Reading dry spells: Periods where nothing in the library entices, and the assigned books from school seem just another chore. Every reader has had those, and my boys have succumbed to them at various times.
During one particularly arid spell, I was thrilled to discover Brian Selznick’s work on our public library shelves. These proved to be our ride out of the desert and back into wonderland.
Brian Selznick has written a number of books, and his three most recent are unusual and eye-catching books that defy categorization. They weave together the best of graphic novels and traditional novels. In each book, Selznick appears to draw inspiration from wonderful and obscure cultural artifacts: the films of George Melies in The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the Wolf Diorama at New York’s American Museum of Natural History in Wonderstruck, and London’s Dennis Severs’ House in The Marvels. He wraps layers of mystery around these artifacts, involving protagonists who are children dealing with loss or adversity and are seeking answers and their place in the world.
Most uniquely, Selznick intersperses the prose with dramatic, double-page illustrations, which bleed to the edges of the page. The perspective zooms in and out as though viewed through a camera lens, and quickly grab attention. The cross-hatched drawings and text are rich with clues and cross-references, all of which invite a longer look and a closer read. My dry-spelling reader got quickly absorbed, turning page after page to find out what came next.
Of the three books Selznick has created in this genre, I highly recommend The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck. (The first was adapted into Hugo, a well-received Scorcese movie. Watching the movie would be a good follow-on activity.) While The Marvels is gorgeously illustrated, my boys and I found the story convoluted and the text repetitive and stilted. It might work for some readers – just don’t let it be the first Selznick book you try. Because the books reveal more each time you read them, these are great book to own and to give as gifts. They are also excellent books to read-aloud together with your kids.
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