Wonder Struck

                                        By Brian Selznick

From author and illustrator of The Invention of Hugo Cabret, this book contains all of Selznick's unique style, technique and characteristics. Wonderstruck is composed of both text and illustrations to convey the plot and significant details to the reader.  Unlike most other books, the illustrations are a necessity to the storyline. Each picture not only compliments the text, but defines meaning and a continuation of the plot. The reader must be able to make inferences and process the underlying message of the illustrations  in combination with the text. Even though this book contains a vast quantity of illustrations, it is not intended for an audience of young children.  Children in the upper grades and adults are the target audience because they have developed the mental capacity to absorb meaning through subtle clues, comparison, and inferencing. 

Wonderstruck can be considered a challenging read because it intertwines two different stories from two separate time periods that contain several hidden similarities. The stories gradually immerse together at the end, but keep the reader literally "struck" by wonder predicting how and why the stories will coexist as one. The plot transition of each story move at the exact same time and place which serves as a technique to challenge the reader. For example, the girl from Hoboken, New Jersey in 1927 leaves her house at the exact moment the boy from the first story leaves his (yet he is in Gunflint Lake, Minnesota in 1977.)  The reader is only told once at the beginning the place and time of the separate stories. Selznick brilliantly and cleverly combines elements both unique to each story and shared between to =immerse the reader in the book's content. 

The first page of the book contains the quote: "Sooner or later, the lightening comes to us all. -Gregory Maguire, A Lion Among Men" to introduce the element of 'lightening' (both figuratively and literally) present in the book.  I would recommend this book for high school readers or advanced readers in the upper elementary school grades. I know Hugo Cabret was popular among younger readers as well but I personally fund this book far more complex. Younger readers will enjoy the stunning illustrations and may be able to follow the stories along, but older students will gain the most meaning and significance from this book. 

Here is a link to the book's website for more information:

http://www.wonderstruckthebook.com/