Brian Selznick (born July 14, 1966) is an American illustrator and author best known as the writer of '' The Invention of Hugo Cabret'' (2007), '' Wonderstruck'' (2011), ''The Marvels'' (2015) and ''Kaleidoscope'' (2021). He won the 2008

Caldecott Medal The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

for U.S. picture book illustration recognizing ''The Invention of Hugo Cabret''. He is also known for illustrating children's books such as the covers of Scholastic's 20th-anniversary editions of the ''

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

'' series.

Life and career

Selznick, the oldest of three children of a Jewish family, was born and grew up in

East Brunswick, New Jersey East Brunswick is a Township (New Jersey), township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The suburban bedroom community is part of the New York metropolitan area and is located on the southern sho ...

, where he graduated in 1984 from East Brunswick High School. He is the son of Lynn (Samson) and Roger E. Selznick. His grandfather was a cousin of Hollywood producer

David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (born David Selznick; May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca (1940 film), Rebecca'' (1 ...

. He graduated from the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

and then worked for three years at Eeyore's Books for Children in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

while working on ''The Houdini Box'', about a boy's chance encounter with

Harry Houdini Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in ...

and its aftermath. It became his debut work, a 56-page picture book published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1991. Selznick won the 2008

from the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

for the year's best-illustrated picture book, recognizing '' The Invention of Hugo Cabret''. Its Caldecott Medal was the first for a long book, 533 pages with 284 pictures. Selznick calls it "not 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." At the time it was "by far the longest and most involved book I’ve ever worked on." It has inspired students to action, including a fourth-grade class that staged a silent film festival and a group of fifth graders who turned the book into a 30-minute

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert dance, concert or theatrical dance which includes dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th ...

. ''The Invention of Hugo Cabret'' follows a young orphan in Paris in the 1930s as he tries to piece together a broken

automaton An automaton (; : automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions. Some automata, such as bellstrikers i ...

. The book was inspired by a passage in the book ''Edison’s Eve'' by Gaby Wood recounting the collection of

automata An automaton (; : automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions. Some automata, such as bellstrikers i ...

that belonged to

Georges Méliès Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès ( , ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French magic (illusion), magician, toymaker, actor, and filmmaker. He led many technical and narrative developments in the early days of film, cinema, primarily in th ...

. After his death they were thrown away by the museum that he donated them to. Selznick, a fan of Méliès and automata, envisioned a young boy stealing an automaton from the garbage. ''The Invention of Hugo Cabret'' was adapted as a film, '' Hugo,'' by director

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

and released in November 2011. Selznick cites

Maurice Sendak Maurice Bernard Sendak (; June 10, 1928 – May 8, 2012) was an American author and illustrator of children's books. Born to Polish-Jewish parents, his childhood was impacted by the death of many of his family members during the Holocaust. Send ...

, author of ''Where the Wild Things Are'', and

Remy Charlip Abraham Remy Charlip (January 10, 1929 – August 14, 2012) was an American artist, writer, choreographer, theatre director, theatrical designer, and teacher. He wrote or illustrated more than 40 children's books. Life and career Charlip w ...

, author of ''Fortunately'', as strong influences on his books ''The Invention of Hugo Cabret'' and ''Wonderstruck''. Before winning the 2008 Caldecott Medal, Selznick had been a runner-up for the award, winning a Caldecott Honor in 2002 for ''The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins: An Illuminating History of Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins, Artist and Lecturer''. Other awards include the Texas Bluebonnet Award, the Rhode Island Children's Book Award, and the

Christopher Award The Christopher Award (established 1949) is presented to the producers, directors, and writers of books, films and television specials that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit". It is given by The Christophers, a Christian organizatio ...

Works

As writer

"A Buried History of Paleontology"
by Selznick and David Serlin, '' Cabinet'' 28: Bones (Winter 2007/08) * ''The Hugo Movie Companion: A Behind the Scenes Look at How a Beloved Book Became a Major Motion Picture''; with additional material by

and David Serlin (Scholastic, 2011) * ''The Wonderstruck Movie Scrapbook'' (Scholastic, 2017)

As writer and illustrator

* ''The Houdini Box'' (1991) * ''The Robot King'' (1995) * ''Boy of a Thousand Faces'' (2000) * '' The Invention of Hugo Cabret'' (2007), historical

steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and Applied arts, aesthetics inspired by, but not limited to, 19th-century Industrial Revolution, industrial steam engine, steam-powered machinery. Steampun ...

novel * '' Wonderstruck'' (2011), a historical novel * ''The Marvels'' (2015) * ''Baby Monkey, Private Eye'' (2018), early reader by Brian Selznick and David Serlin * ''Kaleidoscope'' (2021) * ''Big Tree'' (2023) * ''Run Away With Me'' (April 2025)

As illustrator

* ''Doll Face Has a Party'' (1994), picture book by Pam Conrad * ''Our House: stories of Levittown'' (1995), by Pam Conrad — about

Levittown Levittown is the name of several large suburban housing developments created in the United States (including one in Puerto Rico) by William J. Levitt and his company Levitt & Sons. Built after World War II for returning white veterans and thei ...

* '' Frindle'' (1996), novella by Andrew Clements * ''The Boy Who Longed for a Lift'' (1997), picture book by Norma Farber * ''Riding Freedom'' (1998), by Pam Muñoz Ryan — about Charley Parkhurst, fictionalized * ''Amelia and Eleanor Go For a Ride: based on a true story'' (1999), by

Pam Muñoz Ryan Pam Muñoz Ryan (born December 25, 1951) is an American writer for children and young adults, particularly in the multicultural genre. Biography Muñoz Ryan was born in Bakersfield, California. She is half Mexican with Basque, Italian, and Okla ...

— about

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( ; July 24, 1897 – January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer. On July 2, 1937, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world. During her li ...

fictionalized * ''Barnyard Prayers'' (2000), picture book by Laura Godwin * '' The Doll People'' (2000), novel by Ann M. Martin and Laura Godwin * '' The Landry News'' (2000, paperback), novella by Andrew Clements (1999) * '' The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins'' (2001), by

Barbara Kerley Barbara may refer to: People * Barbara (given name) * Barbara (painter) (1915–2002), pseudonym of Olga Biglieri, Italian futurist painter * Barbara (singer) (1930–1997), French singer * Barbara Popović (born 2000), also known mononymously ...

— about Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins * '' The School Story'' (2001), by Andrew Clements * ''When Marian Sang'' (2002), by Pam Muñoz Ryan — about

Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throughout the United S ...

* ''Wingwalker'' (2002), by Rosemary Wells * ''The Dulcimer Boy'' (2003), novel by Tor Seidler * '' The Meanest Doll in the World'' (2003), by Martin and Godwin, book 2 * ''Walt Whitman: words for America'' (2004), by

— about

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

* '' Lunch Money'' (2005), novel by Andrew Clements * ''Marly's Ghost: a remix of Charles Dickens's

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...

'' (2006), by David Levithan * ''The Runaway Dolls'' (2008), by Martin and Godwin, book 3 * ''12: a novel'' (2009, Feiwel and Friends; ; also ''Twelve'') * '' Live Oak, with Moss'' (2019)

Life and career

Works

As writer

As writer and illustrator

As illustrator

References

Further reading

External links