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16th out of 56 books
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The Garden of Abdul Gasazi
Sometimes that very thin line between illusion and reality is not as clearly defined as we would like it to be. It certainly 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. And even after Alan escaped, the spell of Gasazi still se...more
Hardcover, 32 pages
Published
October 10th 1979
by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
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This is a bit like the black & white/non-Christmas version of The Polar Express. You have a pragmatic, but curious little boy who finds himself wisked away into a magical world only to wonder later if any of it really even happened. The story didn't instantly draw me in, but as it progressed I found myself getting more interested in the outcome. Similarly, the drawings felt a little drab and impersonal at the start. But again, as the story progressed, my feelings about them changed. They have...more
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Miss Hester asks young Alan Mitz to spend the afternoon with her naughty dog Fritz. After Alan defends the parlor furniture and pillows from Fritz's love of chewing and has a nap, Alan takes Fritz for his afternoon walk. Fritz leads the way and they come upon a wall with an open doorway. A sign warns that the garden belongs to a retire magician and reads "absolutely, positively no dogs allowed." Fritz can't read and takes off into the garden beyond. Alan follows frantically and cha...more
When first observing the book, I can see that it is laid out in a landscape format. I believe the reason for this is because the book contains very detailed illustrations of the garden landscapes and scenery. The illustrations in the book are black and white yet are full of detail. In some of the images depicting garden scenes, individual blades of grass can be seen as well as the texture of tree trunks and clothing. Shading also is a great part of the illustrations and helps to show all of the ...more
Katelynn Callahan
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The story begins with a young boy named Allen. He is watching a dog named Fritz for Miss Hester. The dog is a bit wild and likes to bite so when Allen took Fritz on a walk they came across a garden. The gardens sign said absolutely no dogs allowed, so Allen turned to leave. Just then Fritz escaped from his collar and ran into the garden. Allen followed him into the garden and tried to find him. After searching for awhile he comes to the house of the man who owns the garden and who is also a magi...more
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A young Chris Van Allsburg caught the rapt attention of the picture book world with this effort in 1979. The Garden of Abdul Gasazi is a rapturous, swirling world that blurs the line between reality and illusion with supreme skill, leading us toward the edge of our expectations just far enough to really surprise us with what will actually happen after another turn of the page. It feels as if we are traversing further and further into a dark alternate world as we read, where we can't be at all s...more
Ronyell
rated it
“The Garden of Abdul Gasazi” is a Caldecott Honor Book from the legendary mind of Chris Van Allsburg and it is about how a young boy named Alan tries to rescue Miss Hester’s dog, Fritz from the great magician Abdul Gasazi when Fritz accidentally runs off into the forbidden garden of Abdul Gasazi. “The Garden of Abdul Gasazi” is a true masterpiece full of mystery and magic that children will enjoy for many years.
Chris Van Allsburg has done a great job at both illustrating and writing...more
Chris Van Allsburg has done a great job at both illustrating and writing...more
This book made me turn page after page quickly in order to find out what was going to happen next. I like the theme of the book: magic. This is something that will always interest kids and will continue the debate of is magic real? This is a large book with large illustrations which are framed (small white border). This is another book that is illustrated in black and white but the black is more like a soft black or gray. Van Allsburg does a great job using great detail and shading in his illus...more
This book was ADORABLE. I enjoyed the read. It was a fun story about both adult logic and child whimsy. (like how at the very end, the dog has the same hat that the duck flew off with) However, I think that the matter that Alan (the boy) did not know of the hat that Fritz (the dog) had, made it more whimsical. We are so tied down by logic that sometimes we forget that whimsy can still happen even in life. I think that the end could have a good opening for discussion. "How did Fritz get the ...more
Winner of the Caldecott Honor Award in 1980, "The Garden of Abdul Gasazi" is magnificently illustrated. The book is laid out in a landscape style, helping each picture grasp all the details of the settings and characters. The book is designed in a way where the text and illustrations are separate. The text lies across from the illustration. Rather than having a full bleed spread, the text has a border around it, and each illustration has a white border around it. However, the interplay...more
Destiny
added it
I have come to notice that different additions of a book are slightly different but i assum the illustrations are mostly the same. The garden of abdul gasazi is completely in black in white giving it what i believe is a simply feel to it. There are a lot of lines in the book both horizontal and verticle sending me mixed message on what i am suppose to conclude from the lines.Although there is very little color withing the book and lots of lines and dots filling objects up everything still seems ...more
The Garden of Abdul Gasazi was about a young boy and his mischievous dog. The little dog was always getting him into trouble. In the story the author utilizes a landscape style print to capture the great scenery of the garden. The illustrations are always on the right page and the text is always on the left. Both of the pages have borders, but the text border is much more pronounced. He may have done this because the page would simply look too boring with just words. On the other hand the border...more
This story was very clever and used strong and captivating illustrations to help tell this story. I think, without the illustrations this story would be very unappealing. However, the text and illustrations truly compliment one another. The black and white drawings really draw you in and really tell the story. I almost couldn't read all of the text because I was so intrigued by what would be on the next page. The best part of this story is the end where the author truly reveals the magician's tr...more
The Garden of Abdul Gasazi is a story about a bad-mannered dog who causes all sorts of trouble. His owner leaves him with Alan because she can't take the dog with her. Alan takes the dog for a walk and ends up at the garden of a magician. The garden forbids dogs to enter. Fritz the dog breaks free, disobeys the sign and runs into the garden. When Alan finally finds Fritz he has been turned into a Goose. Fritz still does not learn his lesson as he bites Alan's hat and flies home without Ala...more
This book was a cute little story with a surprise ending that can make anyone go "uh oh" and give a nervous smile. The adventure one can have while walking a mischievous dog are really endless, because all dogs and their masters have different traits and likes or dislikes that will cause them to make certain choices.
The garden was actually not the main focal point for me, but the boy's apprehension to find his dog before something terrible happens. And the antagonist of the story...more
The garden was actually not the main focal point for me, but the boy's apprehension to find his dog before something terrible happens. And the antagonist of the story...more
Tyler
added it
Fritz is not the sort of dog to mind warning signs. When he runs off into the garden of a retired wizard, it’s up to his owner, Alan to go chasing after him. Finding the wizard instead, Alan discovers that his dog has undergone a rather surprising transformation.
Though the story itself is simple, the black and white illustrations are rich with texture and detail. Van Allsburg makes good use of light and shadow, making the wizard’s garden and house seem both magical and frightening, w...more
Though the story itself is simple, the black and white illustrations are rich with texture and detail. Van Allsburg makes good use of light and shadow, making the wizard’s garden and house seem both magical and frightening, w...more
Before I opened the book, I notice it's horizontal. So I am guessing there will be some landscape illustrations. The inside cover is black and as I flip through the pages I notice the pictures are black and white and look like pencil with a shading technique. They're dark. The pages of the text and illustrations have borders and they are all on the opposite pages (text on the left, photos on the right. The font is Times New Roman. Many of the times, you do not see the main character, Alan's, fac...more
This book was good. I see why it's a Caldecott winner because the illustrations were amazing. They were dark and shaded. It had alot of details in the illustrations. The story went along with the illustrations. It's about a boy who takes a dog for a walk and the dog takes off from him. At first i thought the magician really did turn the dog into a duck. Than when Miss Hester told him that he was tricking him i believed her. Than when the dog had the hat it changed my mind again. This book is abo...more
Robert
added it
Shelves:
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magic,
van-allsburg,
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Ah, my introduction to Chris Van Allsburg. His first outing produced a Caldecott Honor.
Van Allsburg's images are so statuesque; his stories play off of the Twilight Zone part of our universe. They are almost magical. Of course, The Garden of Abdul Gasazi is most definitely magical.
A boy who is entrusted with the care of Miss Hester's dog (this dog shows up in all of Van Allsburg's books) learns there are consequences to his actions. He does not rein in the dog and Mr....more
Van Allsburg's images are so statuesque; his stories play off of the Twilight Zone part of our universe. They are almost magical. Of course, The Garden of Abdul Gasazi is most definitely magical.
A boy who is entrusted with the care of Miss Hester's dog (this dog shows up in all of Van Allsburg's books) learns there are consequences to his actions. He does not rein in the dog and Mr....more
This is a black and white page book with a landscape style. On one side of the page it has a text and it is surrounded by a decorated border frame. The designs that are surrounding the text look like they're part of the garden. The next page also has a border surrounding the picture. I think the text is in a separate page because it is just as important as the pictures. You need to read the text and pay close attention to the book to understand what's going on in the story. I liked the book beca...more
Joan Innes
added it
The author and illustrator are both Chris VanAllsburg, and the illustrations are mesmerizingly detailed pencil drawings. Young Alan and Miss Hester's feisty mutt Frisky carry this story. The capers these two go through following the energetic lead of Frisky on the loose in the forbidden secret Garden of Abdul Gasazi are a comical nontypical tale of a typical boy-and-his-dog pair. Whether in Miss Hester's house or outside, this story has young Alan trying frantically to keep the little terror fr...more
Chelsea Cloonan
added it
The cover of this book is the only colorful element of this story, although the background is the only colored part, and the drawing is done in black. The plants on the cover are shaped into different animals, instantly sparking the readers imagination. Through out the book, the text is on the left side of the book, and it is surrounded by a border of ivy, giving the reader a feeling of nature. The orientation of this book is landscape, which is fitting because it takes place, for the most part,...more
This book is written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg and was a 1980 Caldecott Honor book.
It might be a lesson about the consequences of breaking rules. It also might just be a book about how much fun it is to be a kid. A boy who is dog sitting loses track of the dog and his imagination at the hand of a magician. It is amazing and almost Disney-esque in its illustrations.
This book can be enjoyed by readers 2nd grade and up. In a classroom setting it can be used in ...more
It might be a lesson about the consequences of breaking rules. It also might just be a book about how much fun it is to be a kid. A boy who is dog sitting loses track of the dog and his imagination at the hand of a magician. It is amazing and almost Disney-esque in its illustrations.
This book can be enjoyed by readers 2nd grade and up. In a classroom setting it can be used in ...more
This story was different from others the illustrations where in black and white and at first i was unsure if i liked this about the book. As I read the book I started to enjoy the pictures and I think they play a big role in the story. It is a fun children's book that will drawn in young children with a fun adventure filled with magic. I think it says a lot how well this novel turned out with out color pictures because I feel like it will still hold children's attention with out having a bunch o...more
Katherine
rated it
I remember reading this book when I was little and having so many questions about it, but it is also what I loved so much about the book. The book is very open-ended which helps the children imagine what really might have happened. The illustrations are lovely and really, in my opinion helps the children get into the book. It makes it seem like it is very "old world" which is a nice change of pace. The children can also relate to it, they can really capture the mystery and want to ...more
This book is not my favorite Van Allsburg book, however, it still garnered four stars. That should tell you something not only about this book, but also about the author/illustrator.
It is up to you to decide if the boy in this story has a good imagination or if magic is a real part of his world. This is an amusing story with a (somewhat) predictable ending.
Students would love this book and one could read it multiple times to the same class and find something new every time.
...more
It is up to you to decide if the boy in this story has a good imagination or if magic is a real part of his world. This is an amusing story with a (somewhat) predictable ending.
Students would love this book and one could read it multiple times to the same class and find something new every time.
...more
I loved this book. Not only the story being a fun imaginative one, but the art in it was wonderful. I read this so many years ago, when my son was little. I would guess at least 20 years or more ago. I love books so much and I keep a shelf of "Favorite Children's Books". Occasionally, I still go look through, and I enjoy them every time. I think this will be a search on the used books web site!This rates up there with my Bone Button Borscht!
Alan is dog sitting for Miss Hester's dog, Fritz. Fritz is quite mischievous and runs away while they are out for an afternoon walk. Alan searches for him and comes across Mr. Gasazi's house. Mr. Gasazi, who doesn't like dogs cast a magic spell, or did he? I am not very fond of the ending of this book. I believe in magic! The pictures are fantastic and it is easy to see why The Garden of Abdul Gasazi was a Caldecott Honor book.
We all have those dreams that makes us question reality or imagination. From the very begginging cover you hop into a world full of twists adn truns that take us on an adventure through a garden of mystery. Tee pages are drawn in all gray and have no glossy covering. The adventures through this garden of magical cut bushes of a retired magician leaves of wondering, just as Alan was, weither or not this was really reality.
Once a month we have "lunch table reading groups"- an opportunity for teachers to choose a random book to read to their lunch table group. This month I chose this one. I love the texture of Van Allsburg's illustrations. Some of the kids were less into the black and white color scheme, but most of them got into the story, in which a dog escapes into the garden of a retired magician, who has no love for dogs.
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Chris was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on June 18th, 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 (a...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 (a...more
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