wonderstruck book review

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Young Adult

A Deaf Boy’s New York Quest

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By Adam Gopnik

Sept. 16, 2011

Sequels and seconds-in-a-series are as often as not better than the starter volume, and yet it seems incumbent upon us all to doubt them anyway. “Through the Looking Glass” is an incomparably better book than its predecessor — its chess-problem structure more ingenious; its nonsense poems far more inspired — but we still say “Alice in Wonderland” and always shall when we refer to Carroll’s world. Freshness of vision is in all departments of life an aesthetic category not to be sneezed at.

All of which is a necessarily elaborate way of saying that Brian Selznick’s new book, “Wonderstruck” — engrossing, intelligent, beautifully engineered and expertly told both in word and image — cannot entirely escape the force field or expectations set up by his 2008 Caldecott winner, “The Invention of Hugo Cabret.” “Hugo Cabret” was one of those rare books — Chris Van Allsburg’s tale “The Polar Express” is the last that comes to mind — that strike imaginations small and large with a force, like, well, thunder. Neither graphic novel nor illustrated book, its composite of storytelling forms seemed derived from the storyboards of some lost Czech genius of the silent film era rather than anything evident in other books. ( Martin Scorsese has adapted it into a film to be released this fall.)

Though not a sequel of matter, “Wonderstruck” is very much a sequel of method, and a test of it. Can Selznick’s black-and-white chiaroscuro spell-making be transported or extended beyond the European fin de siècle setting that seemed essential in its first appearance?

The material for this new book is, it seems, very deliberately wrenched at once into an entirely new and more American landscape. Ben, an adolescent boy growing up in “Gunflint Lake,” Minn., in the 1970s has lost his loving mother in a car accident — his true father is unknown to him — and a second disaster (telephone, lightning) soon costs him his ability to hear. An obscure series of clues suggests that his father may live in New York, and Ben sets out in search of him. In the midst of the subdued narration of this sad story we are suddenly — with masterly abruptness, and a complete absence of explanation — thrown into a second tale, told entirely in black and white panels and far more melodramatically conveyed, of an unnamed deaf girl who in the 1920s runs away from her Hoboken home in search of a Broadway star. In a New York made more hallucinatory by its silence, she discovers the actress, and we are given a startling revelation about her identity. Then the two stories, Ben’s flight to the city and the as-yet-unnamed girl’s flight to safety 50 years earlier, slowly entangle and become one, and the mysteries of the two flights (his toward his father, hers toward him) resolve beautifully on the night of the New York City blackout in 1977 (which exists here, rather against the grain of history, as a peaceful, not to say pastoral, occasion). Throughout, Selznick’s eye for the details of New York’s enchanted places — the dioramas at the American Museum of Natural History, Times Square in the 1920s and the too easily forgotten marvel of the City Panorama at the Queens Museum of Art — are pitch, or rather picture, perfect.

There is so much to like and admire that the reader reluctantly confesses to what our children’s teachers call, delicately, “some problems” with the story. The hero, Ben, seems rather routinely imagined: one of those isolated Fine Boys with a Disability who are the default heroes of too many children’s books. The heroes and heroines of imaginative literature need not be tragically flawed, but they ought to be tarter, more capable of imperfection, than this. Even Ben’s deafness seems oddly un-disabling. He manages the flight to New York, and then secrets himself into the Museum of Natural History with suspiciously little difficulty. The practicalities of his circumstances in New York are hard to imagine credibly, even on the somewhat dreamlike terms in which they are offered. That a deaf boy would run all the way to New York is the necessary premise — but surely his sleeping and sanitary arrangements could be explained with more clarity than Selznick provides. Selznick’s style is so silent that it seems logical that it take in the mute world. But the concern with the deaf “issues” that fill the book, though in one way “appropriate” as those same teachers would say, feels at times too appropriate — uncomfortably pious, a medicinal outgrowth of the fable rather than essential to its magic.

Yet whenever such doubts arise they are overcome, overwhelmed even, by the purity of Selznick’s imagination. The moment, for instance, when the heroine is rescued by an at first enigmatic museum worker named Walter — yields an almost unbearable tenderness.

In a long, gracious afterword, Selznick cites “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler” among his sources and models, and promises references to that earlier classic about children fleeing to a New York museum buried throughout his book. (We’re looking.) Though a lovely tribute, the juxtaposition of this book and that one is arresting, and instructive. Where that ’60s classic, like so many of its kind and time, was lightly satirical and assumed an easy passage between the material of children’s literature and that of grown-up affairs, books of equivalent ambition and point a half-century later are more purposefully enigmatic and drawn above all to sites of silent mystery like the Natural History museum, not only as it appears at night (as in the movies), but as it was in the past. Konigsburg’s children, hiding in the Met, were practical people with practical problems, and the mystery that entices them is resolved, even debunked a little, at the end. They were being educated in the realities of life.

For Selznick, as for Van Allsburg, or for that matter, Kate DiCamillo, the beauty of strangeness, more than its management, is the purpose of storytelling, and though some of their questions are answered, their mysteries remain intact. Selznick’s gift is for the uncanny and the haunting, and his subject is not only the strange poetry of ordinary things but the poetry of things from another time: train stations, frozen museum dioramas and old bookstores. Small bells ring at midnight, and mute protagonists embrace in darkness.

So, while the ostensible moral of “Wonderstruck” is the entanglement of people, its real lesson is about memory. Beyond its honorable message about the dignity of deafness, it teaches a respect for the past and for the power of memory to make minds. In an age when mass entertainment inclines children toward movement and energy, and screens accustom their eyes to the sparkle of pixilated light, one of the tasks books have taken on is to teach them, and us, to value stillness. Mere nostalgia, maybe? Well, what is nostalgia, save the vernacular of memory, and so the place where reading starts?

WONDERSTRUCK

A novel in words and pictures.

Written and illustrated by Brian Selznick

637 pp. Scholastic Press. $29.99. (Middle grade; ages 9 to 12)

Adam Gopnik is the author of “The Steps Across the Water,” a novel for children. His new book, “The Table Comes First,” will be published in October.

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WONDERSTRUCK

by Brian Selznick illustrated by Brian Selznick ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 13, 2011

Visually stunning, completely compelling, Wonderstruck demonstrates a mastery and maturity that proves that, yes, lightning...

Brian Selznick didn't have to do it.

He didn't have to return to the groundbreaking pictures-and-text format that stunned the children's-book world in 2007 and won him an unlikely—though entirely deserved—Caldecott medal for The Invention of Hugo Cabret . Weighing in at about two pounds, the 500-plus page tome combined textual and visual storytelling in a way no one had quite seen before. In a world where the new becomes old in the blink of an eye, Selznick could have honorably rested on his laurels and returned to the standard 32-to-48–page picture-book format he has already mastered. He didn't have to try to top himself. But he has. If Hugo Cabret was a risky experiment that succeeded beyond Selznick and publisher Scholastic’s wildest dreams (well, maybe not Scholastic’s—they dream big), his follow-up, Wonderstruck , is a far riskier enterprise. In replicating the storytelling format of Hugo , Selznick begs comparisons that could easily find Wonderstruck wanting or just seem stale. Like its predecessor, this self-described "novel in words and pictures" opens with a cinematic, multi-page, wordless black-and-white sequence: Two wolves lope through a wooded landscape, the illustrator's "camera" zooming in to the eye of one till readers are lost in its pupil. The scene changes abruptly, to Gunflint Lake, Minn., in 1977. Prose describes how Ben Wilson, age 12, wakes from a nightmare about wolves. He's three months an orphan, living with his aunt and cousins after his mother's death in an automobile accident; he never knew his father. Then the scene cuts again, to Hoboken in 1927. A sequence of Selznick's now-trademark densely crosshatched black-and-white drawings introduces readers to a girl, clearly lonely, who lives in an attic room that looks out at New York City and that is filled with movie-star memorabilia and models—scads of them—of the skyscrapers of New York. Readers know that the two stories will converge, but Selznick keeps them guessing, cutting back and forth with expert precision. Both children leave their unhappy homes and head to New York City, Ben hoping to find his father and the girl also in search of family. The girl, readers learn, is deaf; her silent world is brilliantly evoked in wordless sequences, while Ben’s story unfolds in prose. Both stories are equally immersive and impeccably paced. The two threads come together at the American Museum of Natural History, Selznick's words and pictures communicating total exhilaration (and conscious homage to The Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler ). Hugo brought the bygone excitement of silent movies to children; Wonderstruck shows them the thrilling possibilities of museums in a way Night at the Museum doesn't even bother to.

Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2011

ISBN: 978-0-545-02789-2

Page Count: 640

Publisher: Scholastic

Review Posted Online: June 28, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2011

CHILDREN'S MYSTERY & THRILLER | CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION

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BOOK REVIEW

by Brian Selznick ; illustrated by Brian Selznick

by Brian Selznick & David Serlin ; illustrated by Brian Selznick

by Louis Sachar ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1998

Good Guys and Bad get just deserts in the end, and Stanley gets plenty of opportunities to display pluck and valor in this...

Sentenced to a brutal juvenile detention camp for a crime he didn't commit, a wimpy teenager turns four generations of bad family luck around in this sunburnt tale of courage, obsession, and buried treasure from Sachar ( Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger , 1995, etc.).

Driven mad by the murder of her black beau, a schoolteacher turns on the once-friendly, verdant town of Green Lake, Texas, becomes feared bandit Kissin' Kate Barlow, and dies, laughing, without revealing where she buried her stash. A century of rainless years later, lake and town are memories—but, with the involuntary help of gangs of juvenile offenders, the last descendant of the last residents is still digging. Enter Stanley Yelnats IV, great-grandson of one of Kissin' Kate's victims and the latest to fall to the family curse of being in the wrong place at the wrong time; under the direction of The Warden, a woman with rattlesnake venom polish on her long nails, Stanley and each of his fellow inmates dig a hole a day in the rock-hard lake bed. Weeks of punishing labor later, Stanley digs up a clue, but is canny enough to conceal the information of which hole it came from. Through flashbacks, Sachar weaves a complex net of hidden relationships and well-timed revelations as he puts his slightly larger-than-life characters under a sun so punishing that readers will be reaching for water bottles.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998

ISBN: 978-0-374-33265-5

Page Count: 233

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2000

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S MYSTERY & THRILLER

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WAYSIDE SCHOOL BENEATH THE CLOUD OF DOOM

by Louis Sachar ; illustrated by Tim Heitz

by Louis Sachar

STEALING HOME

by J. Torres ; illustrated by David Namisato ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 5, 2021

An emotional, much-needed historical graphic novel.

Sandy and his family, Japanese Canadians, experience hatred and incarceration during World War II.

Sandy Saito loves baseball, and the Vancouver Asahi ballplayers are his heroes. But when they lose in the 1941 semifinals, Sandy’s dad calls it a bad omen. Sure enough, in December 1941, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor in the U.S. The Canadian government begins to ban Japanese people from certain areas, moving them to “dormitories” and setting a curfew. Sandy wants to spend time with his father, but as a doctor, his dad is busy, often sneaking out past curfew to work. One night Papa is taken to “where he [is] needed most,” and the family is forced into an internment camp. Life at the camp isn’t easy, and even with some of the Asahi players playing ball there, it just isn’t the same. Trying to understand and find joy again, Sandy struggles with his new reality and relationship with his father. Based on the true experiences of Japanese Canadians and the Vancouver Asahi team, this graphic novel is a glimpse of how their lives were affected by WWII. The end is a bit abrupt, but it’s still an inspiring and sweet look at how baseball helped them through hardship. The illustrations are all in a sepia tone, giving it an antique look and conveying the emotions and struggles. None of the illustrations of their experiences are overly graphic, making it a good introduction to this upsetting topic for middle-grade readers.

Pub Date: Oct. 5, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-5253-0334-0

Page Count: 112

Publisher: Kids Can

Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021

CHILDREN'S HISTORICAL FICTION | GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS

More by J. Torres

by J. Torres ; illustrated by Sean Dove

by J. Torres ; illustrated by Aurélie Grand

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Review: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Wonderstruck is wonderful. It is, to date, the most creative and ambitious novel about the d/Deaf experience in America I’ve ever come across.

What makes it different from other books about the d/Deaf experience written by hearing authors? Simply this: Selznick approached the project not as a writer who wanted to write about characters with disabilities, but as a writer delving into an historical novel about Deaf Culture and language. This is what makes the book so enjoyable and authentic.

An overview: A boy named Ben longs for the father he has never known. A girl named Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a puzzling clue in his mother’s room, and Rose reads an enticing headline in the newspaper, both children set out alone on desperate quests to New York City to find what they are missing.

Ben’s story, set in 1977, is told mostly via prose, while Rose’s story, set fifty years earlier, is told mostly via pictures. The two stories weave back and forth masterfully before ultimately coming together.

Rose has been deaf for as long as she can remember. As a child, she communicates through writing, and, later, with American Sign Language (ASL) and occasional oral speech and lip-reading. Ben grew up deaf in one ear before being completely deafened through a bizarre accident (lightning struck the telephone he was holding to his “good” ear) just before his story begins. He uses oral speech and other people communicate with him through writing. By the end of the book, Ben begins to learn fingerspelling and ASL.

I would say the book’s depiction of d/Deaf history and language is very accurate, with a few slight flaws.

Although Ben seems to be the more prominent of the two characters in the book, it is Rose’s story, set in 1927, that touched me more deeply. There is something so groundbreaking about seeing a young d/Deaf girl’s life story told only in expressive drawings that are not static but rather move along quickly, like a flip book or a silent movie reel.

Rose escapes her house because she does not want to deal with her tutor who teaches her oral speech. The tutor’s textbook about the parts of the mouth used for speech and lip-reading is painfully familiar to older d/Deaf readers. Rose’s flight from home represents centuries of d/Deaf people’s desires to free themselves from forced oralism, and to claim a language and safe place of their own. She runs to a theater in NYC to see her absent mother, actress Lillian Mayhew; her subsequent flight from that place, too, is representative of d/Deaf children’s inability (to this day) to communicate meaningfully with their parents—though Rose does find an ally in her brother Walter, who learns to sign with her.

The trajectory of Rose’s life is ultimately hopeful. She becomes an accomplished d/Deaf adult who is able to reach out to a Deaf child (Ben) who faces struggles in modern society similar to her own.

Ben’s story is also remarkable. Certain elements, mainly concerning Ben’s attempts to communicate, didn’t exactly ring true to me. Ben’s oral speech doesn’t appear to be affected by his sudden total deafness—no one seems to realize he’s deaf when he opens his mouth to speak.

Ben also lets people talk to him for extended periods of time without explaining that he’s d/Deaf. I wondered, if his oral speech is clear, why he doesn’t say he’s deaf. I appreciate that Selznick is showing readers how confusing and frustrating it is when hearing people unknowingly use oral speech with d/Deaf people, but Ben is a survivor (of the telephone accident and his mother’s death)—I would expect him to more quickly develop coping skills.

There are also issues with the written communications. When young Rose writes notes to communicate with non-signers—such as the fraught exchange with her mother—they are necessarily brief. When Ben meets a young hearing friend (Jamie) behind-the-scenes in the American Museum of Natural History in NYC, they talk by writing back and forth.

That’s realistic, but anyone who has done the same thing in real life knows that you can’t keep up the conversation in long, English prose sentences. Even if you are patient (and that’s a necessary virtue for this form of communication) you start to abbreviate quickly. Then there is the issue of ASL having a different sentence structure from English.

That wouldn’t affect Jamie’s written communications, because he doesn’t know ASL. But when older Rose tells young Ben her life story, she practically writes a book. Her story is well thought out (she attends a residential school that teaches oralism in the classroom and ASL among her peers) and the exposition is necessary, and it is not unrealistic that Rose would write perfect English, but I couldn’t help but wonder if it could have been done in a more creative way.

In The Deaf Poet’s Society: an online journal of disability literature, Issue 1: August 2016 , Raymond Luczak, the renowned Deaf gay writer and poet, includes this author’s note before his prose piece, “Neighbors.”

What you are about to read may sound odd and unusual, perhaps a bit incoherent. Actually, the story is told in American Sign Language, or ASL gloss. What does that mean? Simply put, it is not a translation. ASL is not English on the hands; like any other foreign language, ASL has its own grammar, vocabulary, idioms, and so on. What you are about to read is, I hope, a clear delineation of how ASL can be structured sentence-wise. The first six lines of “Neighbors”: House-house-house that-way neighbors new move-there. These-two move i-n eight-nine months ago, not sure exact when, eight-nine-months approximately. First meet, me-think okay-okay. Both hearing, facial-expression-extreme-show-teeth-for-lipreading not, nice. Themselves dress-fancy not. Man pants s-w-e-a-t-pants purple, T-shirt purple same, but strange what?

I am not faulting Selznick for not glossing Rose’s written communications, or even including English grammar errors, but I’d like to see books for young readers that reflect the kind of ASL-English mash-up that I often see (and participate in) in social media d/Deaf communication, if only because it is precisely this creative written English that keeps the “illiterate” and even “dumb” labels on native signers. I have seen innocent exchanges cruelly mocked by outsiders and I have been complimented because I don’t (always) write in Pidgin English.

(Speaking of the familiar “deaf and dumb” label, Selznick’s choice of the book title, Wonderstruck , can certainly be seen as a clever, deliberate subversion of the common term, “dumbstruck.”)

Selznick has carefully worked out the challenges that young Rose and Ben would face in their eras. For example, going to the movies was a collective experience for Americans, including the d/Deaf, during the silent period. Rose is visibly distraught when she sees a poster announcing the exciting new talking pictures.

The facial expressions in Selznick’s peerless illustrations are cues (as they are in real life) for the d/Deaf to understand context. Rose’s eyes are translucent pools, absorbing the stress around her, and reflecting her hopes and fears. There is a memorable two-page profile of Lillian Mayhew in stage costume; her anger and the rejection of her daughter are written cruelly on her face.

Wonderstruck is such a beautiful story that one can suspend disbelief with minor issues. The entire book is an amazing act of sympathetic imagination on behalf of author/illustrator Brian Selznick.

But Selznick didn’t just use his unique imagination; he did extensive research to create Wonderstruck .

There is another aspect to Selznick’s understanding of the material. In 2015, Selznick delivered the 46 th Annual May Arbuthnot Honor lecture. In it, he referred to the “queerness of being deaf.” Selznick saw a similarity between his experiences as a young gay man alienated from Queer community and history, and the experiences of many deaf people who grow up in hearing families and must survive isolation to seek out Deaf Culture and history. He referenced Andrew Solomon’s theory of “horizontal identities”—which are identities linked to others outside the families and communities of our childhoods. Growing up both d/Deaf and lesbian, I find this concept fascinating, and worthy of an essay in itself.*

Selznick’s Wonderstruck is a gift that keeps on giving. In May 2015, it was announced that acclaimed filmmaker Todd Haynes would direct an adaptation of the book, with a screenplay by Selznick, to release in 2017.

I was delighted to see a casting call for young Rose, specifying that the actress must be d/Deaf or Hard of Hearing (HOH). A d/Deaf actress from Utah, Millicent Simmonds, was hired. An entertainment news source added: “This section of the narrative [young Rose’s story]will see an unprecedented number of deaf actors in roles that would normally go to hearing actors.”

It’s hard to add to that! Wonderstruck , which won the ALA Schneider Family Book Award in 2012, has set the bar very high for hearing children’s book writers as well as publishers of youth literature. The same can be said about Cece Bell’s El Deafo .

I’ve been waiting my whole lifetime for these books. Selznick and Bell used, respectively, Deaf Culture resources and personal life experiences to create their narratives.

I’d like to say we can’t possibly go back from here to ill-informed, inspiration porn stories about the hardship of deafness and the miracle of hearing for the first time. Hearing authors may now become conscious of the trope of one-dimensional d/Deaf friends and siblings, especially when the main characters are praised for their patience and understanding regarding deafness and/or save the day for d/Deaf people. I hope I’m proved right.

*In fact, Andrew Solomon has written a book about it. Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity (Scribner, 2012)

About Author

Ann Clare Le Zotte is a white Deaf author. Her previous publications include T4: A Novel in Verse (Houghton Mifflin, 2008). She is the recipient of two Isabella Gardner Fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award. She lives with her family in Gainesville, Florida. She works at a public library, where she also teaches ASL classes and educates school groups about disability awareness.

It is worth noting that in the movie, hearing actor Julianne Moore will play the deaf character Rose when the character is older. I have seen some early criticism of this, and it will likely become an issue when the movie comes out.

I thought the same thing when I saw the casting. Moore is a Haynes regular, and maybe her name helped get the film financed. I certainly would like to see more all-Deaf productions like THE HAMMER (2010). Thanks for commenting!

I loved this book! One thing I thought was very cool, at least from my perspective, was Rose’s story, as you mentioned felt like a silent movie. The black and white illustrations, without any text, helped people such as myself get in the shoes of Rose’s sensory experience, it was like a silent movie, which was very cool.

My biggest problem with the book isn’t from a literary perspective, but from a librarian one. It is SO thick that it is very tough to convince customers to check it out. I know that is due to half the book being illustrations, but I can see customer’s begin to tune me out when I pick such a thick book up to recommend. Any suggestions?

I completely understand your concern! I understand the young readers who are intimidated by the book’s size too. I was a delayed reader. It can be a hard sell. When doing reader’s advisory, I like to go into the stacks and pull books–giving the 60 second book talk. With the Selznick tomes, I’ll flip through the book–or ask them to “read” the first ten pages. For young readers who mostly read graphic novels, I’ll tell them they don’t have to read the words, but can follow the images. Hoping that they’ll be drawn into the whole book. There is a great deal of satisfaction if a young reader can finish this book, especially if they are a reluctant or delayed reader.

Because I am Deaf, a native signer, that holds a certain fascination for our regular patrons in the children’s room. That creates a good segue for recommending WONDERSTRUCK and EL DEAFO. When kids read disability titles that I don’t quite care for, like WONDER, I really work hard to get them to pick up the better stuff.

I’m sure Selznick would love to hear how Rose’s wordless story pulled you in. I’m grateful that it created in you understanding and sympathy for the d/Deaf experience. Good luck pitching it to your patrons.

Thanks for responding!

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June 7, 2011 by Travis Jonker

Review: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

June 7, 2011 by Travis Jonker 13 comments

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Wonderstruck By Brian Selznick Scholastic Press ISBN: 9780545027892 $29.99 Grades 4-7 In Stores Sept. 13, 2011

*Best New Book*

When The Invention of Hugo Cabret came out in 2007, it felt like more than a simple blurring of genres, it felt like an innovation. Beautifully crafted and well-received, its deserved victory lap was impressive – a tradition-busting Caldecott award , bestseller lists, a National Book Award finalist nod, even an upcoming Martin Scorsese film adaptation . Almost four years later Selznick returns with Wonderstruck , and it’s fantastic. Not only has Selznick adapted his Hugo Cabret format to a new story, but he’s actually created a tale that is more of a natural fit for this sort of visual storytelling. An engaging mystery full of heart, it will likely go down as one of the most memorable books of 2011.

The year is 1977 and Ben Wilson is mourning the loss of his mother. Ben never knew his father, but going through his mom’s possessions in their small cabin in Gunflint Lake, Minnesota leads to a clue about his identity. Already deaf in one ear, a lighting strike leaves Ben completely without hearing. In the hospital recovering, he escapes and sets out for New York City, with hopes of finding his father. Instead, he finds himself in the American Museum of Natural History, staring at a diorama with an unnerving connection to his hometown. In 1927, Rose lives in Hoboken, New Jersey. Due to her deafness, Rose is kept inside, where she recreates the New York skyline out of paper and closely follows her favorite actress. Like Ben 50 years later, Rose escapes to the city. When she seeks out the actress of her obsession, it turns out the two aren’t strangers. Eventually, the two storylines mix, and we learn that Ben and Rose have a connection that brings both of their histories together.

While Cabret cut to illustrations when the action warranted it, Wonderstruck does something different. Rather than one central story told in text and images, it tells one storyline (Rose in 1927) with artwork and the other (Ben in 1977) through text. The level of difficulty is high, as each piece must fit together seamlessly. Selznick pulls it off.

There is some sophisticated storytelling on display here, and it’s hard not to admire the author’s guts. Wonderstruck asks quite a bit of its audience as they piece together a plot that isn’t necessarily served up on a platter. And don’t mistake sophisticated for slow – the pace is always brisk, accelerating forward with the help of illustrated segments that keep the pages turning.

The artwork is exceptional, wordlessly telling Rose’s story with warm, heavily shaded pencil illustrations. In essence, the reader experiences the world as Rose does – without sound. In the realm of storytelling, this is an astonishing feat.

If we were to apply science, Selznick should win the 2012 Caldecott. I mean, he won with Hugo Cabret , and he’s upped the ante with Wonderstruck , creating 100 more illustrations and an even more appropriate melding of text and artwork. A shoe-in, right? But science never works when it comes to literary awards, and I wonder if Cabret ‘s 2008 win hurts Wonderstruck ‘s chances. Here’s hoping this isn’t the case.

Remarkable in format and story, Wonderstruck is a book that’s easy to get behind. Expect to find it on every “Best of 2011” list out there.

Review copy from the publisher

Watch Brian Selznick talk about the making of Wonderstruck in the Scholastic Fall Librarian Preview:

(Thanks to Watch. Connect. Read. for the link)

Also reviewed by Abby the Librarian , DogEar

Find this book at your local library with WorldCat .

Filed under: *Best New Books* , Reviews

About Travis Jonker

Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at [email protected], or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.

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June 7, 2011 at 2:43 am

Can’t wait to see it! So glad to hear it takes the previous achievement to an even higher level.

I’d love to see what the eyes on the spines of the two books look like side by side. Do they match up? Are they off-kilter? Hugo’s spine creeps my wife out a bit… she feels like it’s watching her.

Congrats to Brian Selznick!

February 25, 2013 at 7:21 pm

No, the eyes do not match up.

June 7, 2011 at 9:00 am

Yes, Mr. Selznick definitely impresses with this one. I don’t know if I like it more than Cabret, but if not, it’s very very close. The spines don’t match up, but the faces on them are exactly the same in their positioning. They will look great side by side on the shelf. Or, in your wife’s case, double creepy.

June 7, 2011 at 9:52 am

Not sure if my “can’t wait” made it, so I’ll say it again: Looking forward to this one. (And I hope I’m not speaking in stereo here.)

Thanks for the review and sneak-peek.

June 7, 2011 at 10:47 am

I am pea green with envy that you have read this already. I can hardly wait. I really enjoyed your review.

June 7, 2011 at 11:10 am

I would like to see the following stickers on this book: Newbery Honor, Caldecott Honor, National Book Award Winner.

June 7, 2011 at 1:48 pm

Yes! I agree with everything you’ve said, only you said it much more eloquently than I.

June 7, 2011 at 4:26 pm

Yes, Travis – you are right, this is one of the best books of the year. I can’t see anything else touching this in terms of Caldecott, but then again (a) I’m not on the committee looking at all of the zillions of books they’ve received in the mail this year + criteria considerations, and (b) I’m biased because I’m a big ol Selznick fanboy. But still, this book…

June 7, 2011 at 9:13 pm

I really liked the Invention of Hugo Cabret and Selznick’s illustrations in the Doll People series. Thanks for the heads up on his latest. I will definitely hunt it down to read it.

[…] 100 Scope Notes […]

[…] weave in and out, of course, before intersecting at the end. The advance reviews have all been glowing, and at 600+ pages there’s sure to be plenty of art to be goggled […]

[…] Review of Wonderstruck by Travis Jonker from 100 Scope Notes […]

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Review: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

“Maybe, thought Ben, we are all cabinets of wonders.”

I’ve been wanting to read this beauty of a book for ages now, so when I saw it on the shelves of my library, I was beyond ecstatic.

Wonderstruck jumps back and forth between the lives of Ben and Rose, who live fifty years apart from each other. It follows how both of them miss someone important and quite mysterious in their lives. Ben longs of finding and meeting the father he never met, while Rose is more focused on following a certain famous silent actress that she has an important connection with.

Ben’s story is told solely through writing, while Rose’s is told through Selznick’s gorgeous illustrations. Ben’s story in words, Rose’s in pictures, come together in deafness. And I loved how the author made their intertwining histories flow so smoothly.

I also really appreciated how Selznick tackled the subject and history of deafness in the United States. It made me want to research it for myself and get more educated than I was before, which I always welcome in books.

3.5/5 stars

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BookBrowse Reviews Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Wonderstruck

BookBrowse Review:
Critics' Consensus:
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First Published:
Sep 13, 2011, 608 pages

Young Adults
Mid-Atlantic, USA
Midwest, USA
New York State
Minn. Wis. Iowa
20th Century (multiple decades)
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Like The Invention of Hugo Cabret , this will be an instantly successful book for children and adults

Rated Best Children's Book of 2011 by BookBrowse Members When you pick up Brian Selznick's Wonderstruck , make sure you have several hours in which to read it, because you aren't going to want to put it down until you are done. You won't be able to put it down. You'll tell yourself, "I'll put it down right when I get to the end of Ben's chapter." But then Ben's chapter will open out into a montage of Rose's drawings, silently interleaved into his words. The action in the two stories perfectly mirror each other. For instance, in 1927 Rose watches a silent film in which a woman is caught in a thunderstorm, and just as a lightning bolt flashes on the screen, the action switches back to Ben in 1977, where a lightning strike has just knocked out the power. A few pages later, Ben gets struck by lightning and loses his hearing, while at the same time, Rose learns that her beloved silent movies are about to be replaced by "talkies" which, having been born deaf, she won't be able to understand. Before you know it, you'll have turned two dozen pages, and you won't be able to stop. The only way to read Wonderstruck is to inhale it because Selznick has so enchantingly engineered your reading experience. The story is immersive in part because it is about immersion. Ben (whose story takes up most of the novel) is still grieving for his mother when he finds a book called Wonderstruck in her closet, about the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Soon after becoming deaf, he runs away from his aunt's home in Minnesota to live in the AMNH. Meanwhile, fifty years earlier, Rose has run away from her overbearing father in Hoboken and finds herself at the museum, looking at the same exhibits that Ben discovers. He is enveloped by a new and yet strangely familiar world of animals and other exhibits. In particular, he is astonished by a wolf diorama that has figured in his dreams for years, despite never having seen it. Slowly he pieces together a mystery he didn't even know he was following. It is a wonderful, intoxicating conceit: the more he looks around the museum, the more its objects become charged with personal meaning that lead him deep into his mother's history and the story of the father he has never known. Inevitably, perfectly, he finds himself inside the book Wonderstruck . My only critical thought - and it's a tiny one - is the wish that Selznick had pushed his own concept all the way, and that as soon as Ben becomes deaf, his story too was related only in pictures, thus striking the reader "deaf" as well. But perhaps he couldn't have told the rather dizzying tale of Ben alone in New York solely in pictures. And what he does give us is the stunning moment when Ben and Rose's stories converge across their fifty-year gap, and Ben emerges into Rose's picture world, wordless and shining. I won't say anything more about the plot, but I will tell you that nothing here is magical, just gloriously convergent. Like The Invention of Hugo Cabret , this will be an instantly successful book for children and adults, and is a worthy successor to Hugo Cabret . It is built on the bones of several quite sturdy ideas - about deaf culture, about museums and collections, about missing parents and lonely, fiercely intelligent children - but it moves by emotion. There is nothing more affecting than the first words we get from the silent Rose, a note she scrawls almost halfway through the book, just four words with devastating power that reveal an enormous amount to the reader about her own quest, not so different from Ben's. Sometimes Selznick's art is dazzling in its textured complexity, as when he portrays the historically accurate interior of the AMNH, and other times, it is the simplicity of a single image that startles the eye and the heart. The end of the book is a pure triumph.

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Submitting a book for review, write the editor, you are here:, wonderstruck.

Brian Selznick's THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET was a sensation when it was first published in 2007. Selznick, who is best known for his illustrations, crafted a book of 500+ pages whose story was told as much through its pictures as through its verbal narrative. It was a critical hit and a bestseller. When it won the Caldecott Medal, the choice was hugely controversial, given that the award for the best illustrated book for children is typically bestowed on a picture book. Now, Selznick follows up that beloved novel with WONDERSTRUCK, an even more tightly crafted blend of storytelling through words and pictures.

"Rich, multilayered, and emotionally, visually and narratively fulfilling, WONDERSTRUCK will certainly find its place among children's classics as well."

The wordless format of much of the book's story is especially appropriate, given that the two main characters are both deaf and consequently have a complicated relationship with language, especially of the spoken variety. We first meet Ben, whose story is told through verbal narration. It's 1977, and Ben has been living with his mother near Gunflint Lake in far northern Minnesota. He's obsessed with visions of wolves, and with the impulse to collect the small treasures he discovers during his explorations of the lake and the forests around it. After his mother's death in a car accident, though, Ben feels alone, even more so after a lightning strike causes him to go completely deaf (he was already deaf in one ear before the accident). He loves his aunt and uncle, but they don't really understand him. So when Ben finds clues about his unknown father's identity and whereabouts among his mother's things, he decides to run away from Minnesota to New York City to see if he can discover where he really belongs.

Simultaneously, Selznick tells the story through pictures (marvelously detailed pencil drawings in two-page spreads) of Rose, a young girl living in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1927. She can see Manhattan from her house, but her overprotective parents won't let their daughter travel there. Instead, she satisfies herself by making miniatures of the New York City skyscrapers and landmarks she loves. She adores the movies, but is crushed when the installation of sound technology means that she will no longer be able to enjoy films in the same way that hearing audience members do. She runs away to New York City, on the trail of the film actress she loves most of all.

Ben’s and Rose's journeys culminate at the American Museum of Natural History, where they discover a gallery of wonders that suits each of their interests in collecting artifacts and creating detailed dioramas --- and, in unexpected ways, the answer to both of their problems. When their stories converge, the reader's feeling of satisfaction is almost palpable. Although neither one has an uncomplicated happy ending, their stories --- individually and, more importantly, jointly --- offer a hopeful glimpse of connection, understanding, friendship and family.

In addition to being a thoroughly captivating story (or stories), WONDERSTRUCK is a delightful history of museum curatorship, a love letter to New York City and to northern Minnesota, and an homage to that other beloved museum-centric classic of children's literature, FROM THE MIXED-UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER. Rich, multilayered, and emotionally, visually and narratively fulfilling, WONDERSTRUCK will certainly find its place among children's classics as well.

Reviewed by Norah Piehl on September 15, 2011

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Publication Date: September 13, 2011
Genres: Fiction
Hardcover: 608 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press
ISBN-10: 0545027896
ISBN-13: 9780545027892

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Book Review

Wonderstruck.

Brian Selznick
Historical , Mystery , Suspense/Thriller

Readability Age Range

Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.
Kirkus Reviews 2011 Best Books for Children; American Library Association Notable Children’s Book, 2011

Year Published

Wonderstruck by Brain Selznick has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine .

Plot Summary

Ever since his mother died in an accident, Ben has been plagued by nightmares. Wolves chase him in his dreams and cause him to cry out in his sleep. One night as Ben lies awake, three months after his mother died, he overhears his aunt and uncle arguing about whether to sell his mother’s house because money is tight.

In an effort to calm his nerves, Ben takes out his special keepsake box, a Christmas gift from his mom. Ben uses it to hold the ordinary and unique objects he has collected over the years: His last baby tooth, a few twigs, a plastic game piece. All are displayed within small cubbies inside the box.

As Ben looks out his bedroom window, he is shocked to see a light on in his old house, which is less than 100 feet away from his aunt and uncle’s house. He slips out of bed and finds his cousin Janet, wearing his mother’s clothes, smoking her cigarettes and dancing to one of his mother’s favorite songs. Janet shows him a can full of money that his mother had kept hidden in her closet. She replaces it, the cigarettes and his mother’s clothes.

Then she urges Ben to return to her parents’ home with her before a storm comes in. Ben chooses to stay in his house. Once Janet leaves, Ben finds an old book titled Wonderstruck . The book was published by the Natural History Museum in New York City and describes what a museum is and the job of a museum curator.

As Ben flips through the pages, he finds a bookmark for Kincaid’s Bookstore. On the back is a note for his mother from someone named Danny, and it includes his phone number and address. Ben wonders if Danny is his father. He examines his mother’s locket and wonders if the picture inside is of his father. The name Daniel is printed on the back.

Ben hides the locket under his shirt. As a thunderstorm breaks overhead, Ben picks up the phone to call the number on the bookmark. Lightning strikes the house, passes through the phone and renders Ben unconscious.

Interspersed with the written story of Ben is another story about a lonely, tween girl. Her story is told through beautiful pencil sketches. She climbs out a window of her house and hurries to a nearby river to send a paper boat afloat with the words “Help me” written on it.

Then she runs away to the cinema to see her favorite actress, Lillian Mayhew, in her newest silent picture. Afterward, the girl returns to her home. In her room, she has built a model of a city out of paper. She sees a new book on her bed, left by her tutor. It is a manual to teach deaf people how to lip-read and speak. The girl rips out the pages and creates another building.

At the dinner table, her father is angry when he discovers she has cut a story from his newspaper. He sends her back to her room. The girl reads the story about how Lillian Mayhew is going to star in a Broadway show. The girl packs a suitcase, including a postcard from someone named Walter. We learn from the card that the girl’s name is Rose. Rose sets off for New York City.

In Part Two of the book, Ben also makes his way to New York City. The electrical shock that rendered him unconscious also made him deaf. While undergoing tests in Duluth, Ben asks his cousin Janet to bring him some clothes from home and the money can. He uses the funds to buy a bus ticket, hoping to find his father. When he arrives, he pulls his money out of his pocket so he can buy a hot dog and is robbed.

Ben finds the address written on the back of the bookmark, but no one named Danny lives in the building. He then discovers that the bookstore on the bookmark is a vacant building. A boy tries to talk to Ben, but afraid and upset, Ben runs away. He heads toward the Museum of Natural History.

As he hurries up the stairs, he trips on the top of the stairs and his suitcase falls open, spilling his belongings, including his special box. The boy who had seen him at the bookstore hands him back the book, Wonderstruck . Ben puts it in his suitcase, then runs into the museum.

Rose finds the theater where Lillian Mayhew is rehearsing her play. Lillian is angry when she discovers Rose hiding in the wings, watching her. Through notes, the reader learns that Lillian is Rose’s mother. Rose begs to be allowed to live in the city with her mother, but Lillian refuses. It is too dangerous of a place for a deaf girl.

Lillian locks Rose in her dressing room, while she goes back to the rehearsal. Rose escapes through a window. She heads toward the building on her postcard, the Museum of Natural History. Eventually, she finds Walter, her brother. Walter takes her home to his apartment.

After cleaning up in the museum’s bathroom, Ben does some exploring. He finds a strange note asking what is inside his box. Looking in his suitcase, Ben discovers his treasure box is missing. The note has a map of the museum drawn on it with an X marked at the end of dotted line.

Ben follows the map to a room with dioramas in it. One of the dioramas is of the wolves of Gunflint Lake, Minnesota, Ben’s hometown. He finds the boy who was at the abandoned bookstore. Through gestures, the boy explains he picked the wolf diorama as a meeting place because Ben’s box has wolves engraved on the top. The boy pulls Ben away from the room, but not before they see an old woman enter and stare at the wolf diorama.

The boy pulls out a tiny notebook from his pocket and communicates with Ben through notes. He explains his name is Jamie and that his father works at the museum. He takes Ben to his secret hiding a place, an old room that is now used as a storage closet. Jamie shares some food with Ben.

When Jamie presses him, Ben reluctantly shows him the contents of his treasure box. He is pleased when Jamie seems enthusiastic and curious about all of Ben’s odd treasures. Jamie leaves Ben for the afternoon as he has somewhere to go with his father. When he returns, Jaime brings more food. The boys spend the evening poking around the museum. Ben asks his new friend to call his aunt and uncle to come to New York and get him.

Ben spends the following day exploring old file cabinets in a deserted hallway of the museum. He eventually finds a file about the wolf diorama. He finds pencil sketches of the lake near his home and the wolves that live there. He also finds a picture of the cabin that his family owned.

A handwritten note mentions meeting someone at Kincaid’s Bookstore. He takes the file back to the storage room to read more. He finds a letter from Daniel Lobel, the exhibition preparator, addressed to Ben’s mother, asking for her help as he works on the wolf diorama. Ben rushes to the information desk and asks to see Daniel Lobel.

He cannot read the woman’s lips, but eventually he figures out that Daniel no longer works there. Ben returns to the storage room, dejected, but then realizes that the storage room had once been an integral part of the museum and that the book Wonderstruck contains a detailed picture of its contents.

Jamie returns the following day with a present for Ben. It is a book about sign language. While leafing through it, Ben finds a bookmark for Kincaid’s Bookstore and realizes the store still exists, but is in a new location. He is angry at Jamie for not telling him. Jamie explains that Ben is the first friend he has made in a long time, and he worries that he will lose touch with him if Ben finds his father or goes home to Minnesota. Ben takes the bookmark and leaves to find the bookstore.

In Part Three of the book, Ben finds Kincaid’s Bookstore. An old woman enters and he recognizes her as the woman who stood in front of the wolf diorama at the museum. The woman greets a salesclerk. They do not speak, but gesture to each other with their hands. Ben falls down the stairs, causing his mother’s locket to open.

The old woman stares in wonder and confusion. Through notes, Ben learns that her name is Rose, and she is Daniel’s mother, his grandmother. She is the same Rose who came to the city as a girl, and the salesclerk is her brother, Walter. She gave the book Wonderstruck to her son as a gift and he, in turn, had given it to Ben’s mother.

Rose takes Ben to the Queen’s Museum of Art and a huge model of the city. She tells Ben about how her brother took her in as a young girl and helped her find a school for the deaf. She met her future husband there and later got a job with the Natural History Museum making models.

When her son, Daniel, was born, she was thrilled to take him to work. He learned to love the museum as well and got a job there. Rose was asked to help create the model of New York City for the World’s Fair exhibit in Queens. The model was so popular that after the fair ended, they kept it and asked her to maintain it. Daniel was asked to create the wolf diorama and went to Minnesota to do research. There he met and fell in love with Ben’s mother. Daniel returned to New York City, where he died a few years later from a heart ailment.

At that point, Rose tells Ben a secret. Within the model of New York City, she has hidden different objects related to her son. A photograph of the day he was born is in the model of the hospital. One of his pencils is in the model of his school. Rose explains that she met Ben once before, when he was very young. His mother had brought him to his father’s funeral.

She did not say that Ben was Daniel’s son, but Rose had seen the resemblance. Rose had hoped to meet Ben again and find out for sure. Ben realizes that he dreamt about wolves because he had seen them before at his father’s funeral. Perhaps it was his father’s way of leading him to his grandmother.

Rose tells Ben that she knows his parents would have been proud of how brave he had been to make the trip to New York. Ben knows he will have to return to Gunflint Lake, but hopes his aunt and uncle will let him visit the city and his grandmother, as well as his friend Jamie, again.

Christian Beliefs

Other belief systems.

Ben’s mother explained that rocks in his treasure box were from a meteorite that had fallen to earth millions of years ago. Ben and Rose both believe that you can make a wish on shooting stars. There is a sense that something supernatural, either Ben’s father or the wolves, used Ben’s dreams to guide him to New York City to find his grandmother.

Authority Roles

Although Ben’s parents were deeply in love, Rose theorized that neither was willing to move from their homes to be together. Ben’s mother enjoyed spending time with him, teaching him many things and encouraging his love of collecting things.

Profanity & Violence

Ben’s cousin Robby throws a shoe at him to wake him up out of his nightmare.

Sexual Content

There is no romantic storyline, but it is understood that Ben’s parents had a sexual relationship outside of marriage. (See the note about the author’s intent at the end of this review.)

There are innuendos in the relationship between Jamie and Ben, a connection the two of them had beyond their circumstances, but the innuendos are undefined. They could be friendship or an attraction.

Discussion Topics

Get free discussion questions for this book and others, at FocusOnTheFamily.com/discuss-books .

Additional Comments

Tobacco: Ben’s mother and his cousin Janet smoke cigarettes.

Lying: Jamie does not tell his father about Ben or call Ben’s relatives because he is afraid of losing his friend.

Running Away: Both Rose and Ben run away from home without telling anyone where they are going. Other than Ben’s money being stolen, neither child suffers negatively from exploring a large city on their own.

Author interview with Publishers Weekly on 4/11: The author used the idea of a deaf child in a hearing home to explore the idea of those who have to leave their biological family to find family elsewhere in their culture, such as those who are gay often don’t feel like they belong in the family they are born into.

Movie Tie-In: Producers often use a book as a springboard for a movie idea or to earn a specific rating. Because of this, a movie may differ from the novel. To better understand how this book and the movie differ, compare this book review with Plugged In’s movie review for Wonderstruck .

You can request a review of a title you can’t find at [email protected] .

Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.

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Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick | Book Review

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

From Brian Selznick, the creator of The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the Caldecott Medal winner, comes another breathtaking tour de force. Set fifty years apart, two independent stories - Ben's told in words and Rose's in pictures - weave back and forth with mesmerizing symmetry. How they unfold and ultimately intertwine will surprise you, challenge you, and leave you breathless with wonder. Ever since his mom died, Ben feels lost. At home with her father, Rose feels alone. He is searching for someone, but he is not sure who. She is searching for something, but she is not sure what. When Ben finds a mysterious clue hidden in his mom's room, When a tempting opportunity presents itself to Rose, Both children risk everything to find what's missing. With over 460 pages of original drawings and playing with the form he invented in his trailblazing debut novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick once again sails into uncharted territory and takes readers on an awe-inspiring journey. Rich, complex, affecting, and beautiful, Wonderstruck is a stunning achievement from a uniquely gifted artist and visionary.

Brian Selznick is THE DEAL. I’m not just talking out of my ass either, his books are AWESOME. While I am currently in the middle of reading The Invention Of Hugo Cabret , I thought I’d take the time to FINALLY review Wonderstruck. I mean, I read Wonderstruck back in September, but haven’t been sufficiently motivated enough to write a review.

Here’s the thing — I love it when books have pictures. I go ga ga over books where the pictures tell the story, like The Arrival by Shaun Tan . The pictures in Wonderstruck play a pivotal role in telling the story. Yet they don’t only serve a function, they are tactile experiences. By this I mean the illustrations are gorgeous and perfectly compliment the plot of Wonderstruck.

There are two separate story lines in Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick . One follows a boy named Ben and starts in Minnesota in 1977. Ben is deaf in one ear. Reeling from his mother’s untimely death, Ben sneaks back home and finds a book with a mysterious inscription. The other story line follows a girl named Rose in 1927 New York City. Of significance or rather a moving bit of Rose’s storyline is when we see the transition from silent films to ‘talkies’ and it’s effect on Rose who is completely deaf. The two stories connect in a manner that surprised but delighted me all the same.

Brian Selznick is an author to watch, especially for the way he experiments with the storytelling form. In place of 1000 words, Selznick uses a picture. Frankly, I loved Wonderstruck. Plain and simple. And you guys, I really hope this season you allow yourself to experience Selznick’s story telling magic, because it is worth it.

Disclosure: Received for review at Book Expo America.

Other reviews of Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick:

Strange And Random Happenstance A Patchwork Of Books Green Bean Teen Queen

Purchase Wonderstruck:

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Wonderstruck: A Novel in Words and Pictures (Schneider Family Book Award - Middle School Winner)

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Wonderstruck: A Novel in Words and Pictures (Schneider Family Book Award - Middle School Winner) Hardcover – Illustrated, 14 Sept. 2011

Rich, complex, affecting and beautiful, wonderstruck is a staggering achievement from a uniquely gifted artist..

In this groundbreaking tour de force, Caldecott Medalist and bookmaking pioneer Brian Selznick sails into uncharted territory and takes readers on an awe-inspiring journey.

Ever since his mother died, Ben feels lost. At home with her father, Rose feels alone. Ben and Rose secretly wish their lives were different. Ben longs for the father he has never known. Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook.

When Ben discovers a puzzling clue in his mother's room and Rose reads an enticing headline in the newspaper, both children set out alone on desperate quests to find what they are missing.

Set fifty years apart, these two independent stories Ben's told in words, Rose's in pictures--weave back and forth with mesmerizing symmetry. How they unfold and ultimately intertwine will surprise you, challenge you, and leave you breathless with wonder.

With over 460 pages of original artwork Wonderstruck is a stunning achievement from a gifted artist and visionary.

A stunning gift book to be treasured for a lifetime.
Don't miss Selznick's other novels in words and pictures, The Invention of Hugo Cabret and The Marvels , which together with Wonderstruck , form an extraordinary thematic trilogy!
Wonderstruck is now a feature-length film starring Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams
Brian's first book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret , was the winner of the esteemed Caldecott Medal , the first novel to do so, as the Caldecott Medal is for picture books & made into a feature length film, HUGO, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Jude Law
Reading age Baby - 8 years
Part of series Schneider Family Book Award - Middle School Winner
Print length 656 pages
Language English
Grade level 4 - 6
Lexile measure 830L
Dimensions 14.61 x 5.08 x 21.59 cm
Publisher Scholastic
Publication date 14 Sept. 2011
ISBN-10 9780545027892
ISBN-13 978-0545027892
See all details

Product description

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0545027896
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scholastic; 1st edition (14 Sept. 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 656 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780545027892
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0545027892
Reading age ‏ : ‎ Baby - 8 years
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 14.61 x 5.08 x 21.59 cm
838 in Chapter Books for Children
1,263 in Children's Books on Performing Arts
1,681 in Historical Fiction for Children (Books)

About the author

Brian selznick.

Brian Selznick grew up in New Jersey and graduated from the Rhode Island School of Art and Design in 1988. He worked for two years after graduation at Eeyore's Books for Children in New York City. His first book was published while he worked there.

Brian has also designed theater sets and worked as a professional puppeteer. His first book, The Houdini Box, was inspired by a fascination with the famous magician. He has illustrated both novels and picture books for other writers, including the Sibert Honor books, When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan and Walt Whitman: Words for America by Barbara Kerley. His illustrations for Barbara Kerley's The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins won a Caldecott Honor Award in 2002; and in 2008, his groundbreaking book The Invention of Hugo Cabret was awarded the Caldecott Medal. It was nominated for a National Book Award and was the basis for Martin Scorsese's Oscar winning film Hugo. His follow up illustrated novel, Wonderstruck, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Brian's next book, The Marvels, will be published in the fall of 2015. Brian divides his time between New York, and San Diego.

Customer reviews

5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 81% 12% 5% 1% 1% 81%
5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 81% 12% 5% 1% 1% 12%
5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 81% 12% 5% 1% 1% 5%
5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 81% 12% 5% 1% 1% 1%
5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 81% 12% 5% 1% 1% 1%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings, help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyses reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Customers say

Customers find the book great for getting kids interested in reading and gives a real insight into the troubles of being deaf. They also appreciate the beautiful drawings and complex storytelling.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the illustrations in the book beautiful and skillful. They say the drawings capture the reader and keep them immersed within the story.

"...I love the detail , not only of the illustrations (ah! the museum exhibition, the skeletons, the cityscapes, the dioramas!)..." Read more

"...the pages, especially of the museum where both stories meet, are just stunning and you can't help but be a little wonderstruck yourself...." Read more

"...What a wonderful book, which is illustrated beautifully. It really captures the reader and keeps you immersed within story...." Read more

"I love Brian Selznicks books! Stunning drawings and beautiful stories to sink into and lose yourself! Wonderful" Read more

Customers find the stories simple but deliciously complex in the telling.

"...In many ways the stories are very simple . The way they are told and the presentation that mixes words and pictures, makes it deliciously complex...." Read more

"...It really captures the reader and keeps you immersed within story ...." Read more

"I would definitely recommend it to everyone. Exciting story line about a boy called Ben and his family and friends." Read more

Customers find the book compelling and delightful. They also say it does an excellent job of raising awareness of many issues.

"...It’s not a perfect book, but it’s delightful and compelling , and I feel richer for the experience of reading it, as will children of all ages, deaf..." Read more

"...A great read for young and old , as this has been passed from my son to me, to his Granny and his Great Granny!" Read more

" Great book to get kids interested in reading ." Read more

"Reccomended in the ndcs magazine and it was brilliant. Gives a real insight on the troubles of being deaf...." Read more

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Wonderstruck (Schneider Family Book Award - Middle School Winner)

By Brian Selznick

Interest Level	Reading Level	Reading A-Z	ATOS	Word Count
Grades 4 - 8	Grades 4 - 8	W	5.4	26125

Book Reviews (154)

Oh, this book is beautiful in every way possible!

I really want to read this book

This book is about 2 deaf children, Ben and Rose, 50 years apart. This book tells us how deaf children has experienced in 1900s. Ever since Ben`s mother, the librarian, has died due to an car accident, Ben started to find even more shocking secrets that his mother has never told him. And in Rose`s time, Rose always collecting an news or pictures of an celebrity, Lillian Mayhew, which came shocking to its readers, Lillian is actually Rose`s mother! Then in the ending, We discovered that Rose is actually Ben`s grandmother, and Ben has decides that he would stay in NYC for a while before going back to home in Minnesota. I`m definitely recommend this book! I also rate this book 5 stars.

I had to read this for an ELA unit for my class. I honestly wasn't expecting much from it, except long hours sitting in class with a teacher reading it all hour. I was actually impressed by the time and effort the author put into this book to show the reader how small this world really may be. I was both touched and heartbroken in some parts of the book, but in the end, I was fantasized, and wanted more. I reccommend this book for any reader willing to read it and understand for themselves.

Two different eras. Two different children. Two different wishes. One intertwined adventure. Ben has always wanted to meet his unknown father. Rose follows the life of an actress in a scrapbook. Then Ben finds an address in his mother's room, and he goes out to seek his father. Also, Rose reads a controversial headline of an newspaper and runs away to find her idol. But when Ben discovers that his father is dead and that he is an orphan and Rose finds out that her idol is more than meets the eye, both of them soon meet. They discover that Rose is actually Ben's grandmother and that Ben's dad died. Finally finding an answer, they both become content. I would recommend this book for ages 10 + I loved how at the end the stories became intertwined. Though at the beginning it was sort of confusing, everything was sorted out in the end. As, usual, this is another masterpiece of Brian Selznick.

Loved the pictures

I read this book a long time ago but what I remember was good. I want to read it again.

i have to read this for battle of the books

I just finished this book 20 minutes ago & I like how the artist took their time drawing and sketching & I also like how they didn't give up on the drawing. What I think can improve about the book is that they could add more details to what's happening and more dialogue. But at the same time, the story is pretty good, I've got to say.

I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book. This is an amazing book about a boy named Ben in the more recent days. It is also about a girl named Rose who is deaf. Rose runs away to find her mother, who is a famous actor. Her mother treats her unkindly and locks her into a room. Rose escapes and runs away. I loved this book because it had words and it also had pictures. There's that suspense when you think WHAT DO ROSE AND BEN HAVE IN COMMON!?!?!??! Then you find out and you're like OH. I have checked this out from my public and school library 10 times and watched the movie too. If there is one book that leaves you struck with wonder, its Wonderstruck.

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, chaz's journal, great movies, contributors, wonderstruck.

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Despite what the title suggests, “Wonderstruck” represents a rare disappointment from master filmmaker Todd Haynes .

It’s gorgeous, of course, with all the sumptuous lensing, rich sense of place and meticulous eye for period detail we’ve come to expect and luxuriate in from the director of “Far From Heaven” and “ Carol .” And it’s certainly ambitious from a narrative perspective as it jumps back and forth between two mysteriously connected stories—one of which is entirely wordless.

But the emotional payoff just isn’t there, despite a lengthy build-up of cosmic proportions, which ultimately renders the entire effort a twee exercise in style over substance. It’s Haynes’ most accessible work for a broad audience, though—and it’s definitely the only film he’s made that younger viewers can see—so maybe it’ll inspire folks unfamiliar with him to seek out his more challenging fare.

Based on the novel of the same name by author and illustrator Brian Selznick , whose The Invention of Hugo Cabret inspired Martin Scorsese ’s fanciful “ Hugo ,” “Wonderstruck” follows the adventures of two kids who run away to New York City, 50 years apart, seeking answers and a sense of peace. Both are lonely and isolated; both are plucky despite their troubled homes. They also both happen to be hearing impaired. But they manage to find allies and figure out a way to survive through their resourcefulness and—as Selznick’s script not so subtly suggests—a healthy heaping of magic.

Ben ( Oakes Fegley , star of last year’s “Pete’s Dragon”) isn’t deaf at the film’s start. Living with relatives in rural Gunflint, Minnesota, in 1977, Ben dreams of the mother ( Michelle Williams ) who recently died in a car crash and the father whose identity he’s never known. While going through her belongings looking for clues, he finds a book about curiosity cabinets from a secondhand store in New York. Inside is a bookmark inscribed with a sentimental note for his mom. (Who hasn’t found one of those?) But as he’s gathering his things to hop on a bus and search for this stranger, a freak lighting strike leaves him unable to hear, although he can still speak.

“Wonderstruck” alternates between Ben’s story and that of a sweet, shy girl named Rose living in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1927. She’s been deaf since birth (as is the expressive newcomer playing her, Millicent Simmonds ). But she longs to connect with actress Lillian Mayhew (Haynes regular Julianne Moore ), a film star at the tail end of the silent era, with whom she’s obsessed. Rose dares to leave the comfort of her pampered home life to board a ferry for the big city across the Hudson River.

But Rose at least knows someone in Manhattan: her older brother, Walter ( Cory Michael Smith ), who works at the American Museum of Natural History. Ben, you will not be the least shocked to learn, ends up at the same museum 50 years later—climbing the same stairs, perusing the same exhibits and hiding from the same kind of security guards who suspect both kids are up to no good.

In each case, the immersive visuals are far more compelling than the kids’ overly simplistic stories. Working once again with cinematographer Ed Lachman , costume designer Sandy Powell (who’s also an executive producer on the film) and production designer Mark Friedberg —all masters—Haynes recreates two extremely different visions of New York hustle-and-bustle in astonishing, vivid detail. Each section plays like a film that might have come out during their respective eras. The 1927 story is told in grainy black and white without dialogue as a reflection of Rose’s reality; the boldly percussive score from frequent Coen brothers composer Carter Burwell punctuates particular moments in dramatic, unsettling ways.

Meanwhile, 1977 is full of faded oranges and greens and teems with danger and squalor. When Ben steps off the bus and enters the Port Authority terminal—alone, in the middle of the night, carrying everything that matters to him in a backpack—you can feel the grit and grime emanating from the screen. The trash scattered everywhere is so prevalent and tactile, it’s practically a supporting character. But the friendship Ben strikes up with a similarly lonely kid named Jamie ( Jaden Michael ) provides a warm and welcome contrast.

Pity, then, that the movie’s many sweet individual moments and the increasingly tiresome back-and-forth structure don’t add up to much. A climactic scene that takes place at the Queens Museum’s Panorama of the City of New York—a massive, painstakingly crafted model of the metropolis in miniature—provides a breathtaking sight. But by the time we arrive there (and it takes a loooong time to arrive there), the secrets in store are essentially a foregone conclusion.

Haynes is still using his formidable abilities to explore the universal need for human connection, though— which is a wonderful thing, even in less powerful form.

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series "Ebert Presents At the Movies" opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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Film credits.

Wonderstruck (2017)

Rated PG for thematic elements and smoking.

117 minutes

Millicent Simmonds as Rose

Oakes Fegley as Ben

Jaden Michael as Jamie

Julianne Moore as Lillian Mayhew / Rose

Cory Michael Smith as Walter

Tom Noonan as Walter

Michelle Williams as Elaine

Todd Haynes

Writer (based on the book by)

Brian Selznick

Cinematographer

Edward Lachman
Affonso Gonçalves
Carter Burwell

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Wonderstruck

Brian Selznick (Illustrator)

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CRITICS HAVE SAID

“A true masterpiece.” – Publishers Weekly

“Captivating.” – Los Angeles Times Book Review

“A fast-paced treat for tweens.” – People Magazine

IF YOU LOVE THIS BOOK, THEN TRY:

Selznick, Brian. The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Scholastic Press, 2007.

Konigsburg, E. L. From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Aladdin, 2007.

Spinelli, Jerry. Maniac Magee. Little, Brown Young Readers, 1999.

Stephens, John. The Emerald Atlas (The Books of Beginning series). Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2011.

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Wonderstruck (Schneider Family Book Award - Middle School Winner) Hardcover – September 13, 2011

Part of series Schneider Family Book Award - Middle School Winner
Print length 640 pages
Language English
Grade level 4 - 6
Lexile measure 830L
Dimensions 5.75 x 2 x 8.5 inches
Publisher Scholastic Press
Publication date September 13, 2011
ISBN-10 9780545027892
ISBN-13 978-0545027892
See all details

Editorial Reviews

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0545027896
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scholastic Press; First Edition (September 13, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 640 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780545027892
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0545027892
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8 - 11 years, from customers
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 830L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 4 - 6
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 2 x 8.5 inches
#52 in Children's Books on Disabilities
#234 in Children's Mystery, Detective, & Spy
#1,204 in Children's Action & Adventure Books (Books)

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Customer reviews

5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 81% 13% 4% 1% 1% 81%
5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 81% 13% 4% 1% 1% 13%
5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 81% 13% 4% 1% 1% 4%
5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 81% 13% 4% 1% 1% 1%
5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 81% 13% 4% 1% 1% 1%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

Customers say

Customers find the content interesting and recommend it for all ages. They also love the writing style and illustrations. Readers describe the emotion as clever, heartwarming, and heart-wrenching. They say the author has crafted a wonderful story told in a unique way.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the writing quality of the book wonderful, amazing, and fun. They also say the book is beautifully executed and a great book to read with a child.

"...Ben was amazed by this panorama, and it seemed to be filled with wonders and untold stories that connected Ben to his father...." Read more

"...These are wonderful books to read and enjoy if you are anywhere between 8 and 80. They are must-keep additions to almost anyone's library...." Read more

"...His combination of beautiful stories and amazing illustrations leaves plowing through the huge tomes and still wanting more once you have finished...." Read more

"...The new format as an extended, quasi graphic novel was beautifully executed , so I was excited to see Selznik's newest addition, Wonderstruck...." Read more

Customers find the illustrations in the book wonderful, charming, and new.

"...At over six hundred pages, filled with hand- drawn sketches and brilliant words, Wonderstruck is a tale that any teenager or adult would enjoy...." Read more

"...the story of one is told primarily with wordless, yet imaginative and evocative graphics , while the story of the other is virtually completely..." Read more

"...It follows with similar style- many very detailed drawings which tell one story of an unhappy girl, and the written portion about an unhappy boy, Ben..." Read more

Customers find the book interesting, imaginative, and great for insightful discussions. They also say the illustrations and story work together to create a mystery, making it a great book to share with kids. Customers also mention that it's for all ages and that there is a lot of interaction possible.

"...I highly recommend this book for leisurely enjoyment and inspiration ." Read more

"...in both words and pictures is hugely atmospheric and takes place in sometimes puzzling , but always somewhat mysterious environments, with secret..." Read more

"...I'd say it's probably good for 10 and up.Overall it was a very enjoyable , quick read." Read more

"...a wonderful story told in a unique way that can capture the imagination of kids and adults ...." Read more

Customers find the writing style easy to read, with seamless transitions between images and words. They also say the book unfolds almost cinematically and has a fun mystery.

"...At over six hundred pages, filled with hand- drawn sketches and brilliant words , Wonderstruck is a tale that any teenager or adult would enjoy...." Read more

"...Still, of the remaining 180 pages of text, all are written with conversational simplicity and some are only two or three lines long...." Read more

"...The written parts are good as well . I thoroughly enjoyed the way Selznick brought the two stories together at the end...." Read more

"... Beautifully written and drawn ." Read more

Customers find the book clever, heartwarming, and heart-wrenching. They also say the joy is in the sharing.

"...Though this tale is heart- warming , it does lack some of the charm shown in one of Selznick’s other books, The Invention of Hugo Cabret...." Read more

"...Selznick's illustrations are wonderful and convey so much emotion , showing how words are not needed to tell every story...." Read more

"Wonderstruck is a very, emotional , adventurous, hopefull, and heartwarming book!..." Read more

"...I love a book that brings us all together and this is a great one to share ...." Read more

Customers find the book a very fast read.

"...Overall it was a very enjoyable, quick read ." Read more

"Even though the book is over 600 pages, it runs at a fast pace ...." Read more

"...Although it's a thick volume at over 600 pages, it's a quick read since most of the pages are illustrations...." Read more

"...She's proud of the fact that she's reading a 600 page book, but it's fast reading because of the story told in pictures which are drawn beautifully..." Read more

Customers are mixed about the originality of the book. Some find it unique, creative, and wonderful, while others say it's uninspired and uninspiring.

"...Though this tale is heart- warming, it does lack some of the charm shown in one of Selznick’s other books, The Invention of Hugo Cabret...." Read more

"...This book is indeed unique and charming." Read more

"... Super disappointed ." Read more

"...It's so clever the way the stories are intertwined. Each separately wonderful . Perfect bedtime reading...." Read more

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Wonderstruck.

Common Sense Says
Parents Say 2 Reviews
Kids Say 14 Reviews

Based on 14 kid reviews

Kid Reviews

I love this book i was addicted to its i had to read it everyday and still do., report this review, i'm thinking that kids below 10 won't follow....

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models

Really Well Written But At Times Boring

Educational value

best book....but confusing a bit

Wonderstruck is awesome, i was wonderstruck, what to read next.

The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin

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IMAGES

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick Book Review
Wonderstruck {Book Review}
Review: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
SerendipityReflections: WONDERSTRUCK Book Review
Wonderstruck
Wonderstruck Book Review

COMMENTS

Wonderstruck Book Review
Wonderstruck delivers a powerful message about the. Positive Role Models. The book offers many positive examples of loving f. Violence & Scariness Not present. While there are some allusions to the perils that. Sex, Romance & Nudity. Rose's mother, an actress, is a scandalous fig. Language Not present. Products & Purchases Not present.
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
Wonderstruck, Brian Selznick Wonderstruck is a U.S. juvenile fiction novel written and illustrated by Brian Selznick. Ben's story starts in Gunflint Lake, Minnesota in June 1977. He was born deaf in one of his ears. Ben's mom, Elaine, was the town librarian, but died in a car crash.
Wonderstruck
A Novel in Words and Pictures. Written and illustrated by Brian Selznick. 637 pp. Scholastic Press. $29.99. (Middle grade; ages 9 to 12) Adam Gopnik is the author of "The Steps Across the Water ...
WONDERSTRUCK
Brian Selznick didn't have to do it. He didn't have to return to the groundbreaking pictures-and-text format that stunned the children's-book world in 2007 and won him an unlikely—though entirely deserved—Caldecott medal for The Invention of Hugo Cabret.Weighing in at about two pounds, the 500-plus page tome combined textual and visual storytelling in a way no one had quite seen before.
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick: Summary and reviews
Book Summary. Playing with the form he created in his trailblazing debut novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick once again sails into uncharted territory and takes readers on an awe-inspiring journey. Rated Best Children's Book of 2011 by BookBrowse Members. Ben and Rose secretly wish their lives were different.
Review: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
By Ann Clare Le Zotte on December 2, 2016 Reviews. Wonderstruck is wonderful. It is, to date, the most creative and ambitious novel about the d/Deaf experience in America I've ever come across. Selznick published The Invention of Hugo Cabret in 2007, winning the Caldecott Medal and achieving a major movie adaptation; years later, Selznick ...
Wonderstruck (novel)
Wonderstruck (2011) is an American young-adult fiction novel written and illustrated by Brian Selznick, who also created The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007). In Wonderstruck, Selznick continued the narrative approach of his last book, using both words and illustrations — though in this book he separates the illustrations and the writings into their own story and weaves them together at the end.
Review: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
Here's hoping this isn't the case. Remarkable in format and story, Wonderstruck is a book that's easy to get behind. Expect to find it on every "Best of 2011" list out there. Review copy from the publisher. Watch Brian Selznick talk about the making of Wonderstruck in the Scholastic Fall Librarian Preview: (Thanks to Watch.
Review: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
It made me want to research it for myself and get more educated than I was before, which I always welcome in books. And as I said earlier about those brilliant illustrations, here are some of my personal favorites: Also, I loved the shout-out to the song "Space Oddity" in this book. It perfectly fit the mood Wonderstruck was giving out.
Review of Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
Sometimes Selznick's art is dazzling in its textured complexity, as when he portrays the historically accurate interior of the AMNH, and other times, it is the simplicity of a single image that startles the eye and the heart. The end of the book is a pure triumph. Reviewed by Amy Reading. This review first ran in the September 21, 2011 issue of ...
Wonderstruck
Publication Date: September 13, 2011. Genres: Fiction. Hardcover: 608 pages. Publisher: Scholastic Press. ISBN-10: 0545027896. ISBN-13: 9780545027892. Ben longs for the father he has never known. Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a clue in his mother's room and Rose reads an ...
Wonderstruck
To better understand how this book and the movie differ, compare this book review with Plugged In's movie review for Wonderstruck. You can request a review of a title you can't find at [email protected]. Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a ...
'Wonderstruck' Review: Surprises for the Soul
Books 'Wonderstruck' Review: Surprises for the Soul The experience of awe galvanizes new ideas that nourish and enrich our culture and our lives, individually and collectively.
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick Also by this author: Published by Scholastic Inc. on 2011 Genres: Young Adult, Historical, Mysteries & Detective Stories Pages: 637 Format: ARC Source: Publisher ...
Parent reviews for Wonderstruck
This is an excellent book to share with your family. This book is perfect for the entire family. This is something you can really sink your teeth into and be consistently DELIGHTED by several elements: the impressiveness of artwork, the complexity of storyline, the development of characters, the pacing of plot, the depth of themes, the interest ...
Wonderstruck: How Wonder and Awe Shape the Way We Think
The Amazon Book Review Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now. Frequently bought together. This item: Wonderstruck: How Wonder and Awe Shape the Way We Think . $25.94 $ 25. 94. Get it as soon as Wednesday, Aug 21. In Stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. +
Wonderstruck: A Novel in Words and... by Selznick, Brian
Awards and Praise for Wonderstruck: #1 New York Times BestsellerNew York Times Notable Children's BookALA Notable Children's BookParents' Choice Gold WinnerPublishers Weekly Best Book "Engrossing, intelligent, beautifully engineered and expertly told in word and image." -- The New York Times "Moving and ingenious . . ." -- The Wall Street Journal "Brian Selznick proves to be that rare creator ...
Wonderstruck (Schneider Family Book Award
Wonderstruck (Schneider Family Book Award - Middle School Winner) has 154 reviews and 109 ratings. Reviewer skyward_flight wrote: "Oh, this book is beautiful in every way possible!" ... Book Reviews (154) Post review. Add a Rating. skyward_flight . a year ago. Oh, this book is beautiful in every way possible! Reply 0 Likes. paxthefox88 .
Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Wonderstruck (Schneider Family Book Award
Top positive review. The book Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick is a touching story that will leave you in awe. The story starts by explaining the life of a young boy named Ben, and how he loses his mother. As the story goes on, you will fall in love with Ben's character and empathize with him through all of his hardships.
Wonderstruck movie review & film summary (2017)
Based on the novel of the same name by author and illustrator Brian Selznick, whose The Invention of Hugo Cabret inspired Martin Scorsese's fanciful "Hugo," "Wonderstruck" follows the adventures of two kids who run away to New York City, 50 years apart, seeking answers and a sense of peace.Both are lonely and isolated; both are plucky despite their troubled homes.
Wonderstruck
Wonderstruck. Though I work in a bookstore, I discovered 1 2 3 when my brother gave it to my one-year-old daughter with the intention of helping her learn to count. At first glance I thought it was a nice counting book with beautiful illustrations. Once we read it a couple times, though, I began to notice details I had missed that made reading ...
Wonderstruck (Schneider Family Book Award
Awards and Praise for Wonderstruck:#1 New York Times BestsellerNew York Times Notable Children's BookALA Notable Children's BookParents' Choice Gold WinnerPublishers Weekly Best Book "Engrossing, intelligent, beautifully engineered and expertly told in word and image." -- The New York Times "Moving and ingenious . . ." -- The Wall Street Journal "Brian Selznick proves to be that rare ...
Kid reviews for Wonderstruck
This book goes by very fast, since 50% of it is pictures. It has nothing inappropriate WHATSOEVER, which would have lead me to say that it would be "On" for 6+, but the writing is slightly more advanced than that: think a little more than Harry Potter. It is very entertaining and fun. The end is especially interesting.

A Deaf Boy’s New York Quest

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Like The Invention of Hugo Cabret , this will be an instantly successful book for children and adults

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Wonderstruck: A Novel in Words and Pictures (Schneider Family Book Award - Middle School Winner) Hardcover – Illustrated, 14 Sept. 2011

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Wonderstruck (Schneider Family Book Award - Middle School Winner)

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