Scholastic has acquired the new book by Brian Selznick, author of the bestselling The Invention of Hugo Cabret. His new novel, Wonderstruck, is scheduled for a simultaneous release on September 13, 2011, in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. According to the publisher, it will feature more than 460 pages of original drawings and will intertwine two stories set 50 years apart.
Hugo Cabret, Selznick's first novel, was published by Scholastic in 2007 and went on to win the 2008 Caldecott Medal. (Selznick had illustrated a number of picture books before creating Hugo Cabret.) Like his new novel, Hugo Cabret ambitiously combined narrative with illustrations; it told the story of a 12-year-old orphan who lived in a Paris train station at the turn of the 20th century. In Wonderstruck Selznick uses words to follow the story of Ben, who is living in 1977, and relies entirely on pictures to tell the story of Rose, who is living in 1927. Both characters are beset by loneliness--Ben's mother has just died and Rose lives alone with her father--and each makes a separate discovery that will change their lives.
Hugo Cabret has been published in 29 languages, and was optioned by Martin Scorsese for a film adaptation, which is currently in production. The movie is scheduled for release by Sony Pictures in December 2011.
