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72nd out of 501 books
—
487 voters
The Stranger
The enigmatic origins of the stranger that Farmer Bailey hits with his truck and brings home to recuperate seem to have a mysterious relation to the weather. Could he be Jack Frost?
Hardcover, 32 pages
Published
October 28th 1986
by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
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This is a great children's mystery book. I really enjoyed that the reader is never told who the Stranger, and it is left up to the reader to make an educated guess based on clues in the book, who or what the stranger is. The first time I read it, I read it through, not knowing exactly what to expect, but assuming that Van Allsburg was going to reveal who the stranger was. However, when I got to the end and the identity of the stranger was not revealed I re-read it and looked for clues in which I...more
Sep 20, 2012
Jacqueline Holton
added it
The Stranger was kind of strange at first but it came together alt the end. It's about a man who accidentally hit another man who end of losing his memory. I liked the way the story kept me guessing as to what was going on. I love the illustrations. They looked like photos so glossy and detailed. The cover was catchy because it looked mysterious.
Two Bad Ants was a funny book that could have a lesson to tell. Two ants thought they would be better off if they lived somewhere else or in a new home....more
Two Bad Ants was a funny book that could have a lesson to tell. Two ants thought they would be better off if they lived somewhere else or in a new home....more
Chris Van Allsburg's The Stranger is a peculiar one. At first glance, it can be misconstrued into a confusing, purposeless children's book. Yet, when dug deeper into the underlying meaning emerges and the coincident illustrations emerge from the pages. The Stranger is about a man who was hit by a car who cannot speak nor has any memory of who he is. A farmer and his family take him in and grow fond of him. However, when he notices the trees surrounding the farm are still green, yet all the other...more
Sep 20, 2012
Barbara
added it
The stranger is a great story about a man who is hit by a car. He is taken into the families home who hit him to fix him up. They give him clean clothes and food. They notice however strange things occur when the man is around. When he blows on his soup to cool it down the room suddenly gets very cold. The man is fascinated by animals and they seem to be attracted to him as well. The man never gets tired or sweats when he is working just as hard as the man that took him in. They realize all arou...more
The Stranger is one of Chris Van Allsburg many children’s books that he also illustrated. This is a different story from other children’s stories. This story is about a farmer who hits a strange man on the rode. He brings him home to take care of him. The man is very peculiar. The man doesn’t sweat or get tired, he can cool a room with his breath, and he attracts animals. The man really feels apart of the family that took him in. One day, though, he realizes something strange. The farm he reside...more
I normally really enjoy Chris Van Allsburg and his books but I found myself confused when reading this one. Mr. Bailey accidentally hits a man with his truck, he loses his memory so they take him into his house, he notices it's still summer since he's been living with the family, so he blows on a fall colored leaf, magically regains his memory back and leaves the Bailey house. I was confused by the man who didn't remember anything. He didn't even know how to button his own buttons but he could w...more
The story starts with a man named Mr. Bailey driving down the road when he suddenly hits something. When he gets out of his car he realizes that he hit a person. Worried, he brought this stranger home to take care of him. We find out that the stranger lost his memory, and is merrily a hermit. I love how Chris Van Allsburg uses clues through out this book for the readers to keep guessing the entire time. When Mr. Bailey has a doctor come, his thermometer is broken, or who the leaves change color...more
Sep 19, 2012
Erica Johnson
added it
This book is starts off by Farmer Bailey thinking he has his a dear. To his surprise he's actually hit another gentlemen and takes him back his house to call the doctor. Farmer Bailey ends up causing him to loose his memory from being stricken by the truck. the stranger ends up staying with the Bailey's for two weeks and interacts with the family on the farm and keeps little Katy company. The trees north of the Bailey's were changing along with the season but the Bailey's property hadn't started...more
From the award winning author and illustrator of Polar Express, Chris Van Allsburg brings to life another magical journey of a stranger who possesses a special gift. In The Stranger, farmer Bailey accidentally hits a man with his truck. Forced to care for the stranger who lost his memory, the Bailey family becomes intrigued by the stranger's presence. Each member of the Bailey family is touched by the simplicity and innocence of the stranger. Van Allsburg's illustrations bring the colors of autu...more
The story, The Stranger, is about Farmer Bailey who has an accident. Driving along in his truck, he hits a man dressed in an unusual suit of leather. The farmer brings the stunned and confused fellow back with him to his home. Farmer Bailey's wife and daughter welcome the stranger. The doctor comes and tells the Baileys that the man has temporarily lost his memory but will probably be fine in a few days. The man stays on and becomes a part of the family in spite of his odd ways: wild animals are...more
I had nothing but high expectations for The Stranger and once again Chris Van Allsburg delivers and does not disappoint.
The Stranger proved to be one of the most unique and interesting children's books I have ever read. The story is of a young man, the stranger, who gets ran over by Farmer Bailey in his truck. The stranger has lost his memory in the accident and seems amused by the most common of things. Farmer Bailey brings the stranger home and the story tells of all the unique happenings...more
The Stranger proved to be one of the most unique and interesting children's books I have ever read. The story is of a young man, the stranger, who gets ran over by Farmer Bailey in his truck. The stranger has lost his memory in the accident and seems amused by the most common of things. Farmer Bailey brings the stranger home and the story tells of all the unique happenings...more
Once again I must admit Chris Van Allsburg's style of writing is very different and really makes you think about what you have read and what the story really means. I think that this book would be much harder for a child to fully understand and comprehend. I know I kind of struggled with what I thought had happened at the end of the book. However, these books are so interesting and really make you think.
This is a story about a man “the stranger” who gets hit one day by a man on his way home....more
This is a story about a man “the stranger” who gets hit one day by a man on his way home....more
Chris Van Allsburg is by far one of the most creative but strangest children's author I've ever come across. More specifically, The Stranger was definitely the weirdest children’s book I’ve ever read. It was odd yet surprisingly good. What I had the hardest time understanding though was how this could be a book written for kids. There were parts of the story even I overlooked! If using this book in a classroom, it would definitely need to be followed by an in depth discussion. Being as interesti...more
The Stranger was a very interesting read. The story is about a man who was hit by a car and is then found by farmer Bailey. The stranger soon becomes a part of the Bailey family and the story tells of his time with them. I really liked how the mystery of the stranger kept my interest in the book hooked from the beginning to the end because of how the story is told by the perspective of the Bailey family and not from the Stranger himself. I also like how the feel of the subtleness of the book flo...more
This book was pretty good. It correlates a presence of a stranger and a weird happening in weather. The illustrations definitely added to this story. For example, when it showed the Stranger blowing on the green leaf. It didn't mention the leaf turning orange in his hand, but the picture on the page illustrated it.
I also appreciated the use of foreshadowing in this book. For example, when it talks about the stranger in the book blowing on the soup-- the wife gets cold. The strangers affinity to...more
I also appreciated the use of foreshadowing in this book. For example, when it talks about the stranger in the book blowing on the soup-- the wife gets cold. The strangers affinity to...more
The Stranger was a very serious book. It is the story about a man named Farmer Bailey who one day accidentally his something or someone with his car. He realizes that it was a person and he picks him up takes him to the hospital and has the doctors check him out. Then they find out that the stranger can not remember who he is or where he comes from. Farmer Bailey takes him in and the stranger lives with the Bailey's. While he is living there they all begin to relaize things that are different ab...more
The stranger was a very interesting book to me. It had a nice air of mystery to it. The cover seemed so interesting, but also so simple. There was nothing on the darkly colored back cover, and a thick boarder the same color as the back cover around the image on the front cover. The illustration on the cover was interesting, it looks almost clay like, and the man on the front looks clearly surprised or confused. The illustrations inside the book are very picturesque. It is as if each picture coul...more
After I finished reading this book the saying, never judge a book by its cover came to mind. When I first picked this up, I thought the story would be frightening. The illustration on the cover totally caught me off-guard since I found the story inspiring and mysterious. Inspiring because the Baileys took this stranger in with no hesitation and he brought nothing but good things to them. Mysterious because we never get to fully understand who the stranger is and where he came from and why the he...more
The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg is a complex and intriguing picture book. The dust jacket’s front illustration does not reveal anything about the story itself. However, in true Van Allsburg style, the gold leaf foil stamp on the front cover of the book gives a small clue to the essence of this mysterious tale. The end pages, which the reader encounters before any of the text, are also the color of orange autumn leaves. Van Allsburg cleverly inserts these autumn motifs and colors throughout th...more
The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg brings new meaning to how the seasons change. Farmer Bailey hits a strange man on his way home. He brings the man back to his home to heal, and the family and the stranger soon make friends. The stranger never says a word, but only watches and follows the family members around the see what they are doing. One day the stranger realizes the trees of the Bailey farm are green, but the rest of the valleys are orange. How strange is that? The stranger takes a leaf f...more
The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg is a story about Farmer Bailey finding a stranger in the road by accidentally hitting him with this car. He decides to take him in and take care of him. The stranger doesn’t have any memory whatsoever of who he is and what’s his name. He stays with the family until one day he realizes that something is different with the weather. He notices that all the trees around the Bailey’s house are green but the ones far away are orange and red. He decides to leave the B...more
The Stranger was an interesting and beautifully illustrated book, however I have to confess that I didn't really undertand it. I liked the idea of a stranger who was helping the Bailey family on their farm, but when it came time for him to "become" autumn and he helped the leaves change, I did get a little confused. I didn't really understand how this man who didn't know about buttoning up his overalls could turn into the autumn wind and change the leaves of the trees, but I did think it was a...more
Oct 07, 2009
Britt Kitko
added it
Summary: Farmer Bailey hits a man with his truck and takes him home to care for him. They find the man to be very mysterious but allow him to stall until he gets his memory back. It turns out the man never tires, never sweats, and has the ability to stop summer from ending. When he leaves the Bailey's, he leaves a note left in frost and autumn comes.
Audience:
- Reading level- Fluent
- Genre-Science Fiction
- Topic- Mystery, Autumn
Curricular uses:Read aloud (solve mystery as a class), could be used...more
Audience:
- Reading level- Fluent
- Genre-Science Fiction
- Topic- Mystery, Autumn
Curricular uses:Read aloud (solve mystery as a class), could be used...more
One day a farmer named Mr. Bailey is driving down the road when he stops because he thinks he has hit a deer. To his surprise he has actually hit a man which he proceeds to take home. When the doctor comes to check up on him, the man freezes his thermometer and it breaks. The Bailey's discover that the man cannot talk but man stays with the Baileys for some time and they start noticing peculiar things about him, like when he blows on his soup there is a draft in the room, and when he walks in th...more
The Stranger was really strange. I didn't really understand the story. For me, I guess the story left too much up for questions/debate. Why didn't the stranger ever talk? How did he end up turning the leaves different colors? Why did the family allow this stranger to stay with them for so long?
As far as looking at the illustrations and the parts of the book, I noticed that there was a leaf stamped on the front cover of the book underneath the dust jacket. So, before reading the story I knew that...more
As far as looking at the illustrations and the parts of the book, I noticed that there was a leaf stamped on the front cover of the book underneath the dust jacket. So, before reading the story I knew that...more
I really enjoyed looking at the illustrations in this book, however I am really confused as to what even happens in the story! It seemed to end quite abruptly and didn't tie up any loose ends. The "stranger" has no idea who he is, but animals love him, and he has the ability to change the color of leaves. This leads me to think he's some sort of seasonal changing symbol-like figure. When he was living with the family, the colors of the leaves in the trees at the family farm didn't ever change wi...more
I have always loved Chris Van Allsburg's illustrations. To be honest, I had always been so captivated by the pictures I never really took the time to read any of his books. Van Allsburg is he reason I pursued children's book illustration when I first started college. He realistic drawings are similar to the style of illustration I enjoy creating. However, after reading this book I have to add this eerie illustrations perfectly suit his strange story and characters. I loved how this book keeps yo...more
As for this book , I was completely amazed at how engrossed I was in the story, It really makes you think. They never really come out and say who the stranger is, but you assume. The full color pastel drawings, really add alot to the story. They vividly show you the story with his pictures. I have never actually read one of Chris Van Allsburg's books prior to this one, and must say that after reading the stranger I am excited to read his other works and view the artwork that his books contain. H...more
This is a book that I have mixed feelings about. I feel that it was well written and appreciate the effort made in having the main character be representative of more than a simple person. Introduction of students to allegory is an important thing; they should understand that some people, places, or things (nouns in general) are more than they appear, and their presence is meant to portray an idea more than just a character. However, I feel that this story is beyond the level of younger elementa...more
Summary:One fall day, while Farmer Bailey is riding down the road in his truck, he runs over something---or someone. At first, he thinks he hits a deer, but when he gets out to see what he hit, he finds that he has accidentally run over a man. The man tries to flee, but loses his balance and falls down. Farmer Bailey takes him to his house, where he and his wife, Mrs. Bailey, discover the stranger cannot talk.
The Baileys call a doctor to examine him. Although the stranger isn't seriously hurt, h...more
The Baileys call a doctor to examine him. Although the stranger isn't seriously hurt, h...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCC Children's Li...: great books | 1 | 1 | Mar 02, 2012 11:16am | |
| MCC Children's Li...: A good Discussion book | 1 | 2 | Feb 28, 2012 05:32pm | |
| Shared Picturebook 4 | 1 | 2 | Feb 20, 2012 06:00pm | |
| Chris Van Allsburg | 7 | 11 | Sep 26, 2011 04:12pm |
Chris was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on June 18, 1949, the second child of Doris Christiansen Van Allsburg and Richard Van Allsburg. His sister Karen was born in 1947.
Chris’s paternal grandfather, Peter, owned and operated a creamery, a place where milk was turned into butter, cream, cottage cheese, and ice cream. It was named East End Creamery and after they bottled the milk (and made the ot...more
More about Chris Van Allsburg...
Chris’s paternal grandfather, Peter, owned and operated a creamery, a place where milk was turned into butter, cream, cottage cheese, and ice cream. It was named East End Creamery and after they bottled the milk (and made the ot...more
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Apr 30, 2012 04:56pm