“Brian Selznick is the author/illustrator of The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck. His latest book, The Marvels, is a new take on the combined illustration and prose format with 400 pages of illustrations telling the story of several generations of actors in London, followed by a prose story set in the 1990’s. The book is beautiful! Themes running throughout all of Brian’s book include finding your own family, loss and mystery.”
Scholastic sent me this book for review. My son just started 7th grade and is required to read 30 books during the school year, so I thought this was perfect! He proved himself an avid reader last year, reading more than was required, and reading several grades above his 6th grade level last semester.
And I do not take any credit for his reading skills, but, I am the one who researched interesting titles for him. I have been to many book stores all over NYC. He is allowed to read anything he chooses outside of the classroom, which is a brilliant method by the teachers to keep the students interested and reading on their own.
“Two stand-alone stories—the first in nearly 400 pages of continuous pictures, the second in prose—together create a beguiling narrative puzzle.The journey begins on a ship at sea in 1766, with a boy named Billy Marvel. After surviving a shipwreck, he finds work in a London theatre. There, his family flourishes for generations as brilliant actors until 1900, when young Leontes Marvel is banished from the stage. Nearly a century later, Joseph Jervis runs away from school and seeks refuge with an uncle in London. Albert Nightingale’s strange, beautiful house, with its mysterious portraits and ghostly presences, captivates Joseph and leads him on a search for clues about the house, his family, and the past.”
This book came recommended to me by my friend at Scholastic: “This book, though, is particularly strong for LGBT families. Without giving away too much, there are gay characters interwoven in the story without making it an ‘issues’ book. The presentation is simply a facet of the character.” This is extremely important to me, I am always trying to show my son situations where families like ours are mainstream, I am thrilled that this book supports that!
For more information please visit the Scholastic site here!
And I trust this author, we loved Hugo Cabret! It was so highly recommended to me at the Scholastic book store in Manhattan years ago that I bought several copies to give as gifts to my nieces and nephews!
My son has just started the book which promises to be a good read for him. I highly recommend it to everyone and their kids, I am going to read it next!
Disclosure: We were sent the above books for review. All opinions are 100% honest and our won.
This looks like a good book I would like if my granddaughter read it.
Let us know what your son thinks after he reads it if you can. I’ve been thinking of getting it for my sixth grader. It looks like a book he’d enjoy.