goes to an enormous 544-page graphic novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. “Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity.”

I have been out of touch with the world of kids’ books since I stopped working at Kepler’s in Menlo Park. Like all other interests in my life, it’s gone the way of theater. When I first got to LA, I landed a great job at Children’s Book World (where Toby used to work) but after one day of the commute from Hollywood to midtown West Side, I knew it was going to leave me too drained to rehearse in the evenings. So, very reluctantly, I had to quit.

But listening to the Golden Compass on audiobook has made me miss that universe. I wonder if there’s an opportunity for a theater company to do a new release of a straight-to-audio book, one that doesn’t have a printed version.