Editor’s Note: The images accompanying the text here were part of a DVD author and illustrator Brian Selznick used to introduce his acceptance speech at the Newbery/Caldecott Banquet. His finely detailed images follow protagonist Hugo Cabret upon learning that the book had he speech I am about to deliver The story begins, as everything does, won the . All images used takes place in 2008, under the with childhood. I grew up drawing, read- with permission. ©Brian Selznick. T roofs of Anaheim. It concerns a ing books, and watching movies. I had young boy named Hugo Cabret, who my favorites, and among them were once, not that long ago, starred in a book the artist Leonardo da Vinci, the hilari- that changed his life forever. ous picture book Fortunately by , and the movie King Kong, pro- But before we turn the page, I want you duced by my grandfather’s first cousin Caldecott to picture yourself sitting in the dark- David O. Selznick. I eventually grew up ness, like the beginning of a movie. You’ll and became a writer and illustrator of Medal remember how you zoomed toward a children’s books, a job that combines all hotel in the middle of the city, rushing my childhood loves. But about five years through the halls into a crowded ball- ago I came to an impasse. I needed some Acceptance room. On screen, you will eventually kind of change, even though I didn’t spot a boy, asleep in his secret apart- know what, exactly. Something about Speech ment. Watch out for him, because this my work wasn’t satisfying me. I stopped is Hugo Cabret. He’s unaware that in a illustrating. Everything came to a stand- city he’s never heard of, a man he doesn’t still. I grew quite depressed. Make the Book You know has taken the stage, and a speech Want to Make all about him has just begun. This lasted for six months.

Which brings us to tonight. During this time, there was one thing that Brian Selznick graced my life and saved me from going The Caldecott Medal was first presented completely crazy. I met . in 1938, having been established the year before by a man named Frederic G. He talked to me about my work, which he Melcher, who in 1921 had also created said showed great promise, but he stead- the Newbery Medal. For the Caldecott, fastly maintained that I hadn’t come close his intention was to honor the work done to reaching my full potential yet. These in picture books by American illustra- words resonated with me very strongly. I tors. But right from the start, there was think I had secretly felt the same way. a question of what exactly defined a pic- I talked to him about how lost I felt, ture book. In her History of the Newbery about how I didn’t know what I should do and Caldecott Medals, Irene Smith states next. His words were simple but powerful: that Melcher believed that the “dominant “Make the book you want to make.” feature must be the work of the artist.” I didn’t know what that meant at the When I began work on The Invention time. I had no new ideas. of Hugo Cabret, I had no idea that the “dominant feature” would be the work of So, with nothing else to do, I decided the artist; that the story would be told so to turn this period of my life into a sort Photo by David Serlin prominently through images. So tonight, of apprenticeship to Sendak, even if he members of the Caldecott committee, didn’t fully know it. I surrounded myself esteemed colleagues, fellow honorees, with the things he loved, like Moby-Dick, friends, and family, I’d like to talk a little Mozart, and the paintings of Vincent van Brian Selznick is the winner of the 2008 bit about how I came to make a 550-page Gogh, and I studied Sendak’s own work Caldecott Medal for The Invention of picture book. even more closely. I read, and I tried to Hugo Cabret, published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic. His acceptance speech was delivered at ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California, on June 29, 2008.

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leave myself open for things to come. But charge. We become Max, all because of book’s unique physical structure by as for my own work, I created nothing. the page turns. bringing our attention, once again, to that momentous moment: the The Invention of Hugo Cabret grew out Think about my favorite childhood book, turning of the page. of this period in my life. I came across a Fortunately, by Remy Charlip, which book called Edison’s Eve by Gaby Wood, employs page turns so brilliantly to tell In the end, Remy posed for me as where I learned that Georges Méliès, the its story. We watch what happens as Ned, Georges Méliès because of his uncanny man who made the first science-fiction page by page, tries to get from New York resemblance to the filmmaker, and I’m movie, , in 1902, had to a surprise party in Florida. Having extremely proud that he is one of the owned a collection of automata, and at fortunately borrowed a friend’s airplane, stars of The Invention of Hugo Cabret. the end of his life they’d been destroyed which has unfortunately exploded, he Amazingly, Remy told me that he’s long and thrown away. I had seen A Trip to the fortunately finds himself with a para- loved Méliès and that he even used draw- Moon long ago and loved it. As soon as I chute that unfortunately has a hole in ings by Méliès as inspiration for pictures learned about Méliès’s lost automata, I it, and so on. The story moves forward in one of his books. It is beautiful little suddenly, mysteriously, imagined a boy after each line of text, always bringing a coincidences like this, which occur again climbing through the garbage and find- surprise when we turn the pages. and again while I work, that convince me ing one of those broken machines. It was I must be on the right path. almost like a flash of light had gone off Through my friend Dan Hurlin, I met in my head. Here was the beginning of Remy Charlip a few years ago, and we * * * * * a story. became friends. This friendship is one of the great joys of my life. I was so excited I should mention here that The Invention Perhaps this was the book that Sendak to meet the creator of Fortunately and of Hugo Cabret would not exist at all with- was talking about. to really get to know him. While I was out my editor at Scholastic, Tracy Mack. working on Hugo, I tried to explain to The first book we did together, in 1995, I was both greatly relieved and terrified, him what my book was going to be about was Pam Conrad’s Our House, and since because it quickly became clear that this and how I wanted to use page turns. He then Tracy has pushed me to be a better book would incorporate everything I’d said, “Oh, I wrote something about that artist and writer than I ever could have learned about book-making up to this a while ago. I’ll send it to you.” This bril- been without her. From the moment I point, while at the same time it would liant little essay, called “A Page Is a Door,” told her I wanted to write about a boy be unlike anything I’d made before. I ends with this paragraph: who meets a famous French filmmaker, wanted to create a novel that read like she and editor Leslie Budnick embraced a movie. What if this book, which is all A book is a series of pages held the story and the format and helped me about the history of cinema, somehow together at one edge, and these craft every line, every word, every image. used the language of cinema to tell its pages can be moved on their hinges I share this award with them and will story? How could I do this? like a swinging door. . . . Of course forever be grateful for their guidance and if a door has something completely friendship. Thank you, Tracy and Leslie. I looked to picture books for the answer. different behind it, it is much more exciting. The element of delight and And I must extend these thoughts to art And the secret was in the page turns. surprise is helped by the physical director David Saylor, who, along with power we feel in our own hands his partner Charles Kreloff, made the Think about the wild rumpus in Where when we move that page or door to book more beautiful than I could have the Wild Things Are. The pictures grow reveal a change in everything that imagined. I must also thank Scholastic until they take over the entire book and has gone before, in time, place, or Press for publishing Hugo so exquisitely. there is no more room for words. Only character. A thrilling picture book Everyone understood that even though the reader turning the page can move not only makes beautiful single The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a book the story forward. We are put in charge images or sequential images, but about movies, and it’s told like a movie, at the exact moment Max himself takes also allows us to become aware of a the main concern was still the book. We

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wanted readers to be aware of the object Diana Blough, now at Bloomsbury, and I I certainly don’t have the words to thank in their hands, to fall in love not just with must say a profound “thank you” to you my boyfriend, David Serlin. I think I Hugo but with the book itself, the thing both. In so many ways, I’m here tonight can only be described as unbearable with covers and pages and pictures and because of you. to be around while I’m working. If he words. says, “Your drawings look good,” I get Noel Silverman has been my lawyer, advi- angry because he obviously knows noth- While I was making Hugo, I also shared sor, and very close friend since my first ing about art and can’t see all the flaws early drafts with friends who helped me book was published, and I have to thank that I’m trying to fix. And if he says with the story. I have to especially thank you for all your guidance and wisdom. nothing, then I get mad at him for being Pam Muñoz Ryan and Sarah Weeks for unsupportive. He’s really in a no-win their insights and comments. You helped Thank you especially to my parents, situation, yet he manages to handle me make Hugo the man he is today. Lynn and Roger Selznick, who have been with patience and understanding and endlessly supportive. My mom traveled love. He’s a brilliant thinker, a respectful * * * * * with my first book in a Ziploc baggie in listener, and, well, I’ll say it again, a very, the trunk of her car in case she ran into very patient man. I know that I wouldn’t This speech probably should have begun anyone who hadn’t seen it. be here tonight without you, D. Thank you. slightly differently. It should have begun with the door opening into Eeyore’s Books My dad, an accountant who had wanted And finally, to Karen Breen and the for Children in 1989, because this is where to be an archaeologist, never liked his Caldecott Committee, thank you for this my life in children’s books really started. job, and because of this, both my parents great honor. Tonight’s banquet marks the made sure their three kids followed their seventieth anniversary of the Caldecott The manager of the store took me under dreams. As a kid, I wanted to be an artist, Medal, Frederic G. Melcher’s brainchild. his wing, and I learned what it meant my sister wanted to be a kindergarten Melcher had wanted to define what to truly be a bookseller . . . getting the teacher, and my brother wanted to be a exactly picture books were and how best right book into the right child’s hand, brain surgeon, and that’s what we’re each to honor them. I think he would be something everyone in this room has doing today. proud to see that his intentions are still in common in one way or another. I being discussed so seriously, and that also learned how difficult this could be. I My dad died just before I began work we are still passionately debating what remember the time a customer, an elderly on Hugo, and for a long time while I was exactly a picture book is. woman, wanted a book for her grand- writing the story I didn’t know what was child. Nothing I recommended was right: going to happen to Hugo’s father. I didn’t But however we choose to define or label one book was too long, one too short; the want Hugo’s father to die, so I kept him them, I think the most important thing to pictures were not good enough, or bright alive. But there were huge holes in the remember is that kids want good books, enough, or engaging enough. Finally, in story—the plot simply wasn’t working. with good stories. That’s what we’re here desperation, I said, “Here, this book is a I still remember the moment when I to provide—books that are serious, or classic. Your grandchild will love it. It’s Dr. realized what needed to happen. It was funny, or true, or made up. We need to Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham.” She looked a profound and complicated moment. I give children the books they want, and the at it and said, “They’re Jewish. Do you was sad, but also uplifted. Hugo’s father’s books that they don’t yet know they want. have it without the ham?” death gave reason to the entire story. It And sometimes, we have to remember, meant everything that happens to Hugo the one thing a child really wants in their When I was finally ready to start mak- would be conected to his father. I discov- book is a little bit of ham. & ing my own book, it was the manager at ered, a year into writing the book, that it Eeyore’s and his girlfriend who helped me was his love for his father that gives the first get published. The manager soon left plot power and meaning and makes the the store and eventually became a won- story matter, for Hugo himself, for me as derful editor himself. Steve Geck, now at the creator, and hopefully, by extension, Greenwillow, married his then-girlfriend for the reader.

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