Follow Friday 11/4

Feature and Follow Friday is a hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. It's a great way to connect with other bloggers. Check it out and join in!

Today's Question is something new, an activity. We want to see what you look like! Take a pic with you and your current read! Too shy? Boo! Just post a fun pic you want to share.

That's me with my current read: The Summer of Hammers & Angels by Shannon Wiersbitzky.

So that's what I look like . . . and although I felt like a weirdo taking a self-portrait with a book, I am excited to see everyone's pictures this week :-)

Review: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Synopsis:
Orphan Hugo Cabret lives in a wall. His secret home is etched out in the crevices of a busy Paris train station. Part-time clock keeper, part-time thief, he leads a life of quiet routine until he gets involved with an eccentric, bookish young girl and an angry old man who runs a toy booth in the station. The Invention of Hugo Cabret unfolds its cryptic, magical story in a format that blends elements of picture book, novel, graphic novel, and film. Caldecott Honor-winning author-illustrator Brian Selznick has fashioned an intricate puzzle story that binds the reader like a mesmerist's spell.

Review:
I felt very emotional reading it for some reason. Probably picturing if Hugo were my boy, how hard that would be. A boy with so much imagination and potential who is all alone in the world.

This book expertly (perfectly, wonderfully) blends drawings and text to create such a beautiful and touching story. This book was recommended by my sister for us to read with our four year old. He is getting to the age where he likes to be read to, yet his attention wavers easily. It sounded like it was worth a try.

My husband has been reading it to our four year old every night and our three year old daughter joins them (she loves it too). They talk about what's going on in the pictures and then listen intently to my husband as he reads the other parts. I love that they are using different creative parts of their brains and interacting with the book.

The story is so wonderful that I read ahead of everyone because I wanted (needed) to know what happened to Hugo Cabret. I think older kids could relate to this story. Not every child has a loving family or an easy life. It's a great book to read as a family.

Also, a few nights ago we saw that they are making a movie called Hugo, based on this book. The excitement on the kids' faces was a sight to behold. How great is it to be a part of their first book to movie experience? I can't wait to see it with them as a family and talk about how it was the same and how it differed from the novel.

Publication Date: March 1, 2007
Genre: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Graphic Novels
Source: Public Library