Brian Selznick
Brian Selznick
Brian Selznickis an American illustrator and writer best known for illustrating children's books. He won the 2008 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration recognizing The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which was his first long work as a writer...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionIllustrator
Date of Birth14 July 1966
CityEast Brunswick, NJ
CountryUnited States of America
struggle moving writing
I can draw pencil lines to show something is moving, but if I'm writing, I struggle with how to write it. The boy ran down the hallway? The boy ran quickly down the hallway? The boy ran down the marble hallway? I agonize over the words. So my editor works very hard. I'm lucky to have her.
writing doe surprise
Well, everything surprises me about the writing process because illustrating comes much more naturally to me than writing does.
kids writing way
I guess I see a part of myself in everyone I write about. I tend to write about kids who are obsessed with something, and even though I have never been good with machines the way Hugo is, I did love miniature things when I was a kid.
best characters figure interest issues larger possibly themes trying work
Sometimes, I have themes that interest me or that touch on larger issues but, really, I'm just trying to figure out the plot, or how the characters work. I'm trying to make the best story I possibly can.
books change complain forget people stories translated watching
A lot of times, people complain about how books and stories change when they're translated to the screen. But I think sometimes people forget that a lot of changes have to be made because we're not in a book when we're watching a movie.
For most of my career I illustrated books for other people.
dumb harder kids normally people smart sure word work
A lot of people who don't write for kids think it's easy, because they think kids aren't as smart as they are, or that you have to dumb down what you would normally write for kids. But I think you have to work harder when you write for kids, to make sure every word is right, that it's there for the right reason.
born child family finding forward happy however literature move orphan
The orphan in children's literature allows the child protagonist to move the story forward themselves. I think that, however happy a family, every intelligent child thinks: 'How did I come to be born to these parents?' - it is about finding your place in the world.
definitely liked magic monsters movies museums work
I definitely think my work comes from things that I liked as a kid, and things I still like now. Monsters and magic and museums and movies, a lot of things that start with 'M' for some reason.
art since taking
I've been taking art lessons since I was little, and I've always drawn. I think in pictures.
loved move pictures turning
I've always loved the wild rumpus in 'Where the Wild Things Are' by Maurice Sendak, because the words disappear, the pictures take up the whole page, and we move forward in the story by turning the pages.
belongs certain kids
I think everything belongs in a certain place, for kids who feel they don't belong anywhere. A museum is an institution like a library where everything has a place, everything belongs.
cannot clocks explained happening interests looking magical unless
What interests me about clocks is that everything is hand-made, and yet to the person looking at the clock, something magical is happening that cannot be explained unless you are the clockmaker.
broken purpose like-you
If you lose your purpose ... it's like you're broken.