Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Hugo

Unique idea and great illustrations, but I wanted to care about the characters more, and I wanted to know them better. I was hoping to be surprised and moved. What if it had been like a silent film and had been all pictures, no text? A wordless picture book for 9- to 12-year-olds? That would have been different. And the strength of the illustrations would have had to carry it along. I think Selznick could have done it. As it is, it is fine, and most kids will like it a lot, but I was hoping for that rare book whose story is elevated by the poetry telling it. Two books in that category come to mind: Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt and Old Yeller by Fred Gipson.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I read the book as well. I cared about the characters a little more than my crazy mama. It acually made me believe I was there with the words and pictures. I hope to read it again, but I don't know when.

Anonymous said...

Hello Miss Olivia, nice to hear you. When are we gonna get some poetry from you? :-)