Characterization- Hugo seems lifelike and the main character (Hugo) is homeless. This is something that you do not always see in books. By having the character as homeless, other orphans or homeless people are able to relate their life to the story.

Mini Lesson

I would have the mini lesson on style. Since we have already talked about style I would have this lesson be on students using this books style to create their own story. They would have to draw pictures and have text to tell their story. It will not matter if they are good at drawing or not, as long as they can get their point across of what’s happening.

Illustrations:

The illustrations are part of the story filling consecutive pages with pictures that leads the reader farther into the story plot. It is cool to see the text in picture form to tell the story as well as it flowing into regular text. It makes the story very visual.

Target Audience:

Upper Elementary