Outside the Box
A popular term in business nowadays is "thinking outside the box." I always thought that was the definition of creativity and imagination. I just finished reading the new Caldecott Medal winner, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick. What a great example of thinking outside the box. This is a huge volume of 534 pages! It is very unusual for a book that looks like a novel to win the prestigious award for picture books. That is because there are 284 illustrations in this book! Like a picture book, the illustrations tell a great deal of the story. I applaud the Caldecott committee for thinking outside the box and giving this wonderful volume an award. Take a look at this book and enjoy the journey of being in France during the 1930s.
posted by John Funk @ Permalink10:35 AM
4 Comments:
I also applaud the Caldecott Committee for choosing such educational and diverse selections. Henry’s Freedom Box was wonderful and I’m excited to read the book on the Iron Curtin. When I went online to put Hugo Cabret on hold I thought I had the wrong book after seeing the page number. I was certain the library had made a mistake. I was also very excited to see Knuffle Bunny Too on the list. I absolutely love Mo Willems (the Pigeon books are a riot!) and this new book was amazing… a fantastic story and such amazing images. This was a new idea I’ve never seen before. When I read this to my 2nd grade tutor he was mesmerized with “drawing right over real pictures” as he put it. I’ve now started the Newberry honor book Feathers and I’m really looking forward to reading the medal winner as well.
Whoops! Sorry John, that last comment was from me...Mat Crandall. Thought I'd let you know so you wouln't have to break out your crystal ball.
I really enjoyed this book as well. I'm an art teacher and shared it with my students. They were fascinated. I bought this book last January, and was surprised it hadn't received the Caldecott. I originally bought the book because I had met Mr. Selznick a few years ago at a children's literature conference. I enjoyed his work but at that time most of it was illustrating someone else's novels. "Hugo Cabaret" shows off not only his drawing abilities but also his talent for writing and story telling. My hat goes off to the Caldecott Committee for a truly worthy selection.
Chelsey Stone Children's Literature 2330-
I couldn't believe this book won the Caldecott. When you told us the book was over 500 pages long I was surprised. Given your thoughts and the previous poster I'm going to read it now.
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