Brian Selznick (born July 14, 1966) is an American illustrator and author best known as the writer of ''

The Invention of Hugo Cabret ''The Invention of Hugo Cabret'' is a historical fiction book written and illustrated by Brian Selznick and published by Scholastic. It takes place in France as a young boy finds his purpose. The hardcover edition was released on January 30, 2 ...

'' (2007), '' Wonderstruck'' (2011), ''

The Marvels ''The Marvels'' is an upcoming American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel, Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel, and Monica Rambeau. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney ...

'' (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 Servic ...

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 novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students a ...

'' 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 in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. The suburban bedroom community is part of the New York City metropolitan area and is located on the southern shore of the Raritan River, directly adjacent to the cit ...

, where he graduated in 1984 from

East Brunswick High School East Brunswick High School is a comprehensive public high school serving students in tenth through twelfth grades in East Brunswick Township, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of East Brunswick Public Sch ...

. He is the son of Lynn (Samson) and Roger E. Selznick. His grandfather was a cousin of Hollywood producer David O. Selznick. 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 the ...

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

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

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

Harry Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...

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, with 49,727 members ...

for the year's best-illustrated picture book, recognizing ''

''. 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 Fourth grade (also called grade four, equivalent to Year 5 in England and Wales, and Year 4 in Australia) is a year of Elementary education in some countries. In North America, the fourth grade is the fifth school year of elementary school. St ...

class staging 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 or theatrical dance which included 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 and early 20th ...

. ''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 (; plural: 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.Automaton – Definition and More ...

. The book was inspired by a passage in the book ''Edison’s Eve'' by

Gaby Wood Gaby Wood, Hon. FRSL (born 1971), is an English journalist, author and literary critic who has written for publications including ''The Observer'', ''The Daily Telegraph'', '' London Review of Books'', '' Granta'', and '' Vogue''. She is the lite ...

recounting the collection of

automata An automaton (; plural: 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.Automaton – Definition and Mor ...

that belonged to

Georges Méliès Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès (; ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French illusionist, actor, and film director. He led many technical and narrative developments in the earliest days of cinema. Méliès was well known for the use o ...

. 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 November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...

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. He became most widely known for his book ''Where the Wild Things Are'', first published in 1963.Turan, Kenneth (October 16, 200 ...

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

Remy Charlip Remy or Rémy may refer to: Places * Remy River, a tributary of rivière du Gouffre in Saint-Urbain, Quebec, Canada * Rémy, a French commune in Pas-de-Calais * Remy, Oise, northern France * Remy, Oklahoma, USA * 14683 Remy, an asteroid * P ...

, author of ''Fortunately'', as strong influences on his books ''The Invention of Hugo Cabret'' and ''Wonderstruck''. Prior to 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 Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

'' 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)

As writer and illustrator

* ''The Houdini Box'' (1991) * ''The Robot King'' (1995) * ''Boy of a Thousand Faces'' (2000) * ''

'' (2007), historical

steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era ...

novel * '' Wonderstruck'' (2011), a historical novel * ''

'' (2015) * ''Baby Monkey, Private Eye'' (2018), early reader by Brian Selznick and David Serlin * ''Kaleidoscope'' (2021)

As illustrator

* ''Doll Face Has a Party'' (1994), picture book by

Pam Conrad Pam Conrad (June 18, 1947 – January 22, 1996) was an American children's writer.
''The New York Times'', January 26, 1996. ...

* ''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 Charley Darkey Parkhurst (born Charlotte Darkey Parkhurst; 1812 – December 18, 1879) also known as "One-Eyed Charley" or "Six-Horse Charley", was an American stagecoach driver, farmer and rancher in California. Raised female in New England, Pa ...

, fictionalized * ''Amelia and Eleanor Go For a Ride: based on a true story'' (1999), by

Pam Muñoz Ryan Pam Muñoz Ryan 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 Oklahoman cultural influences. ...

— about

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; Presumption of death, declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first women in aviation, female aviator to fly solo acro ...

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 — about

Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins (8 February 1807 – 27 January 1894) was an English sculptor and natural history artist renowned for his work on the life-size models of dinosaurs in the Crystal Palace Park in south London. The models, accurately ...

* '' 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 Spiritual (music), spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throu ...

* ''Wingwalker'' (2002), by

Rosemary Wells Rosemary Wells (born January 29, 1943) is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. She is well known for using animal characters to address real human issues. Some of her most well-known characters are Max & Ruby (later adapted into ...

* ''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 Barbara Kerley — about

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...

* '' Lunch Money'' (2005), novel by Andrew Clements * ''Marly's Ghost: a remix of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol'' (2006), by

David Levithan David Levithan (born September 7, 1972) is an American young adult fiction author and editor."David Levithan". October 30, 2008. Gale Database. ''Contemporary Authors Online''. UWM Golda Meir Library, Milwaukee. July 1, 2009. He has written numer ...

* ''The Runaway Dolls'' (2008), by Martin and Godwin, book 3 * ''12: a novel'' (2009, Feiwel and Friends; ; also ''Twelve'') * The ''

'' series (2018) * '' Live Oak, with Moss'' (2019)

Life and career

Works

As writer

As writer and illustrator

As illustrator

References

Further reading

External links