Quotes from Brian Selznick

That night, cold and alone, Joseph had thought he'd found a portal into the past. But he'd been wrong. It was a vision of the future.

Sometimes I come up here at night, even when I'm not fixing the clocks, just to look at the city. I like to imagine that the world is one big machine. You know, machines never have any extra parts. They have the exact number and type of parts they need. So I figure if the entire world is one big machine, I have to be here for some reason. And that means you have to be here for some reason, too.

Si dejas de tener un propósito en la vida es como… como si te rompieras.

Tal vez sea esa la razón de que las máquinas rotas resulten tan tristes: ya no pueden cumplir con el propósito para el que fueron creadas.

Albert shrugged, but Joseph could sense a world of things his uncle wasn't saying.

I like the pages to turn. I like the bookness of the book.

Ben had never seen his mother cry before, and it startled him, so he didn't ask again. Right afterward she'd put on her favorite record and played a mysterious song called "Space Oddity," about an astronaut named Major Tom who gets lost in space. She used to listen to the song over and over again. With her eyes closed, she'd place the palm of her hand against the fabric of the speaker, so she could feel it vibrate against her skin.

You either see it or you don't.

I knew I had to break up with Ann Rosenberg after she chose a teal dress for the prom. I had never heard of teal. Also, I was gay.

I address you all tonight as you truly are: wizards, mermaids, travelers, adventurers, and magicians. You are the true dreamers.

Having an eye patch actually makes it easier to look through a camera - I don't have to close one eye like everyone else.

Albert casually tossed everything back into the water. "Walking along the shore here is like walking on history," he said. "It's like walking on an endless catalogue of lost stories waiting to be told, and they will be lost one day, too. Whatever the case, it's all beneath your feet, right now.

A veces, el tiempo cambia las cosas como por arte de magia.

Si alguna vez te has preguntado de dónde vienen los sueños que tienes por la noche, mira a tu alrededor y lo sabrás. Aquí es donde se hacen los sueños».

Standing on the roof at night, beside the golden ship I look across the city and I dream a wild trip. The waves are high, the wind is strong, the moon is white and full. I smell the salt upon the sea, a strong magnetic pull. I shout into the endless dark, awaiting the reply: 'Away! Away' It says: 'Away! Now spread your wings and fly.

A museum is an institution like a library where everything has a place, everything belongs.

Maybe time is like that insect," Blink said, "trapped beneath the crystal of your watch.

A volte la sera vengo qui anche se non devo regolare gli orologi, solo per guardare la città. Mi piace immaginare che il mondo sia un unico grande meccanismo. Sai, le macchine non hanno pezzi in più. Hanno esattamente il numero e il tipo di pezzi che servono. Così io penso che se il mondo è una grande macchina, io devo essere qui per qualche motivo. E anche tu.

If you ever wonder where your dreams come from, look around: this is where they're made." -Georges Méliès

Remember, Little Nightingale, you can always stop doing dangerous things. And you can prove yourself trustworthy, right? Start by forgiving your uncle for his anger. That would be a nice gift.

The machine was so intricate, so complicated, that he almost got dizzy looking at it. Even in its sad state of disrepair, it was beautiful.

Estoy mirando a todos los que han querido acompañarnos en esta velada, y quisiera decirles que no veo un auditorio lleno de parisinos ataviados con sombreros de copas, joyas y vestidos de seda. No veo banqueros, amas de casa o dependientes. No. Hoy me dirijo a ustedes viéndolos como lo que realmente son: sirenas, viajeros, aventureros y magos. Ustedes son los verdaderos soñadores.

A good parent always gives their children roots and wings. Roots to settle down, and wings to bravely go where you need to go.

Amber starts off as sap from a tree," Joseph said in the dark. "And sometimes insects get caught in it, and over millions of years the amber turns into a gemstone, but it traps the insect inside." "Oh." "A photograph is sort of like that, don't you think?