My house had suddenly turned into a hospital ward.

Time can play all sorts of tricks on you. In the blink of an eye, babies appear in carriages, coffins disappear into the ground, wars are won and lost, and children transform, like butterflies, into adults.

Since I spend such a long time making each book, I only choose books that I'm really interested in and that I really love.

She walked to the rear door and took out a bobby pin from her pocket. Hugo watched as she fiddled with the pin inside the lock until it clicked and the door opened. "How did you learn to do that?" asked Hugo. "Books," answered Isabelle.

If you've ever wondered where your dreams come from when you go to sleep at night, just look around. This is where they are made.

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.

Fairy tales only happen in movies." -George Melies from The Invention of Hugo Cabret