THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET by Brian Selznick

In this beautifully illustrated, one of a kind book, Brian Selznick combines words and pictures to weave a fantastical tale about a young boy named Hugo Cabret and his quest to solve the mystery of the unusual automaton that his father finds in the attic of the museum where he works. When his father is killed in a fire while working obsessively to restore the automaton, Hugo retrieves the automaton from the museum’s ashes and begins work to restore it by himself. All alone after his uncle disappears, Hugo increasingly begins to steal to make ends meet. When he is caught by an old toymaker and is befriended by the toymaker’s goddaughter, Hugo eventually uncovers that the old toymaker has a secret—he used to make movies. The story ends happily ever after when Hugo moves in with the toymaker and his family.

This is such a unique Caldecott winner because it is a chapter book. Students will be captivated by the story, as well as the pictures. I am usually not a big fan of the Caldecott stories, but this one was a fun read.