Skip to main content

Tween Tuesday: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Tween Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at GreenBeanTeenQueen to highlight great reads for tweens! Join the fun and add your link below.



Rating: 5/5 Stars

Genre: Historical

Release Date: 9/13/2011

Add to Goodreads


About the Book: Two kids, two stories set fifty years apart. Ever since his mom died, Ben feels alone. He misses his mom and wonders if his father is out there somwhere and if he even knows about him. When he finds a clue to that could lead him to his past, Ben has to take the chance to follow it.

Rose is home with her father, but she's lonely. She follows the career of a movie star and dreams of visiting New York. When a chance to escape arrives, Rose decides to take it.

Fifty years apart, two young children will find themselves on journeys full of wonder.

GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: Wonderstruck is an amazing book and a must read of 2011! I wasn't sure how Brian Selznick would be able to top The Invention of Hugo Cabret, but somehow he managed to make his word and picture style feel fresh and new with Wonderstruck.

This time around, we have two parallel stories that are set fifty years apart. There are similarities between the stories that connect them. Both are children on a journey and both are seeking answers. Rose is deaf and Ben is deaf in one ear, but a recent accident has left him with little hearing in either ear. Rose's story is told in pictures, Ben's story in words. The stories are set years apart, but they slowly begin to weave together. The stories work well together as the journeys the characters are on are similar. The artwork is stunning and the attention to details is amazing. I could pour of the drawings in the book forever looking at all the added extras-and this was just the ARC version! I can't wait to see what the finished copy looks like!

The exploration of home and family is touching, but never in a cheesy way. The book could have come off corny, but it never does. We also get a glimpse of deaf culture, which is something I don't think is discussed very often in fiction. I think this could make a fantastic book group book, especially with middle grade/tween readers, as I think they will relate to Ben and Rose and their coming of age journeys. There's also a great activity that readers can do with this book-Ben keeps his own memory box and personal museum. I think this could be a great activity for tweens to get them thinking about objects they would put in their own memory box museum.

Ben finds himself at the Museum of Natural History, and of course, any book that has kids running away to a museum must have a nod to The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. The author hides several references to Jamie, Claudia and Mrs. Basil E, which adds a fun extra to the book as the readers hunts them down.

A wonderful book that is sure to excite readers. I wonder if Wonderstruck will find it's way to any of the ALA Award lists come Janurary-I wouldn't be surprised if it did. I think tweens especially will devour this one! Wonderstruck is a book to be loved and savored over multiple readings.

Full Disclosure: Reviewed from ARC sent by the publisher


Comments

  1. This sounds great. I've been meaning to read his first book. Will definitely get to it and this one.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wonderstruck really sounds like a great read. I'll definitely have to check it out!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I can't wait to read this! I thought his first book was fantastic, and the mixture of text and drawings was just inspirational. I left a link for another inspirational book about a horseback riding program in Philadelphia based on a real story.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ah, yes, the Wonderstruck! I’ve heard so much good buzz about this. I also wouldn’t be surprised if it rounded out a few awards lists. It seems to be wildly popular already and very well done.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I also loved "Hugo" and can't wait to get my hands on a copy of "Wonderstruck". Glad to know that it met your expectations and beyond. Really looking forward to reading this one.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I agree, it was fabulous! I really didn't think it could possibly live up to Hugo Cabret, and in some ways I think I like it even more.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Alison-Yes-read both of them!!:)

    Jessi-I hope you read it-it's one of the best books of the year!

    Rhapsodyinbooks-His first book was very impressive and I'm very glad this one was just as amazing. I hope you get a chance to read it!

    Pam-So much buzz and the tweens will go crazy for it-I know Hugo Cabret is hardly ever on the shelf!

    Rummanah-Let me know what you think of it when you read it!

    Alyce-I have to say, when I first started reading it, I didn't think it was as good. But then I got pulled into the story and it was wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I was so glad I got to borrow an ARC of Wonderstruck...it is my favorite book of this year!! I just loved everything about it...the characters, the museum...so good! I even teared up when he mentioned From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler in the acknowledgements...one of my favorites as a kid!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ok hanging my head her - I haven't even read Hugo yet! I have tones of kids that have read, and loved, it but I just haven't. Now this one comes out and sounds fantastic, so I've got two to read!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. So glad to see Selzik has another book on the horizon! Would you by chance know where they are with the production of the Hugo Cabret movie?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Looks like a fantastic book, it goes to my reading list, thanks for the review.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Nicole-From the Mixed Up Files is one of my alltime favorites so I loved looking for the hidden nods to that book.

    Jill-YES! Read them both NOW! :)

    Campbele-Hugo (they changed the movie title) will be out at Thanksgiving this year! I can't wait to see it!

    Allysa-I hope you enjoy it!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I love hearing from other readers! Share your thoughts and chime in!

Popular posts from this blog

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Realistic Fiction Release Date: 2/26/2013 Add to Goodreads About the Book: Eleanor and Park are both misfits. When new girl Eleanor sits next to Park on the bus, they don't want anything to do with each other. But over the course of the school year, things change. It starts with comic books and becomes a friendship and a romance that the two will never forget. You never forget your first love. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: Have you ever had a book sit on your shelf that you've heard so much hype about? And you think that books sounds like it would be right up your alley, but you're in a reading slump and you're afraid to give it a try unless it fails? I knew Eleanor and Park sounded like my perfect book, but I was in such an after committee slump that I even though I knew this book would help, I just didn't want to be disappointed. I should have known better because Eleanor and Park was perfect and everything that I had hoped it wou

Contact Me

  I love to hear from fellow readers and librarians! Send me an email to say hello! You can reach me at greenbeanteenqueen (at) gmail (dot) com

Post Downton Abbey Reading List

Downton Abbey is over (with a shocking and frustrating ending!) and now I'm suffering Downton Abbey withdrawal. I've got a reading list full of books that I hope will satisfy my post-Downton Abbey cravings and I thought I'd share what's in my pile and get suggestions for other after Downton reads. Here's what I hope to be reading this year (a mix of YA and adult titles):                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  A couple Julian Fellowes reads:                And a few re-reads:                    Edited to add: What's on your Post-Downton Abbey reading list?