Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Houdini Box | 1991 | Brian Selznick | Buy |
| 2 | The Robot King | 1995 | Brian Selznick | Buy |
| 3 | The Boy of a Thousand Faces | 2000 | Brian Selznick | Buy |
| 4 | The Invention of Hugo Cabret | 2007 | Brian Selznick | Buy |
| 5 | Wonder Struck | 2011 | Brian Selznick | Buy |
| 6 | The Marvels | 2015 | Brian Selznick | Buy |
| 7 | Baby Monkey, Private Eye | 2018 | Brian Selznick | Buy |
| 8 | Kaleidoscope | 2021 | Brian Selznick | Buy |
| 9 | Big Tree | 2023 | Brian Selznick | Buy |
| 10 | Run Away with Me | 2025 | Brian Selznick | Buy |
Brian Selznick’s standalone novels span over thirty years of illustrated storytelling. The Houdini Box (1991) and The Robot King (1995) were early works, but The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007) became his career-defining book. Set in a 1930s Paris train station, it tells the story of an orphan boy who tends the station’s clocks and discovers a broken automaton.
Wonderstruck (2011) followed a similar dual-narrative format, with one story told in prose and another in pictures. The Marvels (2015) continued the approach, and more recent works like Baby Monkey, Private Eye (2018) and Big Tree (2023) have explored different formats and subjects. Run Away with Me (2025) is his most recent novel.