The
Invention of Hugo Cabret - Suggested Activities
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Book Review
Publisher's
Description:
Selznick, Brian. (2007) The Invention of Hugo Cabret.
Scholastic Press. ISBN-10: 0439813786 Ages 9-12. Grades
4-7.
Disappointedly, the publisher did not prepare resources
for this book. With its purely unique nature and
wholesome story taking part during a fascinating time of
history, we couldn’t pass up throwing together a few
ideas:
Silent Movies:
Hugo Cabret is set in Paris of 1931. You might want to
start by learning a bit more about silent movies that
preceded that time.
Turner Movie Classics
provides an all-inclusive site.
The Thinkquest Library also provides a nice briefing
The
website Images Journal
provides movie stills plus explanation that is
interesting to read too. And historical silent animation
can be viewed at
Library of Congress American Memories site.
Was George Melies a real person filmmaker of “The Trip
to the Moon”? Yes! See information on this movie at
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0000417 . Consider finding
books on him too. Your local library may have access to
a book covering all his works such as
Artificially Arranged Scenes. And if you have
Netflix, you can rent a DVD about his movies The Magic
of Melies from 1904.
Have some fun with music of the era too. Sheet music is
digitized at the Library of Congress
http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/hasm/browse/1910-1920/
Some more Silent Picture movies and stars to research in
your library or rent at the video store: The Clock
Store, The Million by director Rene Clair, Tom Mix,
western star, Louise Brooks actress, Charlie Chaplin,
Buster Keaton and Jean Renoir actors.
If your kids like to play charades, consider taking it
one step further and develop your own silent movie-style
play.
PBS provides one idea to demonstrate how it might be
done.
France and America during early
20th century:
Learn more about France by visiting
http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/european/france/fr.html
Cruise through some old advertisements and see what
life in Paris was like this past century for those of
comfortable means: then ask yourself, “ What do
you think it was like to live as an orphan in the
1920’s-1930’s? “ Quite different most likely.
French history timeline:
http://www.uncg.edu/rom/courses/dafein/civ/timeline.htm
Library time:
Find out more about automatons and horologists at The
House of Automata
http://automatomania.co.uk/m_mstart/home
Hugo’s father read bedtime stories to him: Jules Verne
and Hans Christian Andersen. Why don’t you check out
these authors at your local library too?
While your at it, check out some of Isabelle’s favorite
Greek myths: Mount Olympus, creatures like the chimera
and the Phoenix, gods like Prometheus.
