The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

Rating:
Summary: Expand your mind
Review: ***** The Imagination Gets the Best of You Jason, TN

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick are a tell stories in creative ways that differs with each individuals imaginations. In reality, the book probably tells over a million stories, but only tells a few to each individual reader. The book is suitable for all ages and may vary by age. A young reader would see it in a different way than an older reader would. All and all, its excellent book for expanding the imagination expanding the imagination.

Rating:
Summary: The portfolio edition is a must-have for any writing teacher
Review: A colleague introduced me to the portfolio edition, and it is one of the best finds I have added to my writing program. What makes this edition better than the traditionally-bound book is that you can post each of the 12" x 16" drawings around the classroom and use them as picture prompts for writing. I have my students use the captions as the first line of their stories. So far, this collection has been a hit with every class I've taught. You won't be disappointed!

Rating:
Summary: Cornucopia Of The Imagination
Review: A masterpiece that I have had the privilege of coming across has been constructed to engage the mind in a whirlwind of creativity. If the pages of this book covered the walls of an empty room, I would not come out. Not only are the pictures brilliant and fascinating, but they also banish writer's block from existence. I recommend this book for all people, no matter who you are. The only boundaries that come along with this book are the ones set by the reader's imagination. The Mysteries Of Harris Burdick seem as if they were birthed from the depths of a truly unique and wonderful phenomenon. Anyone and everyone should experience this for themselves.

Rating:
Summary: Did Harris Burdick really exist at one time?
Review: After reading the book I wondered if this Harris Burdick person really existed. Is he fact or fiction? Could he be part of some small town's local legend? A book with an interesting twist. It reminds me of the movie "The Blair Witch Project". People didn't know if it was fact or fiction.

In Chris Van Allsburg's "The Mysteries of Harris Burdick" you have a writer (Burdick) who wants to get his stories published. He shows 14 drawings (each with a title and caption) to a man in the publishing business. Intrigued with what he sees he eagerly awaits the completed stories, only Burdick never comes back.

It's kind of weird especially when you see the type of drawings he left behind, kind of spooky. An interesting correlation to his disappearance. Could one of the drawings have played a part in his disappearance? If so, I'd guess it was the last drawing in the book - The House on Maple Street. Oh well, it's a mystery to me.

Rating:
Summary: What a way to get adolescents writing and thinking!
Review: As an English teacher I am always looking for new and exciting ways to inspire creativity in my students. Van Allsburg's book has been one of the best writing prompts I have ever used. The unusual, thought provoking, black and white sketches along with their mysterious quotations inspire writers of all ages...even the principal who was a former shop teacher!

The best part of the book is the "mysterious" letter on the opening page that explains the existence...and the mystery of the pictures. I usually read the letter to my class, flash the pictures from the front of the room, and then create a writing station during other small group activities. The book is always very popular with my eighth graders. Ten copies of the book would be too few

Rating:
Summary: Find a spot on your shelf for this book!
Review: Chris Van Allsburg tells an intriguing story of finding fourteen inspiring drawings from a children's book publisher. A gentleman named Harris Burdick brought the drawings to the publisher. He was supposed to return the following day with the stories that went along with these drawings, but he never came back. All that accompanies the drawings are a title and one sentence caption.

You cannot help but look at the drawings and start wondering what they are about. Some look like they are the start to an adventure and some end long journeys. Some are even a (little) bit scary. This is the magic of the book. As soon as you look at the drawings, you start to imagine and think of other worlds and adventures.

Your child will be able to verbalize or write the stories to go along with the drawings. These sketches allow you to go in hundreds of different directions, allowing the stories to change each time you visit them. My five-year-old daughter was even imagining what could have happened to Harris Burdick to keep him from returning with the stories. She had no trouble at all with the book's unique concept and immediately went to work on helping solve the mysteries of the book's drawings.

This book is wonderfully unique and will open doors to places in your child's imagination and mind that are too seldom challenged by most children's books. Find a place for this book in your family's time.

Rating:
Summary: The BEST
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Remembered fondly from childhood
Review: I am 21 years old and could not be more excited to find this book again! My uncle read to me and my cousins all the time when we were children. This book along with The Polar Express, The Wreck of the Zephyr, and Jumanji became one of our favorites! I had no idea until now that they were all the same author. The Mysteries of Harris Burdick was especially fascinating. Because only pictures with captions are provided we gazed at this book for hours, imagining all the possibilities. I strongly urge parents to buy this book and others by Van Allsburg. I feel that they all encourage reading, and this book in particular encourages the imagination. Though I haven't seen or read his books in years, I still remember them as if I read them yesterday.

Rating:
Summary: The Mysteries of Harris Burdick
Review: I am always on the look out for children's books that can be used in a high school classroom. All of Chris Van Allsburg's books are wonderful but this one will be great for the English classroom. Most students have great difficulty in writing. This book gives the students a starting point and at the same time begins to fuel their imagination. What better way to begin a creative writing assignment than by showing one of the pictures with the title and first line from the story. Anyone who believes this book is just for younger children has a closed mind.

Rating:
Summary: Still as enchanting as the first time I saw it.
Review: 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.