The Invention of Hugo Cabret by: Brian Selznick (historical fiction-graphic novel)

This chapter book tells a mystery story about an orphaned boy who lives and works in a train station in Paris during the twentieth century. The narration is uniqe because the story is told through both text and illustrations. This graphic novel presents an alternative way to use visuals in a story. They are not simply used to complement or support what the text says, but is actually responsible for telling certain aspects of the story- seperate from the text.

The illustrations in this book are truly captivating. I would use sections of this book to my students and ask them to use the pictures as a source for context clues to predict or infer what is happening in the story. I could also have children write their own stories in this style: what portions of the book would be best told through writing? What portions of the text will be best portrayed through images? I think this will give students the opportunity to have a more creative approach to comprehension and story writing.