Wonderstruck
Selznick, Brian
ISBN-13 9780545027892
ISBN-10 0545027896
Publisher: Scholastic, Incorporated, 2011
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Reading Level: 830 Lexile
Interest Age: 12-adult
Reader's Annotation:
Two children, fifty years apart, one story.
Plot Summary:
The story starts with Ben. Ben would really like to find his father and has been trying hard for years. Rose wants to follow the life of an old movie star she knows little about. The two find clues that lead their stories to collide. Ben is in 1977 and Rose is in 1927 and yet the two are connected in many more ways than one. Ben finds a secret clue in his mother's room which leads him toward the theater. Rose reads a healine that leads her home. His story is told in words and hers is told in pictures. Soon, two stories become one. The two children know nothing of the other and yet they are eternally connected.
Critical Evaluation:
The way Selznick utilizes pictures with words is truly original and engaging. This story is different from Hugo Cabret because there are two different stories that come together. The reader quickly understands that these two people do not know each other. The artwork is amazingly well done and completely in black and white. There are many details so the reader does not need words to know what is going on with the people. Ben's story is written, but there are not many words on each page. A paragraph to three make up the pages. When the two stories converge, there are fewer pages of each story before it switches to the other. This book is very well crafted.
About the Author:
Brian Selznick was born in 1966 in New Jersey. He has a brother and a sister who are both successful as well. He grew up and studied at the Rhode Island School of Design. After college, Selznick began working in a children's book store which is where he began to love children's books. He worked for a man named Steve Geck who taught him much of what he knows about children's books. He currently lives in New York and California.
Curriculum Ties:
Writing with words and pictures.
The story starts with Ben. Ben would really like to find his father and has been trying hard for years. Rose wants to follow the life of an old movie star she knows little about. The two find clues that lead their stories to collide. Ben is in 1977 and Rose is in 1927 and yet the two are connected in many more ways than one. Ben finds a secret clue in his mother's room which leads him toward the theater. Rose reads a healine that leads her home. His story is told in words and hers is told in pictures. Soon, two stories become one. The two children know nothing of the other and yet they are eternally connected.
Critical Evaluation:
The way Selznick utilizes pictures with words is truly original and engaging. This story is different from Hugo Cabret because there are two different stories that come together. The reader quickly understands that these two people do not know each other. The artwork is amazingly well done and completely in black and white. There are many details so the reader does not need words to know what is going on with the people. Ben's story is written, but there are not many words on each page. A paragraph to three make up the pages. When the two stories converge, there are fewer pages of each story before it switches to the other. This book is very well crafted.
About the Author:
Brian Selznick was born in 1966 in New Jersey. He has a brother and a sister who are both successful as well. He grew up and studied at the Rhode Island School of Design. After college, Selznick began working in a children's book store which is where he began to love children's books. He worked for a man named Steve Geck who taught him much of what he knows about children's books. He currently lives in New York and California.
His first book, titled The Houdini Box, was published in 1991 while he was still working in the book store. He wrote and illustrated this book. He also illustrated for other author's books such as Frindle, The Doll People, Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride, and The Dinoasaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins. He branched out and wrote three other books including The Invention of Hugo Cabret. It has now become a major motion picture.
http://www.theinventionofhugocabret.com/about_brian_bio.htm
http://www.theinventionofhugocabret.com/about_brian_bio.htm
Curriculum Ties:
Writing with words and pictures.
Book Talking:
Write your own book this way.
Challenging Issues:
If this book were to be challenged, I would go through the selection process with the challenger as well as explain the rationale for the book. There are many good qualities in this book that could be reason to have it in a collection.
Why Read this Book:
This book is captivating. It lets the reader be transformed to a new place and makes it easy to transfer between time periods fifty years apart. Selznick is an artist who deserves to have his work read. Readers of all levels will appreciate this book.
Write your own book this way.
Challenging Issues:
If this book were to be challenged, I would go through the selection process with the challenger as well as explain the rationale for the book. There are many good qualities in this book that could be reason to have it in a collection.
Why Read this Book:
This book is captivating. It lets the reader be transformed to a new place and makes it easy to transfer between time periods fifty years apart. Selznick is an artist who deserves to have his work read. Readers of all levels will appreciate this book.
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