A Writing Root for
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
By Brian Selznick
£5.00 Incl. VAT
Main Outcome:
Biography | Diary entry, journalistic writing, flashback narrative, speech, discussion, letter, film critique
Length:
17 sessions, 3 weeks
Work Samples:
View work samplesLinked Resources:
View resourcesOverview and Outcomes:
This is a three-week plus Writing Root based upon The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Children will use many of the key grammar requirements of Y6 and have opportunity to apply them by writing a missing flashback chapter exploring Hugo’s experience of living Uncle Claude, as well as researching the about the famous film director George Méliès and writing a biography about his life.
Synopsis of Text:
ORPHAN, CLOCK KEEPER, AND THIEF, twelve-year-old Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric girl and her grandfather, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.
Text Rationale:
Also a blockbuster motion picture, The Invention of Hugo Cabret is part novel and part wordless picture book. In fact, Brian Selznick became the first author to win the prestigious Caldecott Medal (usually awarded to picture books) with this unique offering. Reading like a movie on paper, children will be challenged to fill the gaps by creating their own narratives and dialogues using the wonderfully detailed and atmospheric illustrations. Links can also be made with the history of cinema and historical figures such as Georges Méliès.
Links and Themes:
Film, cinemas, clocks, inventions, automatons, moving pictures, France, Paris, power of imagination, determination
Date written: October 2015
Updated: November 2020
Resource written by:
Anthony Legon
Co-CEO & Co-Founder
