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Nov 25, 2011

Robert rated it:

While I don't normally play the superlative game, this is probably my favorite Chris Van Allsburg book.

The premise of this is that Harris Burdick dropped off 14 drawings to a children's book publisher back in the 1950s. Each had a title and a caption. Burdick promised to return with the stories that accompanied each drawing. He never returned.

So what we are left with are 14 highly interesting illustrations with captions that act as story starters. I used to have each More...

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Sep 13, 2011

Katie rated it:

Picking up this book, I was drawn in by the mysteriousness of it all. Is the introduction about the author and illustrator, Harris Burdick, true or was it created to set the mood of the book? It is up to the reader to decide what they believe. I choose to believe the story of Burdick is true because I think it gives the illustrations a deeper and more mysterious meaning. It makes you wonder: what really were his stories behind these illustrations? Each of the dark and ominous fourteen illus More...

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Nov 09, 2011

Kellie rated it:

I am unbelievably intrigued by this book and the mystery behind it. The book is completely made up of black and white photos with only a sentence of information. The photos are nothing you would see in everyday life. They include images to encourage creative thinking, and I can't wait to use this book for writing prompts in my creative writing workshops. You MUST get your hands on it!

For example, one of the photos includes a room with a window open and the curtain blowing in the bree More...

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Nov 06, 2011

lprater rated it:

Part of literature unit:

This beautifully illustrated nearly wordless book is a perfect addition to a unit on mystery. Beginning with the introduction of how the pictures were obtained from the mysterious Mr. Burdick to the title and only excerpt from each accompanying story for each of the fourteen illustrations, this book has been an inspiration to many authors young and old. Chris Van Allsburg magically captures the reader’s attention with his detailed images in gray, black and w More...

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Oct 20, 2011

Abby rated it:

This is one of the most fascinating, imaginative, unique, and mysterious children's books that I have ever read. I loved it! The concept is so creative, and it leaves the reader so free to use his/her own imagination.
Each page has an illustration with a title and a caption. Each illustration is from a different story, but we never learn what the stories are. It is impossible to read this book and not think about what those stories could be. This would be a very fun book for bedtime stories. More...

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Sep 04, 2011

Maria rated it:

The first time I read this picture book, I believed the story in the introduction of the book. The second time I read it, I changed my mind. It is an intriguing picture book because it offers just a title and a caption for each of the illustrations. As the title of this book reads each illustration is a mystery created by a man named Harris Burdick or Christ Van Allsburg. The idea how Allsburg crafted the book is quite original.

I actually had seen two of these drawings before, but I More...

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Jan 03, 2010

Emily rated it:

This collection of pictures is part of the intriguing mystery of a real man named Harris Burdick. A book editor was visited by a man named Harris Burdick who wanted to pitch his book ideas for the children's picture books that he had written and illustrated. He brought with him one picture from each book with a title and a caption . The editor was very interested in the man's work and asked him to come back the next day and bring his entire works. He agreed and left his drawings with the editor. More...

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Dec 18, 2011

Jill rated it:

One of my favorite picture books of all time. So many ideas for using in the classroom/for use as writing prompts.

ETA: I just saw the new version of this book at Powell's, wherein many beloved children's authors tell their own tales behind the mysterious images of Van Allsburg's. I didn't know this book existed until then, and I have to say I pretty much hate the whole idea of it, no matter how much I love most of the authors that are included. I'm sure many of the stories are really More...

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Jun 26, 2010

Kristin rated it:

Each year at my school we host a visiting author. As a part of that author visit, teachers create workshops that focus on different aspects of writing. Over the years, I've tried a variety of workshops -- none of them particularly interesting or well attended. This year, I decided to try something new!

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg is a truly unique book. The preface to the story is that the drawings that followed were a part of a book that was lost. More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 20, 2011

Traci rated it:

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Val Allsburg is quite a mystery indeed. Chris stumbled on Harris Burdick through a friend named Peter Wenders. Burdick called upon Wenders to publish stories he had written, along with pictures that he had drawn for each story. Wenders asked Burdick to bring in the stories the next day, but he never returned and was never heard from again. Who was Harris Burdick? Van Allsburg published this book in honor of Burdick. The snippets of text from each st More...

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Jun 29, 2011

CB rated it:

Once upon a time, a man named Harris Burdick walked into a publisher's office with fourteen drawings from fourteen children's books he had written. When the publisher asked for the stories, the man was never seen again. At least that's Chris Van Allsburg wants you to believe. What follows this introductory story are fourteen black and white illustrations which delicately blend a strong sense of realism with some fantastic element. Each picture is accompanied by a title and caption, heighteni More...

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May 25, 2009

Charlie rated it:

14 illustrations. 14 captions. A picture book, then? Yes, but each scene is a loaded gun and you are the trigger.

It's introduction is somewhat apocryphal: the author is not the actual author but merely a messenger of sorts. Chris Van Allsburg discovered the set of drawings whilst visiting the home of Peter Wenders. Thirty years ago (as of 1984), these drawings were presented to Peter Wenders by a man named Harris Burdick with the intent of publishing 14 stories for a children More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 07, 2012

Alana rated it:

This is probably one of the most interesting books I've ever read. At first I skipped past the introduction but by the time I got to page three I knew it was probably necessary. And it was. The mystery of the pictures allowed you to think of your own stories that went along with them in your head. Some looked really scary and some simply beautiful, such as A Strange Day In July. In this book the pictures are essential. I'm pretty sure nobody would understand it without them nor be able to imagin More...

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Feb 06, 2012

Leyan rated it:

This was a portrait book. The strict black and white suggests a dark, distant feel. The left pages were usually white and the right sides included black and white drawings. The drawings in this storybook are so realistic and original. This book in particular is very unique, not like one I’ve read before. It holds that imaginative, mysterious feel to it. Each illustration is done on only black and white but I feel like I can stare at each one for hours because of the realness they hold. The capti More...

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Jul 16, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

I remember that i first hear about Chris Van Allsburg went i was in the 4th grade. He was/is my teachers favorite author. I remember she use to read his books to us. This book was one of my favorites, not only because of the very creative and incredible illustration, but because went i first saw them, they made my mind wonder what were the stories that went along with this wonderful images??

Now that i have once again decided to take another look at this book, i have set a goal for my More...

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Aug 11, 2010

Anne rated it:

This is a picture book but it's a powerful one and great for writing starters/firing the imagination.

The premise is that years ago Harris Burdick went to see a children's book publisher, dropped off the pictures with a caption each to see if the publisher liked them and promised to bring the stories that went with them the next morning. He never returned and attempts to find him, failed.

The art work is stunning, black and white, and over a range of subjects. One is of a More...

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Aug 24, 2009

Kathryn rated it:

Beautifully illustrative and wonderfully imaginative, not only in the execution but in the way it will inspire readers to think of "the rest of the story." Each illustration is accompanied by just a few words of text--they are supposedly taken from manuscripts by "Harris Burdick" and are only one piece to the whole story... so it is left to the readers to imagine the rest. Almost like visual "story starters." The illustrations contain a variety of themes, from mys More...

4 comments like (4 people liked it)

Mar 02, 2010

Katina rated it:

A man came into a publisher's office and showed him a series of the pictures. The man was supposed to return the next and never did. The illustrations were left and then a book of random pictures was born. No one knows exactly the story behind each picture. There is only a few words included with each page. The stories are left to the readers to create. This book can used for many grades (2-5). I think this book can be used to teach students develop story starters. A student can be given five mi More...

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Sep 26, 2011

Claire rated it:

The book definitely fascinated me. I wonder if this Harris Burdick guy died a sudden death or intended for his pictures to remain a mystery. Maybe he was a man with a sense of humor and that was his plan from the get go. Regardless, many pages made me want to create stories of my own based on the drawings and the short captions. I also wondered whether the captions were taken from the beginning of his stories or the middle of them. Nonetheless, it was cool how Van Allsburg had the idea of compil More...

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Sep 02, 2009

amy rated it:

Chris Van Allsburg might be my favorite combination author/illustrator. Is it really fair for one person to have both those talents in such extraordinary form? All his gorgeous picture books center around using ones imagination, this one perhaps most of all. The premise is so clever and simple and just the teensiest bit creepy: what the reader allegedly holds in his or her hands are the only remnants of fourteen stories written by a Mr. Harris Burdick, who disappeared leaving behind just the tit More...

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Jan 10, 2009

Sarah rated it:

It was 6th grade, I believe, when my teacher introduced this most fascinating book to us. Our assignment was to choose a picture and title that intrigued us most and write our own story to go with it. The pictures are incredible and invoke such a strong sense of intrigue and imagination. I wanted so much for the mystery of Harris Burdick to my solved. As a child who already knew I wanted to be a writer when I "grew up", this book was all the more important and meaningful to me. It was More...

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Sep 26, 2011

Katie rated it:

I really enjoyed reading and looking at the pictures in this book. At first I was a little confused as to why each page had one full picture and then a title to the illustration. However, after reading the introduction it all makes sense. The twelve pictures that are drawings done by Harris Burdick. He was supposed to bring the stories for the drawings but never did. Because of this, Van Allsburg was able to create a book the stretches the child's imagination. I think this would be great book f More...

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Aug 28, 2011

Stuart rated it:

This haunting, strange, beautiful picture book is one of the best little pieces of children's literature out there. I was first introduced to it in a writing class, where we had to use an image and caption provided by the book to create an original story of our own. Van Allsburg's book works this way in the mind of the reader, whose imagination is stimulated in the same manner to create the backstory behind each of these gorgeously rendered images- each full of details that pique the brain witho More...

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Feb 07, 2012

Analissa rated it:

Okay this was probably one of the most confusing, fascinating, yet creepy books I've ever read. It took me about three different times to read it to get some kind of idea of the purpose, that I have still yet to understand. Like is this book different parts of one story, or are they all completely different stories. I think that was one of the authors intention was to make you think hard. I think this book test your imagination skills. A Reader can make up a whole story just from one of these pi More...

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Sep 26, 2011

Allison rated it:

This book was really amazing not in a way of being super interesting for children, but for the fact that the story of how it was created is so interesting. Harris Burdick was a man who told Peter Wenders he was working on 14 stories and drawing to go along with them. He was going to shoe Peter these drawings the next morning but Harris never showed up and Peter could never find him after that. Later, a picture for each story Harris created accompanied by a title and caption for each one, was fou More...

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Feb 14, 2011

Ashley rated it:

After reading the idea behind this book i unsure of wether or not there would be a plot to it at all. I was not surprised to see that it was just as the description explained, images from several different books and none of them had any extreme connection to the next. Although I do not feel like this is an actual story the idea behind it was a good dedication to the author of the untold stories. The images although they did not connect well to each other they cause the reader to make up a mini s More...

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Mar 05, 2009

Karen rated it:

This book is great is you enjoy writing stories. Allsburg creates a series of illustrations with one simple caption for each. He then builds a fake back story that these were all individual pages out of multiple children's book. The author, Harris Burdick, dropped them off and never reappeared. The publisher spent the rest of his days imagining stories that went with each picture.
I found this book to order in a series of prints. It has been an amazing way to encourage story writing with More...

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Sep 12, 2011

Tiffany rated it:

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick is a very unique book, but you can definitely tell that it is by Chris Van Allsburg. The illustrations in the book are done once again with a thick white border allowing the reader to be an outsider looking in at what is going on.

He uses contrasting colors of black and white in the illustrations. Some of them make me feel as though I am in a Twilight Zone episode with the bizarre expressions on the characters' faces and what could possibly happen. It More...

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May 11, 2009

Natasha rated it:

Picture Book
Allsburg, Chris Van. The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1984. Ages All. Pages 28. ISBN-0-395-35393-9. Time Spent:-
This is more than a picture book it is a book of inspirational captions and pictures. Each picture captures the imagination and the captions entice the reader to create the rest. The story of the pictures is explained in one page and the remainder of the book is the pictures with captions. This would be a great book for a thir More...

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Sep 10, 2010

Christy rated it:

I was shocked at this book, I have never read any stories by this author. I will say that I liked this book the best out of all that I have read from this author. I found the artwork to be outstanding and the text that was attached to each picture was perfect. In the beginning the author explained about the findings of this book and I found it to be the perfect description. I have never read a book of this layout type and I found it very intriguing to say the least. I do feel that it would More...

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