The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a novel come picture book come graphic novel come historical fiction. It’s inspired by the films of early French cinema pioneer, Georges Méliès, and he (and some real aspects of his life story) features in the book.

After Hugo loses his father to a fire, he goes to live with his uncle at a train station, where his job is to keep all of the clocks at the station running to the correct time. The uncle goes missing and Hugo keeps the clocks running on his own by sneaking around the station, evading the attention of the station master so he doesn’t become homeless. The novel is the story of how Hugo restores an old machine that his father had previously worked on and discovers the secrets that it holds.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a beautifully illustrated book with the hundred of pictures helping to tell the story. It’s a really intriguing mystery with loads of twists and turns along the way and we really enjoyed making predictions about what was going to happen.

I’m not entirely sure if the invention the title refers to is the mechanical device that he salvages and mends, the magician he becomes or simply Hugo himself. I guess it could be all of them.

Tom aged 10 says… I really liked this book. I enjoyed the adventure side of it and the mystery of what was going to happen and everything that Hugo had to go through. I also liked that it was recounting things that happened in real life. My favourite part was when it all cam together and the automaton drew the picture and signed the name. My favourite character has to be Hugo because he’s a good engineer and he’s clever in what he decides to do.