The Marvels: List 1

by Brian Selznick
Two separate stories—the first told in illustrations and the second in prose—combine to create a marvelous whole in this book from the Caldecott-winning author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

This list covers pages 292–456 in the 2015 Scholastic edition.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3

Here is a link to our lists for The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. complex
    complicated in structure
    Joseph knew it was just a game, but it was fun to imagine themselves on pirate ships or alone on desert islands. Soon their stories grew more complex.
  2. abandoned
    forsaken by owner or inhabitants
    They dreamed of finding abandoned mansions in the woods and vanishing into secret chambers in ancient castles.
  3. vanish
    become invisible or unnoticeable
    Sparks lifted up from the fire like tiny orange insects, zigzagged into the air, and vanished.
  4. adjust
    place in a line or arrange so as to be parallel or straight
    Joseph adjusted his glasses and pointed down the street.
  5. labyrinth
    complex system of paths in which it is easy to get lost
    Joseph was tossed back into the labyrinth of ancient streets as he followed the boy, shouting the names of dogs from books he’d read: “Bull’s-eye! Toto! Snowy! Pongo!”
  6. fluorescent
    emitting light during exposure to external radiant energy
    The openings between the buildings led into a vast nighttime marketplace, lit by a procession of fluorescent lights.
  7. glint
    be shiny, as if wet
    He thought he saw something far away glint in the dark.
  8. vision
    a vivid mental image
    Joseph thought of “The Little Match Girl,” a story he’d read in school last year about a girl who ended up dead in the snow after a freezing night filled with beautiful visions.
  9. imagine
    form a mental image of something that is not present
    Joseph hoped he wasn’t imagining the golden ship, and he prayed his own story wouldn’t turn out like the Little Match Girl’s.
  10. massive
    imposing in size or bulk or solidity
    As he drew nearer, he saw it was a massive golden weather vane, signalling to him.
  11. illuminate
    make lighter or brighter
    There was a large metal gas lamp hanging above the entrance, illuminating a brass knocker shaped like the head of a dog with a ring in its mouth.
  12. magnificent
    characterized by grandeur
    A magnificent fire burned brightly in a fireplace, and a sparkling chandelier ringed with candles hung from the ceiling.
  13. lavish
    characterized by extravagance and profusion
    On a shiny black table beneath the chandelier were tall, glimmering white tapers, a pair of silver pitchers, a few sets of crystal goblets, and the half-eaten remains of a lavish dinner.
  14. ornate
    marked by complexity and richness of detail
    On the wall above the mantel, presiding over everything, was an old painting, in an ornate gold frame, of a dark-eyed man.
  15. reveal
    make visible
    Joseph felt as if someone had taken a pair of scissors and cut into the fabric of the street, pulling it back to reveal a hidden nineteenth-century world, waiting just beneath the freezing twentieth-century surface.
  16. portal
    a grand and imposing entrance
    It was better than anything he or Blink could have imagined, and for a brief, bizarre moment, Joseph thought he might have actually fallen back in time, or stumbled upon a portal to the past.
  17. vivid
    evoking lifelike images within the mind
    Sometimes a strange feeling would come over them as they’d race through the pages, and the words would dissolve, and they’d find themselves deep inside Oz, or Narnia, or the Andes, or Africa, where everything was real and vivid and alive.
  18. legible
    capable of being read or deciphered
    A single word was barely legible on the frame, written by hand in black ink: Kraken.
  19. mesmerized
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    Mesmerized, he put down his suitcase and felt himself pulled into the room, like a moth fluttering helplessly towards the light.
  20. haphazardly
    in a random manner
    Chairs were pushed back haphazardly, and Joseph wondered for a moment if he’d interrupted a supper party.
  21. hallucinate
    have illusions; perceive what is not actually there
    Perhaps it had escaped and was hiding in one of the dark corners of the room, or maybe Joseph’s fever was causing him to hallucinate.
  22. dominate
    be larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance
    The room was dominated by a giant decaying bed decorated with huge posts at each corner, dusty velvet curtains hanging from above, and black tassels and carved gargoyles covered in cobwebs.
  23. transfix
    render motionless because of surprise, terror, or awe
    They were delicious, but it was the flames that transfixed him.
  24. involuntary
    not subject to the control of the will
    It was hard not to stare at his involuntary movements, but Joseph smiled at the boy, and the boy adjusted the tie of his school uniform and smiled right back.
  25. impressed
    deeply or markedly affected or influenced
    He was impressed with the boy right away, but he wasn’t sure what to ask next.
  26. summon
    ask to come
    Standing in the doorway, as if summoned from his dreams, was a ghost.
  27. dissolve
    cause to fade away
    In that instant, the spirit dissolved, and a moment later Albert Nightingale, wrapped in a long green dressing gown, came bursting into the room.
  28. warily
    in a manner marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
    Albert looked warily at his nephew.
  29. fascinated
    having your attention fixated as though witchcraft
    And then Joseph told Albert about making the fire in his toy chest, and burning the Persian rug, and being sent away to boarding school, and how he’d been fascinated by fire ever since.
  30. intercept
    seize, interrupt, or stop something on its way
    Joseph joined the chase and tried to intercept the straggly dog as he leapt up onto the sideboard, scattering piles of old candles and oyster shells.
  31. caress
    touch or stroke lightly in a loving or endearing manner
    Joseph couldn’t help noticing how careful his uncle was with the surface, how he caressed it and stared at it, as if the table were the most important thing in the world.
  32. arrange
    order attractively
    He arranged the food, leaving half-eaten bits on the plates, poured wine to different levels in all the glasses, and finally, with great precision, returned the napkin to the floor beneath the chair.
  33. engrave
    carve, cut, or etch into a material or surface
    As he stood to go upstairs, he noticed the word BELOVED engraved on a brass plaque on the marble base of the trophy.
  34. implement
    a piece of equipment or a tool used for a specific purpose
    Strange brass implements hung on either side of the stove.
  35. burnish
    polish and make shiny
    The light shifted during the afternoon and cascaded through the clean windows, burnishing the room with gold.
  36. tattered
    worn to shreds; or wearing torn or ragged clothing
    Disappointed, Joseph slowly climbed the stairs, ducking beneath the tattered laundry that hung across the landing, as if it had been put out to dry a century ago and forgotten.
  37. condemn
    compel or force into a particular state or activity
    He imagined that a curse had been put on his uncle, condemning him to live in this house forever.
  38. witness
    perceive or be contemporaneous with
    Maybe Albert Nightingale was like a vampire in a novel, doomed to witness centuries going by.
  39. refuge
    a shelter from danger or hardship
    Maybe he was forced to work day and night to keep the future from seeping into the house, making a kind of refuge of the past, the only world he knew.
  40. threat
    a warning that something unpleasant is imminent
    The words Aut Visum Aut Non were painted across the lid.
    “You either see it or you don’t.”
    The words were beginning to feel like a threat.
Created on Mon Aug 15 16:45:20 EDT 2016 (updated Mon Oct 01 15:27:34 EDT 2018)

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