CHRISVAN ALLSBURG

Lori Miller High Tech Learning, 11/22/09

“Ideas for stories are all around. But those ideas are just starting points. The kind of story a writer ends up telling is not the result of the little idea that starts the writer thinking. The kind of story a writer ends up telling is the result of the kind of person that the writer is.”

Timeline

1972Earned a BFA in Sculpture University of Michigan

Earned MFA Rhode Island School of Design1975

Born in Grand Rapids, MI1949

First book, The Garden of Abdul Gasazi, published1979

Jumanji won Caldecott Medal1982

1980 The Garden of Abdul Gasazi won the Caldecott Honor Medal

Jumanji, The Polar Express, and Zathura were made into popular feature films1995- 2005

1986The Polar Express won Caldecott Medal

TodayChris lives in Rhode Island & continues to write & illustrate books

1977While working as a sculptor, Chris also began creating drawings & then stories to go with them

Type of Work Genre Van Allsburg writes and illustrates picture books for

children.

Subject Matter He is known for writing fantasy stories that have

elements of mystery and magic.

Books by Chris Van Allsburg

The Garden of Abdul Gasazi, 1979

Awards: Caldecott Honor Medal

Sometimes that very thin line be-tween illusion and reality is not as clearly defined as we would like it to be. It clearly wasn't the day that Alan Mitz stumbled into the garden of Abdul Gasazi.

For in this bizarre and eerie place - where strange topiary trees loomed - the evil visage of Gasazi casts its shadow.

http://www.chrisvanallsburg.com/abdulgasazi.html

Jumanji, 1981

Awards: Caldecott Medal

The game under the tree looked like a hundred others Peter and Judy had at home. But they were bored and restless and, looking for something interesting to do, thought they'd give Jumanji a try. Little did they know when they unfolded its ordinary-looking playing board that they were about to be plunged into the most exciting and bizarre adventure of their lives.

http://www.chrisvanallsburg.com/jumanji.html

The Polar Express, 1985

Awards: Caldecott Medal

Late one Christmas Eve after the town has gone to sleep, the boy boards the mysterious train that waits for him: the Polar Express bound for the North Pole. In strange and moving shades of full color art, Chris Van Allsburg creates an otherworldly classic of the Christmas season.

http://www.chrisvanallsburg.com/polarexpress.html

(Example 4)

Zathura, 2002

On the last page of the Caldecott Medal-winning book Jumanji, young Danny Budwing is seen running home with a game tucked under his arm.

Now, after twenty years, Chris Van Allsburg is ready to reveal what happens when Danny and his brother roll the dice. This time the name of the game is Zathura and Walter and Danny Budwing are in for the ride of their lives.

http://www.chrisvanallsburg.com/zathura.html

(Example 5)

Probuditi, 2006

“Inside were tickets to the matinee show of Lomax the magnificent, the world-famous magician and hypnotist.”

Calvin is so excited after seeing Lomax the magician that he is anxious to try some of his own magic when he gets home.

http://www.chrisvanallsburg.com/probuditi.html

Complete Bibliography The Garden of Abdul Gasazi (1979,

Caldecott Honor) Jumanji (1981, Caldecott Medal) Ben's Dream (1982) The Wreck of the Zephyr (1983) The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

(1984) The Polar Express (1985, Caldecott

Medal) The Stranger (1986) The Z Was Zapped (1987) Two Bad Ants (1988) Swan Lake (1989, Illustrator,

written by Mark Helprin)

Just a Dream (1990) The Wretched Stone (1991) The Widow's Broom (1992) The Sweetest Fig (1993) The Veil of Snows (1993, Illustrator,

written by Mark Helprin) The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

(1994, Portfolio edition) Bad Day at Riverbend (1995) A City in Winter (1996, Illustrator,

written by Mark Helprin) Zathura (2002) Probuditi! (2006)

Resources Cummings, Pat, ed. Talking with Artists. New York: Macmillan, 1992

Kidreads http://www.kidsreads.com/authors/au-van-allsburg-chris.asp

The Offical Chris Van Allsburg Website http://www.chrisvanallsburg.com/flash.html

Tunnell, Michael O., and James S. Jacobs. Children’s Literature, Briefly. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2008.

Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Van_Allsburg