The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

Picture books have a wide range of purposes in this world. They can teach and inform. They can amuse and entertain. Sometimes, though, I think that the most impressive picture books are the ones that inspire. And not in a gosh-doesn't-that-drawing-of-a-sunset-make-you-want-to-draw-a-sunset-too type mentality. I mean true inspiration. The kind you might find, for example, in Chris Van Allsburg's incredibly entertaining and mysterious picture book, "The Mysteries of Harris Burdick". I can think of no other source in this world better able to inspire children to write their own highly interesting stories. "The Mysteries of Harris Burdick" has been used for years as a uniquely original source for stirring up potential tales in the minds of kids everywhere. More importantly, though, it's just a darn good book. Darn good! Few books for small children actively encourage you to read a long wordy Introduction to them first. This is one of the few. Before we see any of the pictures we are told a tale of one Mr. Wenders and one Mr. Burdick. Mr. Wenders was once a children's book publisher. As he was sitting in his office one day a Mr. Harris Burdick arrived with fourteen illustrations. It seems that Mr. Burdick had written fourteen stories and he had brought an illustration from each of these for the perusal of Mr. Wenders. After dropping off the pictures (each with its own title and line from the book it belonged to) he left and was never seen again. This book is a presentation of those mysterious images, all suggesting that they belong to magical stories of their own. The introductory story, I should probably point out, is utterly false. But it gives some nice context to the images that follow and hopefully kids will still dig them. If you've ever read "Jumanji" or "Polar Express" then you are familiar with Van Allsburg's style of mysterious eerily realistic drawings. All pictures in this particular book are in black and white, but they each seem just a little too real to be completely fantastical. Some pictures are sublime. There's an especially amusing one that displays a nun flying above two men in what looks to be a cathedral. The title of the print is, "The Seven Chairs" and the accompanying quote reads, "The fifth one ended up in France". Other pictures in the book vary in creepiness and wonder. There's a picture of a man attempting to beat something large under his carpet with a nearby chair. Another illustration a house lifting off into space. Another shows a woman lowering a knife to a pumpkin as it glows like a brightly lit luminary. The advantage of this book is that as kids page through it, they feel the need to tell the rest of the stories they see presented here. If a kid looks at the picture of a boy being abducted by a ship's captain they may wish to write a tale of adventure and derring-do on the high seas. Consequently, each tale told here can be interpreted a variety of different ways. I don't want t

My sixth grade teacher used this book for a creative writing assignment. We were supposed to pick one of the pages and write a story based on Chris Van Allsburg's wonderful illustrations.Chris Van Allsburg, known to me as the author/illustrator of Jumanji and The Polar Express, outdoes himself in this book. It is a book to get the mind thinking, especially for children. Each illustration has a caption that is supposed to get the mind thinking. A child cannot read this book without formulating a story, perhaps unconsciously, in his mind.Chris Van Allsburg is a wonderful artist. Each illustration, done in only simple black and white, is so breathtaking that I could stare at them time and again and be amazed at the detail, the realness. The sentence-long captions that go along with each picture even today cause me to dream up a story. It is a terrific book to get a child interested in writing. :)

This is the book that got me started writing. About 16 years ago, my English teacher gave us an assignment and this book to base the assignment on. The unique pictures, the sparkling captions and the fascinating titles all served to get me thinking and writing. Two hundred notebooks and countless computer files later, I'm still at it. This is the cure for writer's block, and the answer to dreary days that need some storytelling. The only folks I can see this book not helping are the ones who would prefer NOT to use their imaginations. For them, perhaps television is better. But any person, any age can see countless possibilities from the teasing details present here. This is the book to leave out on the coffee table, to take into the classroom, to keep by the word processor. If you haven't seen it, check it out. And have fun with your stories!

For accelerating the imagination of a child, this book works like a magic potion. I am 18 now, and love it as much as I did the first time I read it, at about age 7. Its drawings are magical, and I think the real draw in VanAllsburg's work is that it's a little eerie, too. There are mysteries here (hence the title), and my favorite thing about these fragments is that they are presented as just that-- fragments of a story. They make for excellent creative exercises for children, making up the stories around the pictures and bits of narrative. If you are a parent looking for books for your children, BUY THIS. And even if you are looking for books for yourself, take a look. Relive the magic of your childhood, because this book is begging you to.

I am seventeen years old and a regular reader of high literature, i.e. Beloved, Of Human Bondage, One Hundred Years of Solitude, The Stories of John Cheever, and Les Liaisons Dangereuses. My interests rarely travel off the beaten literary path, but one of my favorite books of all time, to this day, is The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. It is a magical book, and its rich drawings impress themselves on your memory, so theat the first time you read it, it becomes an eternal testament to creativity and the power of the imagination. I will never forget this book as long as I live, and I also rest assured in the fact that it can never be disgraced by being adapted to the big screen. Just as George Orwell's Animal Farm should never have been animated, neither should this. It is too brilliant, and too lasting aleady as a book. Every child in the world should be issued a copy of Chris Van Allsbvurg's poetic masterpiece at birth. It's as simple as that. So, parents, if you are taking this book into consideration for your child, don't hesitate. BUY IT NOW. It is well worth the 20.00 for a lifetime of imagination.