BooksmART (formerly arts & letters live, jr.)
Award-winning authors and illustrators for the young and the young-at-heart

Brian Selznick, June 8, 2008
Information on booking for DISD teachers

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Brian Selznick
Sunday, June 8, 3:00 p.m.

Brian Selznick intended to become a set designer for the theater, but following graduation from college he took a job at a children’s book store; after spending three years selling books and creating window displays, he was inspired to create children’s books of his own. His most recent book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, shatters the conventional novel form and creates an entirely new reading experience.

Combining elements of the picture book, graphic novel, and silent film, The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a 550-page “novel in words and pictures.” The story follows twelve-year-old Hugo—an orphan, clock keeper, and thief living in a busy Paris train station—whose survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. The Invention of Hugo Cabret combines Selznick’s exquisite artwork, rendered in pencil and bordered in black, with his masterful storytelling. The result is an intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery filled with magic for readers of all ages. The Invention of Hugo Cabret has been named to the 2008 Texas Bluebonnet List.

One of Selznick’s earliest books, The Houdini Box, won the Texas Bluebonnet Award and the Rhode Island Children’s Book Award. Since that time, he has illustrated a number of books, including Frindle by Andrew Clements; Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride, an ALA Notable Children’s Book as well as a Book Sense Honor Book; and The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins, which was named a Caldecott Honor Book in 2002. He lives in Brooklyn and San Diego.

“Here is a true masterpiece—an artful blending of narrative, illusion and cinematic technique, for a story as tantalizing as it
is touching.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review of The Invention of Hugo Cabret)

Before the Event
2:15 p.m. Join teen docents on a tour inspired by The Invention of Hugo Cabret as they guide you through the permanent collection and the exhibition Making It New: The Art and Style of Sara and Gerald Murphy.

Selected Works by the Author

Written and illustrated: The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007), The Houdini Box (2001), The Boy of a Thousand Faces (2000)

Illustrated: Marly’s Ghost written by David Levithan (2005), The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins written by Barbara Kerley (2001), The Doll People written by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin (2000), Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride written by Pam Muñoz Ryan, Frindle written by Andrew Clements (1996)

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BooksmART booking for DISD students:
Dallas ArtsPartners can make funds available for DISD students to attend BooksmART events free of charge. DISD teachers should consult their Web site at dallasartspartners.org or call 214-520-0023.