The Marvels

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The Marvels

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$21.99

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$21.99

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Overview

From the Caldecott Medal-winning creator of The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck comes a breathtaking new voyage. In this magnificent reimagining of the form he originated, two stand-alone stories--the first in nearly 400 pages of continuous pictures, the second in prose--create a beguiling narrative puzzle. The journey begins at sea in 1766, with a boy named Billy Marvel. After surviving a shipwreck, he finds work in a London theatre. There, his family flourishes for generations as brilliant actors until 1900, when young Leontes Marvel is banished from the stage. Nearly a century later, runaway Joseph Jervis seeks refuge with an uncle in London. Albert Nightingale's strange, beautiful house, with its mysterious portraits and ghostly presences, captivates Joseph and leads him on a search for clues about the house, his family, and the past. A gripping adventure and an intriguing mystery The Marvels is a loving tribute to the power of story.

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About the Author

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545922128
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	09/15/2015
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	672
File size:	175 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Brian Selznick is the Caldecott Medal-winning creator of the New York Times bestsellers The Invention of Hugo Cabret, adapted into Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning Hugo, Wonderstruck, adapted into Todd Haynes's eponymous movie, and The Marvels. Among the celebrated picture books Selznick has illustrated are the Caldecott Honor Book The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Barbara Kerley, and the Sibert Honor Book When Marian Sang by Pam Muñoz Ryan. His books appear in over 35 languages. He has also worked as a bookseller, a puppeteer, and a screenwriter. He divides his time between Brooklyn, New York and San Diego, California.

Hometown:

Brooklyn, New York, and San Diego, California

Date of Birth:

July 14, 1966

Place of Birth:

New Jersey

Education:

Rhode Island School of Design

Website:

http://theinventionofhugocabret.com/index.htm

From the B&N Reads Blog

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With books, movies, theme parks, and plays, it’s hard to imagine life before Harry Potter! The last 20 years have brought us so many unforgettable moments, and there are so many ways to enter the Harry Potter universe. Whether you’re looking for the perfect gift, want to introduce Harry Potter to a younger reader, or […]

What's fiction made of? Do true stories "matter" more than invented ones? These are heady questions for any book to tackle, especially one aimed at young readers. But Brian Selznick's The Marvels takes them on and, like the best children's literature, doesn't shy away from complex answers. The book revels in complication, echoes and mirrorings, and peeling back its layers makes for a rich and surprising reading experience.

The New York Times Book Review - Ransom Riggs

★ 07/06/2015
Selznick imagines an alternate backstory for a real English tourist attraction, the Dennis Severs’ House: 10 meticulously curated rooms that suggest what life might have been like for a family of Huguenot silk weavers in 18th-century London. The first 500 pages are double-page pencil drawings that (almost) wordlessly tell the story of the Marvel family, beginning with a 1766 shipwreck and following successive generations as they gain fame in London’s theater community. As he did in his Caldecott Medal–winning The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Selznick uses a telescoping point of view with great success, bringing the audience effortlessly from the general to the specific, from wide shot to close-up. The next 200 pages are prose, jumping forward to 1990 when a boy named Joseph Jervis has run away from boarding school in search of an uncle he has never met. Uncle Albert, who lives in a home maintained in much the same way as the Dennis Severs’ House, has been reclusive ever since losing his “beloved” to AIDS, but Joseph and the neighbor girl he befriends, Frankie, refuse to stay away. Viewed narrowly, it’s a love letter to the Dennis Severs’ House, but readers won’t need preexisting knowledge of the museum to enjoy this powerful story about creating lasting art and finding family in unexpected places. Ages 8–12. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Marvels:

New York Times Bestseller
New York Times Notable Children's Book
An Indie Bound #1 National Bestseller
Guardian Children's Book Prize Finalist
Publishers Weekly Best Book

• “Selznick continues his quest to shake up notions of illustrated novels, wordless storytelling, and the intersection of text and pictures in this newest volume . . . The novel as a whole is exactly the sort of theater that is so lovingly described within.” -- The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

• “Caldecott Medalist Selznick has been creating acclaimed illustrated novels for years now, and his latest takes his groundbreaking narrative format to new heights . . . [this] warm, affecting family tale is bittersweet, astonishing, and truly marvelous.” -- Booklist, starred review

• “. . . epic theater celebrating mysteries of the heart and spirit.” -- Kirkus, starred review

• “[A] powerful story about creating lasting art and finding family in unexpected places.” -- Publishers Weekly, starred review

• “Memorable, momentous.” -- School Library Journal, starred review

From the Publisher

The book begins in 1766, with series of mostly wordless pictures that tell the story of Billy Marvel, a young boy who, after surviving a shipwreck, returns to London and finds himself drawn to the life of the theater. The pictures continue with the story of Billy’s descendants. The setting and medium then switch dramatically—the reader is taken to London in December of 1990, where a more conventional narrative tells the story of Joseph Jervis, a young boy who has recently run away from school in order to find Albert Nightingale, his mysterious uncle who lives in an old house that appears to be permanently frozen in time. After Albert takes in his nephew (on strictly temporary basis), Joseph is drawn into the mysteries that surround the house. Why are half-eaten scones left meticulously in place on the table? Why is there a pair of muddy shoes that Albert stubbornly refuses to let Joseph clean, or even move? Only time will tell the mysteries of this house and how it is connected to the story of the Marvels. This book is intended as the third in a trilogy, although the term trilogy is not used in the sense of three books tied together by a common set of characters but rather three books tied together by a common set of themes. As with his previous works, Selznick defies conventional differences between prose and graphic novels by telling parts of the story in lovingly illustrated drawings and part of the story as a conventional novel. The drawings themselves are intricately done and could easily stand alone as separate work. The intertwining stories are extremely well done and set the mood for a strange and marvelous journey. In an afterword, Selznick explains how some of the key characters and settings in the story are based on actual people and places and gives more information for readers who would want to further explore one particular place. The story deals with issues of family, loyalty, and truth. The book is delightful to read and utterly engrossing. As such, it should find a place of honor in most middle and high school libraries. Reviewer: Jonathan Ryder; Ages 12 to 15.

VOYA, October 2015 (Vol. 38, No. 4) - Jonathan Ryder

★ 2015-06-16
In the final volume of a trilogy connected by theme, structural innovation, and exquisite visual storytelling, Selznick challenges readers to see.Starting in 1766, the first portion unfolds in nearly 400 pages of pictures, rendered in pencil. A ship in shadows, a luminous angel, an abandoned baby in a basket—these are among the phenomena affecting five generations of London actors. Disguises and surprises reveal that what one sees is not always what is true. Fast-forwarding to the 1990s, the author describes in prose a runaway who peers longingly into a candlelit dwelling. Joseph is searching for an uncle and something more elusive—family. Observant readers will recall this recently viewed address. Inspired by the actual Dennis Severs' House (where scent, sound, setting, and the motto "You either see it or you don't" transport visitors to 18th-century London), Selznick provides a sensory equivalent throughout his eloquent and provocative text. The poetry of Yeats and references to The Winter's Tale add luster. Carefully crafted chapters pose puzzles and connect to the prior visual narrative. In poignant scenes, the teen learns about his uncle's beloved, lost to AIDS but present through the truths of the home's staged stories. A powerful visual epilogue weaves threads from both sections, and the final spread presents a heartening awakening to sight.Time, grief, forgiveness, and love intersect in epic theater celebrating mysteries of the heart and spirit. (notes) (Fiction. 10 & up)

Kirkus Reviews

The Marvels

The Marvels

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