Winner of the Caldecott Award in 2008, this interesting story is most
creatively told through the use of not only words, but also pictures. The pictures are nice clear pen and ink drawings which add to the story line quite effectively. Not long after I began reading it all of our children were compellingly engrossed, even my husband and the drivers of the coaches we toured in while on a holiday in Paris, France in 2008.
The novel is set in Paris, in a train station. The story focuses on some truths in history regarding the beginning of film making, as well as automatons. Our family happened to be visiting the Musee d'Orsay, an Impressionist museum, in Paris. The museum is housed in a former train station. That added great meaning to the book for our family and created a lasting memory for all of us.
Don't let the size of this book scare you. Yes, it is 533 pages, but it is a combination storybook and novel, all in one. In thinking back, I would guess it only took a matter of hours for us to finish it; maybe 3-5 hours. I feel it is well worth one's time.
You know a book is good when you close it and head to Google to look something up. The kids and I spent a good hour researching automatons after reading this one.
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I agree, Thea, we did the same. We also looked up information regarding the film or films he mentions in the book!
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