Author(s): Brian Selznick

Adventure and Real Life Stories

A breathtaking new voyage from Caldecott Medalist Brian Selznick. 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 invitation to decipher how the two stories connect, The Marvels is a loving tribute to the power of story from an artist at the vanguard of creative innovation.

Bernice Recommends: Today in Selznick’s own invented genre that’s part novel, part graphic novel, this spectacular volume, chronicles the life of The Marvels’ a family of actors, artists and ‘inventive’ historians. Not only is it a story told sensitively and empathetically - but it’s a book that demonstrates the significance of story-telling and story-tellers, whether that be the fictional drama of theatre or the realities of history!

A blazingly beautiful book! 

Ages 10+