Brian Selznick
Brian Selznick did it again - his story telling, in both words and art, pulled at the heartstrings and made me fall in love with a book. Wonderstruck tells two stories, one entirely in his spectacular pencil sketches and one entirely in text. Both stories feel completely full and realized.
Both stories revolve around children, Rose in 1927 and Ben in the 1970s, who find themselves running away from home on a search for something life-changing. Rose and Ben, when their stories first begin, seem to be very different, but it's not long before their similarities emerge, their stories begin to overlap, and Selznick deftly weaves the tales together.
There are a few things that draw me to Selznick's work. First, he really is a brilliant artist - the drawings feel so life-like - and I love to stare at each picture, finding all the pencil strokes and seeing how he shaped his images. Another aspect of his work that I appreciate is his dedication to research and how he shares real bits of history. For example, he uses several real museum pieces in his story - he could have created a fictionalized exhibit, but instead he shares a bit of reality, something that those who have seen the exhibits can relate to, and those who haven't can add to their bucket list.
I loved this book. I highly recommend it to grade school aged children, parents who read to their children, and adults who are still young at heart.
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