Delightful. That's how I'd describe the experience that this book is. And it really is an experience, because it's not a book you just read. If you notice, that shiny gold sticker is the Caldecott medal, NOT the Newbery. This is a 544 page-long picture book. But not really. This is what Brian Selznick has to say about Hugo: "... this is not exactly a novel, and it's not quite a picture book, and it's not really a graphic novel, or a flip book, or a movie, but a combination of all these things."
I love that the pictures tell part of the story. There are pages with words on them, but then there are several page-long picture sequences, and they really do tell the story better than if Selznick had written about what was going on. And it's a fabulous story. Hugo is a young thief in Paris, and he uncovers several secrets (while trying to hide a few of his own). I loved the story and learned a lot, surprisingly, about the early history of French cinema. Hugo has earned its way onto my 'to-buy' list. I highly recommend checking it out!
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