--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Maybe, thought Ben, we are all cabinets…" description: "\"“Maybe, thought Ben, we are all cabinets of wonders.”\" — Brian Selznick" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/brian-selznick-9443_wonders_maybe-thought-ben-we-are-all-cabinets-of_2444649.jpg" --- # Maybe, thought Ben, we are all cabinets of wonders. ![“Maybe, thought Ben, we are all cabinets of wonders.” quote by Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/brian-selznick-9443_wonders_maybe-thought-ben-we-are-all-cabinets-of_2444649.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/brian-selznick-9443_wonders_maybe-thought-ben-we-are-all-cabinets-of_2444649.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/brian-selznick-9443_wonders_maybe-thought-ben-we-are-all-cabinets-of_2444649.jpg) > ““Maybe, thought Ben, we are all cabinets of wonders.”” [Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ben imagines the world as full of hidden marvels, suggesting curiosity reveals endless wonder. **In simple terms:** Ben sees life as a cabinet of wonders waiting to be discovered. Key Takeaway Cultivate curiosity to uncover hidden marvels. Themes imagination wonder curiosity discovery Mood playful inquisitive Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - museum visits - creative writing - science experiments - travel adventures Key Concepts metaphor exploration childhood perspective Questions to Reflect On - What everyday object could become a wonder? - How does curiosity change perception? A Different Perspective Not everyone perceives everyday life as extraordinary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Wonders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonders/) ## Related quotes > [“We are all cabinets of wonders.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/we-are-all-cabinets-of-wonders/) [Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/) > [Maybe we're all cabinets of wonders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/maybe-we-re-all-cabinets-of-wonders/) [Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/) > [Ben remembered reading about curators in "Wonderstruck", and thought about what id meant to curate your own life, as his dad had done here.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/ben-remembered-reading-about-curators-in-wonderstruck-and-thought/) [Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/) > [“Let’s reframe what you’re going through, Maggie,” he said. “I’d like you to think of it as grief.” “For the people who died?” “No.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-chamberlain/let-s-reframe-what-you-re-going-through-maggie-he-said-i-d-like-you/) [Diane Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-chamberlain/) > [“He'd thought there was no part of him that Ben hadn't laid bare, but there was his hope. There was his heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-henry/he-d-thought-there-was-no-part-of-him-that-ben-hadn-t-laid-bare-but/) [Lisa Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-henry/) > [Some little part of themselves for someone in the future to discover. Maybe a thought. We were here. We built this. A reminder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/some-little-part-of-themselves-for-someone-in-the-future-to-discover/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“It was knowing someone else thought about me for more than one second, maybe thought about me when I wasn't there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-zarr/it-was-knowing-someone-else-thought-about-me-for-more-than-one-second/) [Sara Zarr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-zarr/) > [“Maybe he should have thought about all this before he knocked her up with the life-sucking monster.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/maybe-he-should-have-thought-about-all-this-before-he-knocked-her-up/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [“There were so many times during those years, though, as we moved from one house to another, that I would find myself thinking about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/there-were-so-many-times-during-those-years-though-as-we-moved-from/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“Maybe, I thought, I’ve given too much weight to the cultivated use of reason, to good reading, to well controlled language, to political affiliation;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/maybe-i-thought-i-ve-given-too-much-weight-to-the-cultivated-use-of/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [“A poet and a doctor. Maybe I could. This the first thought I have of it. 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His chains were broken, and he was finally set free." The old man squinted one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/then-you-know-prometheus-was-rescued-in-the-end-his-chains-were/) [Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/) > [I've always loved children's books - it's not that I didn't like them, I just didn't think I wanted to do that. But then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/i-ve-always-loved-children-s-books-it-s-not-that-i-didn-t-like-them-i/) [Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/) > [A lot of people who don't write for kids think it's easy, because they think kids aren't as smart as they are, or that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/a-lot-of-people-who-don-t-write-for-kids-think-it-s-easy-because-they/) [Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/that-night-cold-and-alone-joseph-had-thought-he-d-found-a-portal-into/) [Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/) > [Once I'm given an idea for a story I have a million ideas on how it should be illustrated, but I don't have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/once-i-m-given-an-idea-for-a-story-i-have-a-million-ideas-on-how-it/) [Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/) > [“Time can play all sorts of tricks on you. In the blink of an eye, babies appear in carriages, coffins disappear into the ground,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/time-can-play-all-sorts-of-tricks-on-you-in-the-blink-of-an-eye/) [Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/) > [“Did you ever notice that all machines are made for some reason? … They are built to make you laugh, like the mouse here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/did-you-ever-notice-that-all-machines-are-made-for-some-reason-they/) [Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/) > [I address you all tonight for who you truly are: wizards, mermaids, travelers, adventurers, and magicians. You are the true dreamers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/i-address-you-all-tonight-for-who-you-truly-are-wizards-mermaids/) [Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/) > [I've been taking art lessons since I was little, and I've always drawn. I think in pictures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/i-ve-been-taking-art-lessons-since-i-was-little-and-i-ve-always-drawn/) [Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/) > [What interests me about clocks is that everything is hand-made, and yet to the person looking at the clock, something magical is happening that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/what-interests-me-about-clocks-is-that-everything-is-hand-made-and/) [Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/if-you-ve-ever-wondered-where-your-dreams-come-from-when-you-go-to/) [Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/) > [“Yes, I've been trying to tell all night to tell you,' said the bat. 'But you wouldn't stop fighting me. 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A museum is an institution like a library…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/i-think-everything-belongs-in-a-certain-place-for-kids-who-feel-they/) [Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/) [Explore all 65 Brian Selznick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/) ## More Wonders quotes > [Too many people expect wonders from democracy, when the most wonderful thing of all is just having it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-winchell/too-many-people-expect-wonders-from-democracy-when-the-most-wonderful/) [Walter Winchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-winchell/) > [Lord save us, first you have a heart, now you have a god? Will wonders never cease?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-stuart/lord-save-us-first-you-have-a-heart-now-you-have-a-god-will-wonders/) [Anne Stuart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-stuart/) > [A little faith can do wonders...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/a-little-faith-can-do-wonders/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [I grew up listening to Nirvana and then went through some bad '90s pop stuff - a lot of Australian one-hit wonders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-barnett/i-grew-up-listening-to-nirvana-and-then-went-through-some-bad-90s-pop/) [Courtney Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-barnett/) > [Outdoors we are confronted everywhere with wonders; we see that the miraculous is not extraordinary, but the common mode of existence. It is our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/outdoors-we-are-confronted-everywhere-with-wonders-we-see-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“There are not many persons who know what wonders are opened to them in the stories and visions of their youth; for when as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-phillips-lovecraft/there-are-not-many-persons-who-know-what-wonders-are-opened-to-them/) Howard Phillips Lovecraft > [Nature is full of wonders; every atom is a standing miracle, and endowed with such qualities, as could not be impressed on it by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/nature-is-full-of-wonders-every-atom-is-a-standing-miracle-and/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“Life is calling you. The other life. The analogue life. The real. Nature is calling you. And people too. Wondrous royal souls are waiting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/life-is-calling-you-the-other-life-the-analogue-life-the-real-nature/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I don't make one hit wonders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boosie/i-don-t-make-one-hit-wonders/) [Boosie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boosie/) > [Very early in life I became fascinated with the wonders language can achieve. And I began playing with words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwendolyn-brooks/very-early-in-life-i-became-fascinated-with-the-wonders-language-can/) [Gwendolyn Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwendolyn-brooks/) > [ “...\[I\]t behooves a man who wants to see wonders sometimes to go out of his way.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mandeville/i-t-behooves-a-man-who-wants-to-see-wonders-sometimes-to-go-out-of/) John Mandeville > [“It is her solidity that is magical. The wonders are not wild or strange but odd and curious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/it-is-her-solidity-that-is-magical-the-wonders-are-not-wild-or/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [“Monsters’ can help us by giving a tangible form to our secret fears. It is less widely appreciated today that ‘wonders’ such as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boria-sax/monsters-can-help-us-by-giving-a-tangible-form-to-our-secret-fears-it/) [Boria Sax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boria-sax/) > [Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/everything-has-its-wonders-even-darkness-and-silence-and-i-learn/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“Oh, I could let the world go by, Its loud new wonders and its wars, BUt how will I give up the sky When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-teasdale/oh-i-could-let-the-world-go-by-its-loud-new-wonders-and-its-wars-but/) [Sara Teasdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-teasdale/) [Browse all 229 Wonders quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonders/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Maybe, thought Ben, we are all cabinets of wonders.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brian Selznick" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/maybe-thought-ben-we-are-all-cabinets-of-wonders/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Wonders" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/maybe-thought-ben-we-are-all-cabinets-of-wonders/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/brian-selznick-9443_wonders_maybe-thought-ben-we-are-all-cabinets-of_2444649.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/brian-selznick-9443_wonders_maybe-thought-ben-we-are-all-cabinets-of_2444649.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/brian-selznick-9443_wonders_maybe-thought-ben-we-are-all-cabinets-of_2444649.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Maybe, thought Ben, we are all cabinets of wonders.” — Brian Selznick", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Brian Selznick", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Maybe, thought Ben, we are all...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/maybe-thought-ben-we-are-all-cabinets-of-wonders/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/maybe-thought-ben-we-are-all-cabinets-of-wonders/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```