The Invention of Hugo Cabret facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Author	Brian Selznick
Cover artist	Brian Selznick
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Historical fiction
Published	January 30, 2007 (Scholastic Press)
Media type	Hardcover
Pages	526
Awards	Caldecott Medal (2008)
ISBN	978-0-439-81378-5
OCLC	67383288
LC Class	PZ7.S4654 Inv 2007

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a historical fiction book. It was written and illustrated by Brian Selznick and published by Scholastic. The story takes place in France and is about a young boy who finds his purpose in life.

The hardcover version of the book came out on January 30, 2007. A paperback version was released later, on June 2, 2008. The book has 533 pages and includes 284 pictures. These pictures are just as important as the words in telling the story.

Brian Selznick himself has said the book is a mix of many things. He called it "not exactly a novel, not quite a picture book, not really a graphic novel, or a flip book or a movie." The book won the 2008 Caldecott Medal. This was special because the Caldecott Medal is usually given to picture books, not novels.

The main idea for the book came from the real story of Georges Méliès. He was a French filmmaker from the early 1900s. He also collected mechanical, wind-up figures called automata. Selznick decided to add an automaton to his story after reading a book called Edison's Eve. This book was about Thomas Edison trying to make a talking doll.

Méliès used to own many automata. They were sold to a museum but were forgotten in an attic for years. When they were found again, they were damaged by rain. Towards the end of his life, Méliès had no money. Even though his films were popular in the United States, he sold toys from a booth in a Paris train station. This train station became the setting for Hugo's story. Selznick even drew Méliès' real door and other details from the Montparnasse railway station in Paris.

Story of Hugo Cabret

Before the Story Begins

In Paris during the 1930s, a young boy named Hugo Cabret helps his father. His father works at a museum and they are fixing a special mechanical doll called an automaton. Sadly, Hugo's father dies in a fire.

Hugo's uncle then takes him to live and work at a train station. Hugo's job is to keep the station clocks running. But his uncle soon disappears. Hugo continues to run the clocks by himself. He lives secretly inside the station walls and steals food to survive. He also saves the automaton from the burnt museum, hoping to fix it. Later, he finds a heart-shaped keyhole on the automaton and tries to find the right key.

Part 1: New Friends and Secrets

A few months later, Hugo is caught stealing from a toy booth. The shopkeeper makes him return his stolen tools and parts. He also takes Hugo's notebook, which has his father's drawings of the automaton. Hugo follows the shopkeeper home but cannot get his notebook back. A girl named Isabelle, who lives there, promises Hugo she will make sure the notebook is safe.

The next day, Hugo goes back to the toy booth. The shopkeeper tells him the notebook was burned. But then he meets Isabelle, who tells him it is safe. Isabelle takes Hugo to a bookshop to meet her friend Etienne. Etienne secretly lets them into the cinema. Papa Georges, the shopkeeper, has told Isabelle she is not allowed to watch movies.

Papa Georges lets Hugo work at the toy booth. He says Hugo might get his notebook back if he works hard. This job makes Hugo late for his clock duties. Hugo and Isabelle visit the theater again. They learn Etienne was fired for sneaking children in. Isabelle uses a bobby pin to unlock the door. They get caught and are kicked out. Hugo is almost caught by the station inspector. Isabelle asks Hugo about his life. But he runs away, scared that telling the truth will send him to an orphanage or prison. Isabelle chases him and trips. This reveals a heart-shaped key around her neck. Hugo realizes it is the key to the automaton.

The next morning, Hugo learns Isabelle has read his notebook. He uses a trick he learned from Etienne to take the key. He goes back to his hidden room, where Isabelle confronts him. They use the key to start the automaton. It draws a picture of a rocket that has landed in the eye of the "man in the moon."

Part 2: Discovering the Past

The automaton signs its drawing "Georges Méliès." Isabelle then realizes that Papa Georges is Georges Méliès. She thinks Hugo stole the automaton and runs home. Hugo follows her and accidentally crushes his hand in the front door. Isabelle brings him inside. Hugo sees a locked drawer. Isabelle picks the lock but drops the heavy box inside, breaking it and hurting her leg. Georges comes in and gets very angry, tearing up the drawings from the box. After Mama Jeanne sends everyone to bed, Hugo takes the key to the toy booth back to the station.

The next day, Hugo and Isabelle collect money from the booth. They buy medicine for Georges. Hugo visits the film academy library where Etienne now works. Hugo finds a book called The Invention of Dreams. It has a drawing of the automaton. He learns this is from the first movie his father ever saw, A Trip to the Moon, directed by Georges Méliès. Hugo invites Etienne and the book's author, René Tabard, to Isabelle's house later. He explains Méliès’ career to Isabelle.

At the house, Tabard and Etienne show A Trip to the Moon. Georges finally tells his story. He was a famous and creative filmmaker named Méliès. But after World War I, the death of Isabelle's parents, and a fire that destroyed most of his films, he became very sad. He burned the rest of his films to start a new life at the toy booth. He also created the automaton. He is excited to learn it survived and asks Hugo to bring it to him. Hugo returns to the station, stealing breakfast from Monsieur Frick and Miss Emily as usual. He overhears that his uncle was found dead. Hugo drops the milk bottle and is discovered. He escapes and gets the automaton. But the station inspector chases him. During the chase, Hugo is almost hit by a train. The inspector pulls him back, and Hugo faints.

Hugo wakes up in a cell. He tells the inspector everything. He is then released and adopted by Georges, Mama Jean, and Isabelle. He and Méliès fix the automaton together.

Epilogue: Six Months Later

Six months later, Hugo and his new family go to a big concert. It includes scenes from Méliès’ surviving films. On stage, Tabard thanks Hugo, Isabelle, and Etienne for helping to honor Georges. In the end, it is revealed that Hugo Cabret made his own automaton. This automaton wrote and drew the entire book of The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

Main Characters

Hugo Cabret

Hugo Cabret is the main character and is 12 years old. He is very good at fixing machines, especially clocks. The book says he could fix almost anything. After his father died, he moved to the train station. He learned to steal food and other things to survive, even though he didn't like doing it.

Hugo is smart and determined. He can also be a bit rude because he had no friends for two years while living in the station. This changes when he meets Isabelle. His hair is described as dirty and messy. In the drawings, it looks black, but since the drawings are black and white, it could also be yellow. He cares deeply about his friends and family, especially his father, who passed away.

Isabelle

Isabelle is the second main character. Her parents died in a car crash. Her godfather, Georges Méliès, and godmother, Jeanne Méliès, adopted her. Georges did not want Isabelle to know he was a filmmaker. He became sad and started working at the toy booth. So, he told her not to go to the cinema.

Isabelle still managed to watch movies because her friend, Etienne, often snuck her in. But she still didn't know who her uncle really was until she met Hugo. She is described as having large black eyes and being a little taller than Hugo.

Georges Méliès

Georges' parents made shoes and wanted him to do the same, but he didn't like it. When he grew up, movies were invented. He asked the Lumiere brothers, who were early directors, to sell him a camera. They said no, so Méliès built his own camera using leftover materials from his parents' shoe company.

His most famous work is A Trip to the Moon. It was the first science fiction movie ever made. He was also the first director to use special effects in movies. In the book, Selznick made his personality often cold and proud. The drawings show that he is an old man during the story.

Hugo's Father

Hugo's father worked at a museum in Paris. He found the automaton there. He died in a fire at the museum. Hugo is able to continue his father's work of fixing the automaton using his father's notebook. The book does not mention Hugo's mother. Since Hugo went to live with his uncle at the station, it is thought that his mother may have also died.

Georges Méliès' Automaton

One reason Selznick included an automaton in the story was a book called Edison’s Eve: A Magical Quest for Mechanical Life. This book had a chapter about Georges Méliès' collection of automata. His automata were kept in a museum in Paris but were later thrown away.

Selznick first thought Hugo would find an automaton in a pile of trash and fix it. He researched automata, and a museum curator let him study their automaton. This museum's automaton also had a mysterious past. It was damaged in a fire. People thought a French inventor named Maelzel made it. But after someone fixed it, the automaton wrote a French phrase: "Ecrit par L'Automate de Maillardet" (meaning "Written by the automaton of Maillardet"). This showed its true maker was Henri Maillardet.

After many ideas, Selznick decided on the story where Hugo's father had a link to the automaton. His father died before the automaton was found in a burned building. The automaton drawn in the book looks a lot like the one at the museum.

Other Characters

Uncle Claude

Uncle Claude is Hugo's uncle. He adopted Hugo and brought him to work on the clocks at the train station. Claude also made Hugo stop going to school. Hugo started school again after Georges Méliès adopted him. Claude made Hugo sleep on the floor and yelled at him if he made a mistake with the clocks. He was the clock timekeeper at the Paris train station. Hugo took over this job after Claude died.

Etienne

Etienne is Isabelle's friend. He often sneaks her into the cinema because her godparents won't let her go. He has an eye patch. He tells Hugo he lost his eye as a child while playing with fireworks. The drawings show a young man with smooth hair, a kind smile, and an eye patch. He is polite, especially with children, but can also be a bit playful. He used to work at the cinema but was fired. Then he started working at the film academy library.

René Tabard

René Tabard wrote the book The Invention of Dreams. He is also Etienne's boss at the film academy. Like many characters in the book, he loves movies. He is a very big fan of director Georges Méliès. He was hired as an assistant director and editor for Méliès' movies.

Jeanne Méliès

Jeanne Méliès is known to Isabelle as Mama Jean. She is Georges Méliès' wife. Georges trusted her to keep the heart-shaped key that started the automaton. But her goddaughter Isabelle stole it. Jeanne said she just thought the key was pretty. Like Georges, she is an older woman.

Madame Emile

Madame Emile appears only twice in the book. The first time is when she finds out Hugo was stealing her and Monsieur Frick's croissants. The second time is when she is there when Hugo is in the cell. She believes he is telling the truth to the station inspector.

Station Inspector

Hugo has been avoiding the station inspector since his uncle Claude disappeared. The inspector first noticed something was wrong when the clocks started being too early or too late, even by a few seconds. This happened because Hugo started working for Georges, and his right hand's fingers were hurt. The inspector then sent a letter to Claude asking for a meeting, but got no reply. Finally, he decided to go see what was happening. This led to a long chase with Hugo Cabret. The inspector is described as wearing a green uniform and smelling of vegetables.

Movie Version

Martin Scorsese bought the rights to make the book into a movie in 2007. John Logan wrote the script. Scorsese started filming in London in June 2010. The movie was made in 3D and came out in theaters on November 23, 2011. Paramount Pictures distributed it.

Asa Butterfield played Hugo Cabret. Ben Kingsley played Georges Méliès. Chloë Grace Moretz played Isabelle. Sacha Baron Cohen played the station inspector. Other actors included Jude Law, Richard Griffiths, Ray Winstone, Christopher Lee, Frances de la Tour, and Helen McCrory.

The movie was very well-liked by critics. It scored 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and 83 on Metacritic. In 2012, the film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It won five awards: Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects.

See also

• In Spanish: La invención de Hugo Cabret (libro) para niños