Wonderstruck

I LOVED this book!!!!! The illustrations were amazing and the story was well written. I hardly put the book down (much to my teachers' dismay) and read it in half a day. I was wondering throughout the book how the stories were going to intertwine, but I never would have guessed about Rose and Ben's relationship. I loved how Jamie and Ben's friendship grew throughout the story and how Jamie was included at the end. I think this book has little to no chance of winning the Newbery, though, because it wouldn't work without the pictures.




Rating: *****

The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Kids should not be intimidated by the size of this book.  My copy is 511 pages long, but there were 284 pages of pictures.  But you can't just skip the pictures, pay attention because they tell part of the story.  This story takes you into the world of a boy, Hugo Cabret, who thinks that an automaton can save his live and makes you realize how easy your life must be if Hugo has to face so many challenges just to live in the world after the death of all his relatives.  I liked everything about this turn-of-the-century novel, from the detailed characters, to Isabelle's love of Greek mythology (which really tied into the end of the story well).  All of the details seemed to fit in just right.  As the first novel ever to win the Caldecott medal, I recommend this book to kids and adults, to readers and lovers of illustrations.

Rating:  *****
Check out the movie, coming out in December of 2011!