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Summary: Book has stuck in student's mind for ten years
Review: When I was in the 6th grade, the best teacher I ever had used this book as a creative writing tool. The stories that this book inspired me and my classmates to write, greatly helped in are collective developement as writers. It has been so vivdly etched in my memory, that I recently went to the library to search for this book. I felt ridiculous searching through the children's section for this book, but when I finally found it, my face lit-up with the memories it awoke.
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Summary: Becoming a cult classic amoung 20 something fans
Review: I bought this book a few years ago, when I was 22. It is a fantastic vehicle for imagination. I was drawn in immediately by the eerie drawings and mysterious captions. Brilliant. Edward Gorey fans take notice.
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Summary: This book forces your imagination to take flight.
Review: The illustrations are so captivating and evocative that even the most die-hard non-creative has to start using the right brain. I've used this book as a tool to jump-start creative brainstorming sessions as well as a tool to teach creative writing to adults.
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Summary: You'll want to buy two copies!
Review: I became a fan of Van Allsburgs books when I picked up The Polar Express, but The Harris Burdick Mysteries is my favorite! I have purchased two copies, one to read and another to cut up, frame, and mount the illustrations for a chilren's nursery.A wonderful picture book that's more than a picture book.
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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.
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Summary: a wonderful tool for the imagination!
Review: I noticed this book is recommended for ages 4-8. My 10-year old son, who normally reads adult sci-fi fantasy by the likes of Piers Anthony and David Eddings, found this book in his school library last year and fell in love with it! It's so much more than just a book. The pictures are so rich and full of detail, your child (and maybe even you!) will sit for hours making up stories to match the mysteries. If you're looking for an educational gift that's not too "nerdy", this is the book to buy.
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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
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Summary: Excellent teaching tool.
Review: I have used this book extensively for creative writing exercises. It really sparks creativity in the minds of youngsters of all ages. It can even be used for group story projects with pre-school or kindergaten age childre
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Summary: Middle School English Teacher's Dream Book
Review: I teach English 8 in a middle school setting, and my student writers tend to grumble and struggle with writing longer pieces of fiction. Whenever I display one of the illustrations in this portfolio, my students get out of their seats and rush for the display easel. They ooh and ahh. Then they start thinking and talking about the stories that pop into their heads--all of them different. They get to work with happy faces and elaborate tales with bright-eyed energy. When they are finished, they can't wait to read to the class. All upper grade English teachers should have this book/portfolio in their bag of magic tricks. Me? I'm waiting for the Mysteries of Harris Burdick Part 2.
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Summary: Curiouser and curiouser
Review: 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 to make this book sound as if it's sole purpose is as a method of teaching writing exercises. I just want to point out that it's so lovely a collection of images that I think anyone that reads it will be pleased by what they see. Pleased to the point of extravagant imaginings, in some cases.
Every Chris Van Allsburg book contains some sort of deeply mysterious tone to it. He's the kind of illustrator that causes great love and adoration in his fans. "The Mysteries of Harris Burdick" is not your normal run-of-the-mill type picture book. And if you're looking for something to read your five-year-old to sleep with, look elsewhere. You will not find anything here that will interest them. What you will find instead is a book like no other. One of my favorite picture books, even at the grand old age of 26.
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