Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Selznick, B. (2011). Wonderstruck. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.

This is a novel in pictures and in words that represents two different main characters who end up meeting at the end of the story.  Ben is born deaf in one ear and then an accident leaves him completely deaf.  He sets off to find his father, perseveres and pieces together the mystery of his family only to find out that his father has passed away but in the end he meets his grandmother who’s story was the one told in pictures. She is also deaf.

Assignment # 6 - Compare and Contrast

Appeal to my readers:  This book may look daunting with all 637 pages of it but it is a brilliantly written and drawn.  You will breeze through it, turning the pages quickly because you want to know what happens to Ben and you want to “see” what happens to the girl in the sketches.  It is fascinating and pulls you in from the very first few pages.  You will enjoy each and every one of the 637 pages, I promise.

Other books by this author:  This author has written the The Invention of Hugo Cabret an award winning books plus The Houdini Box, The Robot King among others.  Plus he has illustrated numerous others including the Doll People series.  The Invention of Hugo Cabret is very similar to Wonderstruck in the style and content, creating a great story.  The Houdini Box is another historical fiction novel but not quite as long as Wonderstruck.

El Deafo and Wonderstruck are similar in their themes with having a hearing impaired main character. In addition, both books are done in a pictorial fashion.  El Deafo is a graphic novel and Wonderstruck is a novel in words and sketches or illustrations.  Both books have strong, determined characters but neither want to learn sign language, because they think it makes them stand out like a sore thumb.  Both come to realize that sign language may be for the best and allow a friend in El Deafo and family member in Wonderstruck to help them, eventually. They are different in the time periods they are set in, somewhat. El Deafo is autobiographical novel set in 1970s while Wonderstruck is historical fiction much longer book.  The picture story part of Wonderstruck is set in the 1920s and the words part is set later in the 1960 and 70s, where the two stories merge in 1977.

Wonderstruck website:  http://www.wonderstruckthebook.com/

Teaching with the Author including a virtual field trip: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/collection/teaching-brian-selznick-including-virtual-field-trip

Wonderstruck activities:  https://suzyred.com/2012_Wonder_Struck.html

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