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A Letter from Brian Selznick
 Dear readers,
When I was a kid, two of my favorite books were by an amazing man named Remy Charlip. Fortunately and Thirteen fascinated me in part because, in both books, the very act of turning the pages plays a pivotal role in telling the story. Each turn reveals something new in a way that builds on the image on the previous page. Now that I'm an illustrator myself, I've often thought about this dramatic storytelling device and all of its creative possibilities.
My new book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, is a 550 page novel in words and pictures. But unlike most novels, the images in my new book don't just illustrate the story; they help tell it. I've used the lessons I learned from Remy Charlip and other masters of the picture book to create something that is not a exactly a novel, not quite a picture book, not really a graphic novel, or a flip book or a movie, but a combination of all these things.
I began thinking about this book ten years ago after seeing some of the magical films of Georges Méliès, the father of science-fiction movies. But it wasn't until I read a book called Edison's Eve: The Quest for Mechanical Life by Gaby Woods that my story began to come into focus. I discovered that Méliès had a collection of mechanical, wind-up figures (called automata) that were donated to a museum, but which were later destroyed and thrown away. Instantly, I imagined a boy discovering these broken, rusty machines in the garbage, stealing one and attempting to fix it. At that moment, Hugo Cabret was born.
A few years ago, I had the honor of meeting Remy Charlip, and I'm proud to say that we've become friends. Last December he was asking me what I was working on, and as I was describing this book to him, I realized that Remy looks exactly like Georges Méliès. I excitedly asked him to pose as the character in my book, and fortunately, he said yes. So every time you see Méliès in The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the person you are really looking at is my dear friend Remy Charlip, who continues to inspire everyone who has the great pleasure of knowing him or seeing his work.
Paris in the 1930's, a thief, a broken machine, a strange girl, a mean old man, and the secrets that tie them all together... Welcome to The Invention of Hugo Cabret.
Yours,
Brian Selznick |
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Brian Selznick on a "Deleted Scene" from The Invention of Hugo Cabret
This is a finished drawing that I had to cut from The Invention of Hugo Cabret. I was still rewriting the book when I had to begin the final art. There was originally a scene in the story where this character, Etienne, is working in a camera shop. On one of my research trips to Paris I spent an entire day visiting old camera shops and photographing cameras from the 1930's and earlier, as well as the facades of the shops themselves. I researched original French camera posters and made sure that the counter and the shelves were accurate to the time period. I did all the drawings in the book at 1/4 scale, so they were very small and I often had to use a magnifying glass to help me see what I was drawing. After I finished this drawing I continued to rewrite, and for various reasons I realized that I needed to move this scene from the camera shop to the French Film Academy, which meant that I had to cut this picture. I tried really hard to find ANOTHER moment when I could have Etienne in a camera shop, but, as painful as it was, I knew the picture had to go. I'm glad to see it up on the Amazon website because otherwise no one would have ever seen all those tiny cameras I researched and drew so carefully!
--Brian Selznick |
More from Brian Selznick
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The Houdini Box |
Walt Whitman: Words for America |
The Boy of a Thousand Faces |
Customer Reviews:
Best Book for Parent - Child to Read Together.......2007-10-12
My 5-year old and I read this book almost every night in about a month. The perfect blend of black and white drawings with increasing details and the captivating story line totally intrigued my son. He remembered all the little details that I'd forget and kept reminding me in the evening that it was time for us to read another chapter. After we finished it last night, he asked me - is there a Book TWO of Hugo Cabret, maybe called the Magics of Hugo Cabret, he suggested, is it coming out next year?
Now it will be hard for me to find a book to match this one.
The type of book you want your kids to read!.......2007-10-08
The Invention of Hugo Cabret is about an independent, intelligent young boy who maintains the clocks in a train station. Inheriting the job from his deadbeat uncle, Hugo lives within the walls of the station and must deal with the daily struggle of taking care of himself without any money. While he isn't working he obsesses over an automaton that his father had once worked on. Throughout the novel he strives to make it work again, hoping it will connect him to his dead father. Along the way he makes a new friend and learns that it is okay to depend on others for help.
What really makes this book unique are the hundreds of illustrations that are wonderfully drawn by Selznick. They actually take the place of words, they don't just illustrate what you have read. They are not meant to be skimmed over, but analyzed and appreciated.
This novel is the type of book you want your kids to read; it is well written, teaches lessons, presents strong characters and has a unique story.
Great Book for Boys.......2007-10-07
My 11-year-old son read this book in 2 days. He absolutely loved it, both the illustrations and the writing. "I liked the way the pictures told the story," he said. He wants to read more Brian Selznick now. Great books for boys don't grow on trees; this is a real winner.
Wonderful Blend of Pictures and Words.......2007-10-05
This was just an incredible book. A wonderful mix of pictures and words, it is fifty per cent graphic novel and fifty percent prose. An intriguing mystery set in Paris, certain to be enjoyed by readers both young and old.
It flows quickly - you will get much more out of it if you take your time with the pictures particularly. The detail in some of the scenes is well worth the time.
The characters are believable - youngsters forced to be older than their years in some cases, but still children at heart.
I was amazed to read the author notes at the end, about how much was based on actual creations.
Definitely an interesting, and recommended, read.
Unexpectedly Educational.......2007-09-30
Although it doesn't come across as a historical fiction piece, that's exactly what this book is. Much like the film Amadeus, The Invention of Hugo Cabret uses real life historical people to create an exaggerated (if not downright false) interpretive biography.
Works of this particular genre contain a strange mixture of true and false elements, and are actually good tools for teaching. True, they may lead to some initial misconceptions, but adequate research after the reading can clear these misconceptions up in a hurry. I wouldn't make a big deal out of a minor conception though, if in turn you get a wondrous discovery to go along with it.
From this book I learned that intricate machines were being invented long before computers and television. Robots that could draw and write as far back as perhaps the 18th century. Amazing. Why aren't we taught things like this in school? Probably because the textbooks that are issued make people of the past look like complete dimwits when that really isn't the case.
The revelation of the existence of ancient robots alone is enough for me to give this book a high amount of praise. But the artistry in the book brings it to another level. So much work went into the dozens and dozens of beautiful pencil illustrations that you'd have to be a complete jerk to not give Selznick at least a little respect for his efforts.
Often I have to read five or six unexciting books before I get to one that really makes me say, "Wow!" This is a "Wow!" book, and makes a fitting addition to any library. The risk of constructing it in such an unusual style has greatly paid off. Books like this are the reason I read.
I know I'm not the first one to say this, but this might be the book of the future we're looking at here.
Book Description
From ABC White House correspondent Martha Raddatz, the story of a brutal forty-eight-hour firefight that conveys in harrowing detail the effects of war not just on the soldiers but also on the families waiting back at home.
In April 2004, soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division were on a routine patrol in Sadr City, Iraq, when they came under surprise attack. Over the course of the next forty-eight hours, 8 Americans would be killed and more than 70 wounded. Back home, as news of the attack began filtering in, the families of these same men, neighbors in Fort Hood, Texas, feared the worst. In time, some of the women in their circle would receive "the call"-the notification that a husband or brother had been killed in action. So the families banded together in anticipation of the heartbreak that was certain to come.
The firefight in Sadr City marked the beginning of the Iraqi insurgency, and Martha Raddatz has written perhaps the most riveting account of hand-to-hand combat to emerge from the war in Iraq. This intimate portrait of the close-knit community of families Stateside-the unsung heroes of the military -distinguishes The Long Road Home from other stories of modern warfare, showing the horror, terror, bravery, and fortitude not just of the soldiers who were wounded and killed but also of the wives and children whose lives now are forever changed.
Customer Reviews:
Thanks .......2007-09-29
Thank you i got the book today and have read a little bit of it .. it got here before i thought it would so thank you
Long Road Home is a quick read........2007-09-24
Martha Raddatz does a good job of making you experience an episode in Iraq from the viewpoint of the soldiers. She lets them tell the story. Perhaps it would have been good to include more of her viewpoint or some corollary material but it is fine book as it is written and portrays an important story in this horrible war.
PHENOMENAL.......2007-09-20
I don't ever write reviews on here but this is one of the best books I've ever read. Written from many different points of views between Iraq and the United States, it pulls you in and makes you want to keep reading. I have told all of my family and friends (and a few random people in the bookstore) they must read this book. it truely is phenomenal and makes me cry and support the soldiers and their families so much.
'Long Road Home' - remarkable view of War on Terror .......2007-09-03
The 'Long Road Home' captures a side to the War on Terror that Americans, or anyone for that matter, rarely glimpse.
Author and journalist Martha Raddatz takes us into the hearts and minds of some of America's sons (and their families) on one of the toughest days in modern military history. We witness a 'from top to bottom' look at how Soldiers, from the Army's 1st Cavalry Division, respond in a series of deadly desperate circumstances - outmanned, outgunned and surrounded. The day - 4 April 2004, aptly became known as Black Sunday - in Iraq.
This is one of those rare insights, through the eyes of those who fought and died ...those who fought and lived ...and those who still fight each day with their demons. Martha Raddatz honored the Soldiers and families of the 1st Cavalry in this deeply moving record of what happened one day in April 2004.
Clearly, she takes the story telling to a higher plain. She's not one to embrace low-hanging fruit of political ax-grinding and blame-game antics. She keeps faith, in writing this book, with the valor of the Soldiers and families she introduces to us.
A harrowing war story, it is also filled with indelible marks of hope, conviction, compassion, determination and courage. Our family was deeply and forever affected by the events of this day of days. 'The Long Road Homes' signature is the telling of many Soldier's experiences - among them, my own son, Corporal Loren Haller.
Simply excellent.......2007-08-24
This is a wonderfully written and compelling book about a fierce battle in Sadr City, Iraq. One of the best war-time books I've ever read.
Book Description
Some boxes should never be opened.
For the first time, the complete A Series of Unfortunate Events – including the highly feared #13: The End – is available in one awful package!
We can't keep you from succumbing to this international bestselling phenomenon, but we can hide all thirteen books in a huge, elaborately illustrated, shrink–wrapped box, perfect for filling an empty shelf or deep hole.
From The Bad Beginning to The End, this box set, adorned with Brett Helquist art from front to back, is the only choice for people who simply cannot get enough of a bad thing!
Ages 10+
Customer Reviews:
Disappointed in shipping condition..........2007-10-08
I have purchased many items from Amazon and this is the first complaint. We bought this very expensive book set for our grandson as a birthday gift. The 13 books came in its own display box which was severly damaged in shipment. His Birthday was this weekend and had to give the gift before retuning it. For the price of books and not even free shipping they should have been packaged more securely.
Haven't seen it yet.......2007-09-12
I purchased this product for my granddaughter for Christmas, so of course I haven't seen it. However the service from Amazon was great. From ordering to reciving this product we've had great service
A Series of Unfortunate Events, Books 1-13.......2007-07-24
I think the series of unfortunate event is really good because the author tell the story in a fun way, unlike other stories, this book is really exciting. When I finish a chapter, I want to keep reading on because I wanted to know the ending quickly. I really like the character - violet on this story, she is really smart and calm all the times. I think the ending is really cool because it did not exactly tell us what happen, it leave us space for us to think
Unfortunate Events.......2007-06-13
A series of unfortunate events book one, by Limonene snicket
Have you ever been in a foster home? Have you ever experienced deaths like your mom or dad? This story is about three kids, violet, klaws, and sunny. Violet is the one how likes to invent things. Klaus is the one who is hand with words. Sunny is just good at biting. Then their uncle who is after their fortune their parents left them. He is very mean and will mar4ry violet for her money. If she doesn't sine sunny dies. Will she sine or not read the book and find out.
I liked the book because it is entertaining and because you never know what will happen next. Also because it is full of mystery. Last because there is always an answer for your question. I hope you read the book "A series of unfortunate event book one."
Best Books Ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2007-06-02
I have read a lot in my ten years of life,but out of all those books,A Series Of Unfortunate Events have been the best. Some of it is funny, some of it is scary, and some of it is a little weird. If you mix that all together, you get 13 wonderful books. I wouldn't reccomend it for kids under 10 though, because like I said it is scary, although it's not always as scary as Lemony Snicket says it is. Some of it is a little violent, actually. Other than that they are great books. Oh, and people have been complaining about how some of the pages are uneven. That is how they are supposed to be! The End still leaves you with some questions, but when you find out the answer to a question your like, "O MY GOSH! VFD!"! And some times Lemony Snicket does something very unexpected, like in the 6th book when Esme Squalor pushes them down the dark elevator shaft, the next 2 pages were nothing but black, which was very scary because then I was reading in the car at night with no light but my book light. There are 2 reasons I am going to stop now. Reason #1: That is pretty much all you need to know, and Reasom #2 My hands ache from typing for 20 minutes strait. BYE BYE AND HAPPY READING!! :)
Customer Reviews:
The Best Book (review by Parise, age 6).......2007-10-14
I really liked this book because I like books with adventures in them. I didn't want to stop reading it. I really like Lucky because she is funny. Miles kind of acts like a three-year-old and not a five-year-old, but it didn't actually upset me. My favorite part is the part when Lucky is in the dust storm. The adventure is really cool.
The higher power of lucky - KcSrOcks.......2007-10-12
Lucky hasn't had it very well. Her father had abandoned her. Even her mother died in the desert. And Lucky now lives in a tiny dusty town of about 43 residents.
Lucky Timbler was a ten year old girl living in Hard Pan, California.
In Luckys town there is not alot of impressed things there. There is a improvised beauty salon. A post office and a Found Object Wind Chime Museum. Also the visitors center. But if only she, Lucky, could find the Higher Power. Then she could stabilize her life.
Lucky doesn't feel stable at all. She lives with her guardian, Brigitte, a Frenchwoman and Lucky's father's first wife. Brigitte is homesick, she still speaks to Lucky with French terms and most importantly, has kept her passport. Lucky knows that Brigitte will in Hard Pan and then head back to France.
Brigitte and Lucky lives in a improvised home. Comprised of three trailers linked together and on concrete blocks. Lucky haso only one friend there in Hard Pan, a knot-fantatic boy named Lincoln. Lincoln is followed around by the sad 5 year old boy named Miles with a penchant for cookies and "Are You My Mother?"
Lucky remains to follow the tweleve step program. The next step after rock bottom, the getting control of your life step. Lucky decides to run away during the dust strom and taking a survival pack of her own design.Better leave than be left.
I think that this book is really good. Susan Patron is a great author. she never wants you to put the book down. Its that you never want ot stop reading. And she leaves you with a lot of questions when you finish some parts. I would recommend this book to everyone. And people who would like to read the new 2007 newberry book.
The higher power of lucky.......2007-10-12
Lucky hasn't had it well. Her father had abandoned her. Also her mother
died in the desert, and she now lives in a tiny dusty town of 43 residents
Lucky Trimble a 10 year old girl lives in Hard Pan, California. Lucky really doesn't feel stable. She lives with her guardian, Brigitte, aFrenchwoman and her father's first wife. Briggitte is sick but she is homesick and she talks to Lucky in French terms of endearment. Most Brigitte has been keeping her passport. Lucky knows what that means that Brigitte would leave Lucky in Hard Pan and go back to France.
Lucky and Brigitte live in a improvised home, of three trailers linked together and on concrete blocks. Lucky had only one friend in that town. A boy named Lincoln. Lincoln was knotfantatic, and he was always followed around by a sad 5 year old boy who waas named Miles with cravings for cookies and "Are you my Mom?"
Lucky remians to follow the twelve step program on the next step after rock bottom or the getting control of your life step. Lucky also decides that she wants to run away during a dust storm. but taking a survival pack of her own design with her.
I really like this book. Susan Patron is a really good auther and she makes you never want to put down the book but to keep on reading. I would recommend this book to everyone. Especially people who would like to read the 2007 newberr medal book.
Scrotum.......2007-10-10
Scrotum scrotum scrotum, scroty scrot scrotum. Scrotum, scrot scroty-scrot; scrotum scrotbag. Scrotum scrotum scrotum, scrotumish scrotums scrot scrotly (scrtotum). Beanbag.
Not a Newbery.......2007-10-07
I have read 90% of the Newbery winners and I have to say that I was disappointed with this year's choice. Don't get me wrong, it is worth reading, but not worthy of this distinguished award. I just don't think it is a page turner for any age. While the characters are well developed, it just didn't spark for me. However, I read Rules, an honorable Newbery, and I felt this book was a better suited for the award. I really wonder how the judges choose their book. Sometimes, they are right on the money, Holes & Because of Winn Dixie, while other times they are off. Unfortunately The Higher Power of Lucky is not one of their better choices.
Book Description
Parents and teachers of learning disabled children have tumed to Sally Smith's No Easy Answers for information, advice, and comfort for more than fifteen years. In this revised, trade paperback edition of the latest information on learning disabilities in a clear, honest, and accessible way. This completely updated edition contains new chapters on Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and on the public laws that guarantee an equal education for learning disabled children. There is also an entirely new section on learning disabled adults and the laws that protect them. Sally Smith, the parent of a learning disabled child herself, guides parents along every step of the way, from determining if their child is learning disabled to challenging the school system to provide special services. Drawing on more than twenty-five years of experience at her own nationally acclaimed school, she also offers valuable strategies to teachers who are anxious or discouraged as they struggle with learning disabled students. Although there are no easy answers, Sally Smith's experience, wealth of information, and sense of humor provide essential support.
Customer Reviews:
"No Easy Answers".......2000-04-02
Being the Parent of a L.D. (Learning Disabled)Child, I found the hardest part of the entire process to be finding a doctor who could accurately access my child's disability and then finding guidelines to help him grow to his fullest potential. My Early Childhood Development Doctor gave me "No Easy Answers". This book has been the ONLY one which accurately describes my son's problems and which precisely offers guidelines for his education and for living successfully with him. This is our bible on how to best communicate with our Son, how best to integrate him successfully into our family of six, and how to foster his strong points and nurture his weaknesses. I whole heartedly recommend this book for any parent struggling with a child with neurological difficulties. There is hope for our children. This book sheds some light into an otherwise overwhelming task. Good Reading!
Average customer rating:
- The 36 Hour Day
- 36 Hour Day
- A MUST read for anyone caring for an Alzheimers patient
- The 36-Hour Day Book
- Everything I needed to know
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The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for Persons with Alzheimer Disease, Related Dementing Illnesses, and Memory Loss in Later Life (3rd Edition)
Nancy L. Mace , and
Peter V. Rabins
Manufacturer: Wellness Central
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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ASIN: 0446618764 |
Book Description
Updated with the newest information on Alzheimer's Disease and dementia, this bestselling book has remained the "bible" for families who are giving care toafflicted loved ones.
Download Description
Updated with the newest information on Alzheimer's Disease and dementia, this bestselling book has remained the "bible" for families who are giving care toafflicted loved ones.
Customer Reviews:
The 36 Hour Day.......2007-10-11
A thorough review of all anyone would need to Know about Altzhiemers, including helpful suggestions on how to deal with this problem and where to get help.
36 Hour Day.......2007-10-10
A must for all caregivers and family with someone who has dementia. In reading the introduction to the book, I cried because it was so real to me.
A MUST read for anyone caring for an Alzheimers patient.......2007-10-02
This is the best book I have read regarding living with and caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease.
So very helpful.
The 36-Hour Day Book.......2007-06-10
I had this book when my mother had Alzheimers. I bought this for a friend whose wife has Alzheimers. It is concise, supportive with lots of information at a reasonable price.
Everything I needed to know.......2007-05-22
A wonderful book that has reinforced my observations and been enlightening about areas that I was struggling with. It is clearly and articulately written, and easy to read as well. I throughly and heartily recommend it.
Amazon.com
Picking up from the final pages of the Pentultimate Peril, this farewell installment to the ridiculously (and deservedly!) popular A Series of Unfortunate Events places our protagonists right where we last left them: on a large, wooden boat in the middle of the ocean, trapped with their nemesis Count Olaf, who has armed himself with a helmet-full of deadly Medusoid Mycelium.
The situation quickly and--this being the Baudelaires--predictably deteriorates. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny find themselves tossed in a storm so terrible that our beloved narrator spends four pages describing how he cannot describe it. From this point on, fans of the series' smarty-pants wordplay and acrobatic narrative can rest assured that they're in for more of the same (and how) in this 368-page finale, and Daniel Handler's deadpan Snicket continues to tutor a generation in self-referential humor (including one particularly funny bit regarding three very short men carrying a large, flat piece of wood, painted to look like a living room). Snicket notes, of course, that if you read the entire series, "your only reward will be 170 chapters of misery in your library and countless tears in your eyes."
There's one big question, though, for anyone who's made it through "the thirteenth chapter of the thirteenth volume in this sad history": is the final book a fitting end? That question is probably best-answered by one of The End's most oft-repeated phrases: It depends on how you look at it. Those looking for conclusive resolution to the series' many, many mysteries may be disappointed, although some big questions do get explicit answers. Not surprisingly for a work so deliberately labyrinthine, though, even the absence of an answer can be sort of an answer--and reaction to The End can be something of a Rorschach test for readers. Or, as Lemony Snicket says, "Perhaps you don't know yet what the end really means." --Paul Hughes
Book Description
Like an off–key violin concert, the Roman Empire, or food poisoning, all things must come to an end. Thankfully, this includes A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. The thirteenth and final installment in the groundbreaking series will answer readers' most burning questions: Will Count Olaf prevail? Will the Baudelaires survive? Will the series end happily? If there's nothing out there, what was that noise?
Then again, why trouble yourself with unfortunate resolutions? Avoid the thirteenth and final book of Lemony Snicket's international bestselling series and you'll never have to know what happens.
Ages 10+
Customer Reviews:
Unsatisfying.......2007-09-24
I had such high hopes for at least a few answers to all the superbly intertwined questions developed in the previous 12 books. Unfortunately, after finishing "The End," very few were truly answered, and a long laundry list of questions remain dangling in the wind waiting for resolution. In fact I feel like this book created more questions than it answered. I can appreciate the author's style and desire to leave some of the resolution up to the reader, but in my opinion, it was too much, and I was left very unsatisfied. After 12 books of building suspense, "The End" is very anticlimactic.
Really fun book to read with children.......2007-08-26
I almost didn't read this book after watching the dreadful movies, but it was recommended, so I gave it a shot. I like to pick fun books and read them with my children. My 8 and 10 year old sons have really enjoyed these books, and it keeps them interested in reading. I have been hooked on Harry Potter, and these books do not captivate my interest anywhere near to the same degree, but they are a really fun series that I have had a great time reading with my kids.
A tacky ending to a great series.......2007-08-25
I've read most of the Series of unfortunate events books twice and after finishing the 12th one, I was very excited for the last to come out. The end of the 12th book sets up a great stage for the series end, were all our burning questions will be answered.
So, I get the 13th one the day it comes out. I read the book non-stop, waiting for the grand finale that will reveal everything.
So what did the ending reveal? nothing good. It really only reveals one thing, and its not even something I would have thought about if they hadn't brought it up. The only redeeming thing about the ending is that count olaf dies, which I'm sure everybody was eager for.
I would rather have Lemony Snicket release a FAQ answering all the mysteries in the series than having read this book
The World is Quiet Here.......2007-08-21
This book is so much more then i can put down. It is all so speachlessly true and powerful. I cried 4 times-and then went into shock! It's like Lemony says my thoughts. It is all so emotional-everything from Beatrice to the RING. V.F.D is expecialy important. I can not think of anything it needs. I promise that this book will be more then anything you have ever read. You won't be disapointed in the least. Please choose to purchase this book. If you don't you'll need help. That way you can learn the mystery of the ring and all of the other secrets that are dangerous to you- rather you know them or not. He warned you from the very bad beginning that it might be more then you can handle.
Highly disappointing.......2007-08-05
While I loved the first twelve books, and even reread them all carefully in final anticipation of the thirteenth, I really hated The End. Unbelievably disappointing. So disappointing that I gave away my entire series of first edition hardbacks.
Book Description
A never-before-written exposé on catching child predators, from the creator of the powerful NBC Dateline series
Over 40,000,000 Americans have seen Dateline NBCÂ's ongoing “To Catch a Predator” series, with an average of 11 million viewers per episode. So far, the Dateline series has led to the arrest of 183 men and shown that child predators can be anyone—even those most trusted in the community—including rabbis, doctors, and teachers.
In his book To Catch a Predator, Chris Hansen, the creator and on-air correspondent for DatelineÂ's most successful series, looks deeper into the world of child predators. The book expands beyond the Dateline series to include commentary from psychological and criminal experts about the origins and methods of child predators, and includes substantive advice for both parents and children on how to protect kids on the Internet. Hansen also looks at the current methods for treating child predators and interviews several of the men seen on the Dateline show to follow up on their lives since being arrested. To Catch a Predator presents a strong analysis of what some feel is a child predator epidemic and a startling look at the shortcomings of our systems and society.
Customer Reviews:
TO CATCH A PREDATOR.......2007-08-25
I think every person that has a child in their home should read this book. I also think children over 14 years of age should read this book.
Get the Book!!!!!!!!.......2007-08-04
If you have the internet,if you have kids (THIS IS A MUST READ FOR PARENTS!), if you love kids, if you work around kids, if you hate the actions of pedophiles that become sexual predators and feel they should be incarated unitl Jesus comes back, or you think hey should get treatment and that is the best solution, get the freakin book!
It covers all of these issues and all of the operations and catching these sexual predatory dirtbags. ( Ofcourse I'm a "locker upper!")It is a great read, Chris Hansen is well spoken on all issues, and just does a great job with this one! Its full of information and sometimes will make you say "What" and sometimes "HMMMMM." It is probably the best beginners book for reading on the issue of online predators. There are more explicit and problably more scientific ones but this should be on every internet crimes against children bookshelf. GET THE BOOK!!!
Every parents should read this book!.......2007-06-05
This book is written by the host of the popular NBC Dateline series, To Catch a Predator. If you are a parent, you should read this book.
Read this Book..........2007-06-03
if you have children and a computer.
More than just a rundown of the TO CATCH A PREDATOR Dateline NBC series (although it does do that), this book also contains heartbreaking stories of children who have been exploited -- and in some cases murdered -- by predators they met on the Internet.
Chris Hansen does a great job of illustrating the fact that the computer and the Internet, as a whole, are useful tools that even younger children can take advantage of. But his tips and hints for protecting your children from online predators are something that EVERY parent needs to read -- and then share with their kids.
While I tried to avoid scaring my two children (ages 10 and 6), I have sat them down and discussed the dangers that can be found on the Internet. Just as predators in real life don't always look like what they are, I think my kids now understand that people they could meet online aren't necessarily who they claim to be, either.
I highly recommend all parents, especially those of teens and pre-teens, who have a computer pick up a copy of TO CATCH A PREDATOR. You'll be amazed, frightened, and instilled with a sense of urgency when it comes to the protection of your kids.
Catch a Predator.......2007-05-10
I enjoyed the book, it expands on the television series and gives some insight into protecting your children. It is a great tool for anyone that has children and gives some great tips on using the internet and also what to look for if you have a child that uses the internet.
Average customer rating:
- Fun Home: A Family Biography
- An Epic Journey Toward Honesty
- a new genre
- Achingly True and Elegant
- Just amazing.
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Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic
Alison Bechdel
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
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Epileptic
ASIN: 0618477942 |
Book Description
This breakout book by Alison Bechdel takes its place alongside the unnerving, memorable, darkly funny family memoirs of Augusten Burroughs and Mary Karr. It's a father-daughter tale pitch-perfectly illustrated with Bechdel's sweetly gothic drawings andlike Marjane Satrapi's Persepolisa story exhilaratingly suited to the graphic memoir form. Meet Alison's father, a historic preservation expert and obsessive restorer of the family's Victorian house, a third-generation funeral home director, a high school English teacher, an icily distant parent, and a closeted homosexual who, as it turns out, is involved with male students and a family babysitter. Through narrative that is alternately heartbreaking and fiercely funny, we are drawn into a daughter's complex yearning for her father. And yet, apart from assigned stints dusting caskets at the family-owned "fun home," as Alison and her brothers call it, the relationship achieves its most intimate expression through the shared code of books. When Alison comes out as homosexual herself in late adolescence, the denouement is swift . . . graphic . . . and redemptive.
Customer Reviews:
Fun Home: A Family Biography.......2007-10-09
I read through Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel in one sitting, steamrolling through it like it was my job.
This book is categorized as a graphic novel, and I see it completely that way. It's very wordy, and Bechdel's style is spare, though there are thoughtful details that stick out: wrinkles on her parents' faces; exact passages from books and plays; the awnings of her childhood home. She kept a journal when young, and this book seems almost more like a review of that journal, fleshing the words out with remembered images and feelings.
Her use of text as an image is interesting, and though it's a true reflection of her past, I felt it a little overused. Her journal entries, illustrated, are an example, her childish scrawls being overcome by OCD symbols and slashes being important but not so much so that every little bit had to be illustrated. Her father and she had their best correspondences through letters, and she illustrates both his profuse knowledge about the books she was reading and also some of his old love letters to her mother when he was in the army. So much illutrated text--I tended to simply skim over them and not read their handwritten messages.
I liked the photographs that she drew in, however. The style of drawing changes in these photographs, looking more realistic, as if trying to say something about the difference between truth and illusion when these pictures were taken, and are interestingly juxtaposed with her comical hand holding them.
All right, enough essay-writing. I thought that the characterizations of her mother and father were brilliant, though at the expense of the rest of her family and ultimately of the author/narrator herself. You get the sense that she's somewhat of an aloof personality, but how much of that carries over after the funeral and into the rest of her life is unknown.
The book is less of a catharsis and more of a realization of how she was a mirror image of her father, a theme that resonates with me quite strongly.
Whether or not you are a comic lover, you can enjoy this novel. There aren't any of those comical tropes of 'bam!' or 'single bound!', or even much digression from standard, square panels, but the subject matter is so compelling that you won't even care. This is not an action or comedy; the nearest comparison that a non-geek might know is Maus by Art Spiegelman, though the subject matter of course is not so apocalyptic.
On the other hand, if you love action-packed stuff, then this might not be for you. Though there are a few pages that would push a movie into R-rated territory, there isn't any violence or much foul language--systemic of a world where Bechdel grew up, not knowing the 'seedy' things that her father did yet knowing that there was some sort of undercurrent.
I gave this book 5 stars, despite my nitpicking, because this is a seriously good piece of work that everyone should read. It's a great way to transition from the written word to the graphic novel, as it doesn't rely too heavily on comic tropes. If you like Maus, you'll love this one.
An Epic Journey Toward Honesty.......2007-10-01
When your father is an exacting home renovator, meticulous interior decorator, local mortician, high shcool English teacher, and closeted homosexual, who you suspect likely had sexual relations with adolescent boys - if you're like most autobiopic authors these days, then you'd probably write your own private hyperbolic "Running With Scissors," throwing everything up against the wall, and crudely splattering your immediate family's history across the pages of your tunnel-visioned, self-promoting, and sensational memoir. But Alison Bechdel is neither an ordinary author nor a poorly educated one. She has both an independently crafted intellect and a capable library of classic literary sources and themes. She does not choose to focus on minutia or overly far-reaching causalities. Her first autobiography is a corncopia of expertly-coordinated art forms, carved into a concise, gravitational, and enlightening narrative.
I highly recommend not only buying and reading this book, but I also encourage studying Bechdel's perspectives, reasoning connections, and causal theories.
This book is a modern heroic quest to find meanings, understandings, and truths in intimate behaviors, wants, and relationships.
Many authors focus on picturesquely and emotionally describing the abnormalities of their past. Bechdel is fully capable of parroting those common abilities. But her aims are further reaching and more well-intended than simply trying for accurate multi-sensory recollection. She goes happily beyond and effectively reveals the origins of some of her creative forces. She sympathetically and honestly portrays the cultural, familial, and private paradoxes that likely disabled so many of her (and our) loved ones who are not ordinary in their desires.
Anyone who incorrectly thinks women can't be visually-centric need only read this book. Bechdel's visual memory is both astounding and rewarding for the rest of us. And her other areas of memory, from smells to feelings to current events to literary quotes in her educational development are indicative of an artist who tries to consider, evaluate, and remember more than most people do. She does not filter her memories through rose colored glasses, but she does effectively step outside status quo lenses to make her own evaluations and portrayals.
Reading some of the recent popular homosexual memoirs, a person might think homosexuals are NOT predominantly driven by love or desire, but rather driven by poor experiences, revenge, whistleblowing, or hatred. Where most authors blame their family and past relationships for their own problems, Bechdel does not. She sees more perspectives and she is better educated than most. Bechdel chooses to not simply blame others for her past OCD, inabilities, and abnormalities, even while she illustrates capably the environment in which those conditions arose.
The title "Fun Home" probably has many intended meanings, like Jeannette Wells memoir entitled "The Glass Castle" has many transparent meanings. Both memoirs speak of fun times, but I think Bechdel sees even more of the good intentions in her father's "mad" pursuits than Wells perceived. Both fathers showed flashes of brilliance mixed with Achilles Heels so notorious, it's a wonder they could walk at all sometimes. And in Wells' defense, at least Bechdel's father was better read and less often intoxicated.
The title "Fun Home" is not singularly intended with negative or sarcastic connotations. Alison Bechdel shows us how she had fun growing up, as much fun as a person could have dealing with the ever present spoken and unspoken, addressed and unaddressed familial conflicts constantly battling in her home.
I think it would be insufficent to call this a young woman's "coming of age" book. It may be more accurate to say this book is about a family coming of age. And I think the publication of this beautiful story is an assertive exercise in encouraging societal sensibilities to come of age.
Bechdel does not seek to excuse all of her father's behaviors, but rather to help others understand them. She wants more people to understand what can happen to very intelligent and talented people when they are incorrectly trained to believe that some of their primary drives and loves are sinful, shameful, or should be killed or hidden. She writes:
"I suppose a lifetime spent hiding one's erotic truth could have a cummulative renunciatory effect. Sexual shame is in itself a kind of death. Ulysses, of course, was banned for many years by people who found its honesty obscene."
I felt pretty good that I was able to not cry while reading the book. But after I read the last page, the tears just flowed.
a new genre.......2007-09-26
I didn't know that graphic novels could be so smart. I felt smarter after reading this one, and also very moved by a sad story. This book doesn't have good guys and bad guys, which is how you know it's not a typical comic.
In addition to a great tale, the art is so beautiful. What a tremendous book.
Achingly True and Elegant.......2007-08-25
This memoir could have been called "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" but that title is taken. Nevertheless, that is the most apt description for Fun Home that I can think of. Alison Bechdel's spare prose and simple, black-and-white line drawings convey an emotional complexity that will push buttons for many, if not all, readers because in one way or another most of us suffered childhoods that tested our abilities to make sense of the senseless.
My own childhood was nothing like Bechdel's, yet at the same time it was exactly like hers. All of the details are different, while all of the feelings are the same. I would say that at the heart of Fun Home lies Bechdel's need to justify to herself the love she felt (and continues to feel) for a father who was too wrapped up in his own identity conflicts to even acknowledge, much less help address, his child's. And who was too weak even to live out his full two score and seven, taking his life sometime in his 40s when Bechdel was just out of college.
Bechdel's contempt for her father is apparent, as is her love. She is at once angry and admiring, cynical about his motives and proud of his accomplishments. Her ambivalence is nearly overwhelming, and something that I suspect many of us share in relation to our parents. In the end, I believe, the lucky ones among us come to some inner accommodation wherein we are able to forgive our parents for their lapses, even those that are quite literally sinful, and honor the things they were able to do that live on in our hearts and minds after they are gone.
Fun Home is a beautiful book whose drawings aid the reader's imagination in fleshing out details of an early life that was deeply felt and well lived. I highly recommend it.
Just amazing........2007-08-22
I just want to say, I had never read Alison Bechdel before I read a review of this book in Bitch Magazine. I picked it up and am now a huge fan of hers. This book is incredibly well thought-out and I think that many people will see their own story reflected in hers in that, as a child (as a human for that matter), you see your parents as end-all, be-all, endlessly fascinating human beings...almost as if they were Adam and Eve...It's such a strange paradox in that they existed for a long time before you did, they they do or don't take care of you, that no matter what the status, everyone has parents...you pore over seeminly innocuous details of their lives searching for some "truth", you compare them favorably and unfavorably to other people's parents...you put together pieces of the puzzle for yourself where there is no information...but at the end of the day, they are just people who make mistakes, no more, no less. This story is mainly about a daughter's fascination with her father and his life/secrets, an attempt to get to the root of a completely tragic experience and a reconciliation with herself and her own grief and (misplaced) guilt.
I met Alison at the NYC Comic Con and she was pretty fascinating herself. This book has been a obvious victory for her as well as a labor of love and a harrowing journey. Once I finished this book, I bought the DTWOF books and was bowled over. It's a twenty year long soap opera with aging characters, intricate story lines, whip-smart commentary on social, governmental and civil rights issues, and funny too boot.
Average customer rating:
- Great series
- As always...
- Ark Angel Best in Series
- Ark Angel
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Ark Angel (Alex Rider)
Anthony Horowitz
Manufacturer: Puffin
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Point Blank (Alex Rider Adventure)
ASIN: 0142407380
Release Date: 2007-04-05 |
Book Description
The sniperÂ's bullet nearly killed him. But Alex Rider managed to survive . . . just in time for more trouble to come his way. When kidnappers attempt to snatch a fellow patient from the exclusive hospital where Alex is recovering, he knows he has to stop him. But the boy he saves is no ordinary patient: He is the son of Nikolai Drevin, one of the richest men in the world. The eccentric billionaire has been targeted by Force Three, a group of eco-terrorists who claim his project Ark Angel—the first luxury hotel in outer space—is a danger to the environment. Soon Alex discovers that Force Three will stop at nothing to destroy Ark Angel, even if it means sending four hundred tons of molten glass and steel hurtling down to Earth and killing millions . . . unless Alex can stop them.
Customer Reviews:
Great series.......2007-10-07
Last year my son bought the first 5 books in this series from the school book order. This last month, I finally read the whole series. He bought this book this summer. I love the spy and all that stuff, I am a fan of the Bourne movies, I tried reading the books, but there were too many swear words. So now these books. I love them, they are action packed have you at the edge of your seat and I can say that it doesn't bother me that my ten year old son keeps reading them over and over. It is fun to read the same things that your kids love and love it so much your self. I am addicted to this series. This book was great on it's own, you don't need the whole series for back ground. But reading them all is so much fun.
As always..........2007-09-05
He's done it again!! Anthony Horowitz perfecty presents the next book in his series. I loved it.
** For people who have never read the books start in order with Stormbreaker. Make sure you read the book before you see the movie!!
Ark Angel Best in Series.......2007-08-11
Both my 15 and 11 year old sons read the Alex Rider book series and they loved Ark Angel the best out of all the books so far. They are already asking for me to pre-order the next book.
Ark Angel.......2007-08-02
Anything to get my young son to read is great. He loved the Alex Rider series of books.
English Paper.......2007-06-08
"He didn't even make it halfway down the corridor. The full force of a twenty-pound oxygen cylinder hit him right between the legs. His face went mauve and he dropped the knife... He crumpled, eyes bulging." Usually M16 and the CIA don't chose 14 year old to be a spy, but Alex is an exception. Alex almost is killed on every mission he goes on. Alex Rider has been in some bad situations, but nothing tops what is in this book. First, he was sent to the hospital because of a nearly fatal sniper bullet. Then he was "accidentally" kidnapped. He was almost killed in a burning building. Then he tries to get two weeks of R & R. but he has to try to spend it with one of the richest people in the world. Nikolie Drevin (the rich man) challenges Alex to a go-kart race. Sounds easy? Try racing against someone who will do whatever it takes to win (even killing), oh and did I mention their going over 80 MPH! The karts are open wheeled and have no roll cage. The last person to race Nikolie had a broken arm, broken ribs, and a fractured skull. Drevin finds out Alex works for M16 and the CIA. Drevin tried to kill him by locking him in a sunken ship when Alex went scuba diving. Alex gets back to the beach and hides. He tries to see if Drevin is going to run but is captured. He gets away then kite surfs about eight miles before the CIA rescues him. A rocket caring a bomb is taken to Ark Angel and Alex either has to defuse it of move it (the bomb that is). Alex succeeds and lands in the waters off Australia. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Alex Rider series or likes realistic fiction books.
I like this book because it isn't too far from what can happen today. Like when Alex is trapped in the sunken WW2 ship. And when he's trapped in the burning building.
I also like how he was able to get away (for a little bit) from the people that try to kidnap him. He got rid of "Silver Tooth" by using a defibrillator on his neck. He got rid of "Spectacles" with an air tank in between the legs. "Combat Jacket" was hit in the chest with a ten-pound medicine. And "Metal Watch" was "sucked" into a MRI machine.
When Alex went to space was cool and funny. Whenever he tried to push of a wall gently, he would launch himself. Then he saw Kasper (not the ghost!). He had a knife and tried to kill Alex. Alex wins (of course) and moves the bomb. Then he lands in the water on earth.
A. Snively
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