Wonder Struck (617 pages)

Don't panic! Although this book is hefty in length, at least half of it is composed of marvelous pencil drawings. Brian Selznick has created a novel following the same format that he used in his first, award winning book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. This has recently been made into a movie. Hugo is the story of a young boy who lives with his dad behind a large clock in the Paris train station. When his dad dies, Hugo carries on the work trying to figure out an invention his dad had started. The drawings are incredible, and many of your students may have already read this National Book Award winner. Where Hugo was set in Paris in the last century, Wonder Struck is set in the good old USA. However, the book is really 2 independent stories, each set 50 years apart. Two children (Ben and Rose) are both on a journey to find something important to them. After his mother's accidental death, Ben looks for the father he has never known. Rose looks for an actress she has been chronicling in a scrap book. Once again, the art work is amazing and reminds me of Chris Van Allsburg books which are also illustrated in pencil. I read 1/2 the book in one evening. It will not cause headaches to any of your students.