When Brian Selznick stopped by Scholastic recently to present his new book Wonderstruck at a Scholastic Store event, he talked to Kid Reporter Grace McManus about Wonderstruck, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and how he goes about creating his imaginitive, unique books.

Before they got started with the interview, though, we did a mic check and Selznick got a taste of the tough questions he was about to face:

This was a great ice-breaker moment that eased the tension between interviewer and interviewee. Of course, there wouldn’t be any more talk of sandwiches, roast beef or otherwise, and instead got into a good discussion about Selznick’s books and the role of museums and libraries in them. In Hugo Cabret, a library lies at the center of solving the stories key mystery, and in Wonderstruck the American Museum of Natural History is essentially the story’s third main character.

In this clip that didn’t make it into the final cut of the interview, Selznick explains why he’s so drawn to these institutions as an author and why they play such important parts in his books:

The final interview is pretty great, and Selznick is just as engaging as his books. I know Grace had a fantastic experience interviewing him, and just watching and listening this behind-the-scenes insight into Selznick’s creativity from behind the camera felt like a privilege.

You can watch the complete interview here!