The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

Van Allsburg, Chris. The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1984. ISBN 0-395-35393-9

Plot

This book begins with an Introduction from Van Allsburg. He tells the story of a man named Peter Wenders. Mr. Wenders worked for a children's book publisher. One day Harris Burdick came to his office and told him that he had written fourteen stories and had drawn illustrations for each tale. He gave Mr. Wenders one illustration for each story so he could review them. Mr. Wenders was amazed by the drawings and asked Mr. Burdick to let him read the stories. He agreed to bring the stories to Mr. Wenders the next day, but he never returned. Mr. Wenders never found Mr. Burdick, but he kept the illustrations. The pictures were so captivating that they inspired Mr. Wenders' children and friends to write stories about them. The illustrations were published in book form with "the hope that other children will be inspired by them."

Critical Evaluation

The illustrations in this book definitely do suggest stories. Each illustration has a title and a short caption. For example, an illustration of a boy and a girl standing on the shore of a lake bears the title "A Strange Day in July" and this caption: He threw with all his might, but the third stone came skipping back. The author Stephen King was so impressed by an illustration titled "The House on Maple Street" that he wrote and published a short story based on it.

Annotations

Harris Burdick leaves his mysterious illustrations with a publisher and never returns. The pictures captivate those who see them with the stories they suggest.

Author

Chris Van Allsburg is the Caldecott Medal winning author of Jumanji and The Polar Express. His picture books are favorites of children and lovers of children's literature.

Genre

Fiction - mystery

Curriculum Ties

Language arts

Booktalk Ideas

Read the entire introduction. It is just one page. Then show as many of the illustrations as time allows, reading each title and caption.

Reading Level/Interest Age

Grade 4 and up (age 9 and up).

Challenge Issues and Defense

None.

Why is it here?

The book presents an intriguing mystery story and intriguing illustrations which can be used as springboards for young readers to write their own stories.