This intriguing story of Hugo Cabret – an orphan and timekeeper secretly living within the walls of a busy Paris train station – is a mystery in many ways. Children will love the book’s unusual story with its dramatic illustrations, yet the novel’s form – a combination of story, wordless picture book and silent movie – defies description. You must both see it and read it. It’s a very strange and wonderful book of a strange yet wonderful story.

Highly recommended for boys and girls ages 9+.

Athina Clarke is from Readings St Kilda