Brian Selznick books

Brian Selznick is an award-winning author and illustrator known for visually inventive novels like The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which combines hundreds of original drawings with prose storytelling.

Anthologies

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Half-Minute Horrors 2009 Buy
The Letter Q 2012 Buy

Non-Fiction

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Hugo Movie Companion 2011 Buy
The Wonderstruck Movie Scrapbook 2017 Buy

Standalone Novels

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Houdini Box 1991 Buy
The Robot King 1995 Buy
The Boy of a Thousand Faces 2000 Buy
The Invention of Hugo Cabret 2007 Buy
Wonder Struck 2011 Buy
The Marvels 2015 Buy
Baby Monkey, Private Eye 2018 Buy
Kaleidoscope 2021 Buy
Big Tree 2023 Buy
Run Away with Me 2025 Buy

Brian Selznick changed what a novel could look like with The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007), a book that tells its story through both prose and hundreds of detailed pencil drawings. The novel won the Caldecott Medal and was adapted by Martin Scorsese into the 2011 film Hugo.

Since then, Selznick has continued to push the boundaries of illustrated fiction with Wonderstruck (2011) and The Marvels (2015), each using his signature blend of text and artwork. His career stretches back to 1991 with The Houdini Box, and his more recent works like Big Tree (2023) and Kaleidoscope (2021) show an artist still experimenting with how stories can be told on the page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Brian Selznick written?

Brian Selznick has written fourteen books across three series.

What was Brian Selznick's first book?

Brian Selznick’s first book is The Houdini Box, published in 1991.

How do Brian Selznick's books combine text and illustrations?

Selznick’s novels alternate between prose chapters and sequences of full-page pencil drawings that advance the story visually. The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Wonderstruck, and The Marvels each use this hybrid format, with the illustrations carrying as much narrative weight as the written text.

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