Comments on: Top 100 Picture Books #50: The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg

By: Elizabeth Bird

Elizabeth Bird — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 00:43:40 +0000

Exactly.

By: Steven

Steven — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 20:09:42 +0000

I have a question. For the picture with the girl who’s cutting the pumpkin. What exactly is she doing?

By: Aaron Becker

Aaron Becker — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 01:49:48 +0000

Hands down, my favorite is Wreck of the Zephyr. I wouldn’t be doing what I do if it weren’t for that book.

By: rockinlibrarian

rockinlibrarian — Tue, 29 May 2012 20:09:37 +0000

Sounds about right.

By: Elizabeth Bird

Elizabeth Bird — Tue, 29 May 2012 18:06:25 +0000

And Ben, I think choosing Two Bad Ants is sublime. Very mysterious choice. And as long as you didn’t go with Probuditi I think you’re in the clear.

By: Elizabeth Bird

Elizabeth Bird — Tue, 29 May 2012 18:00:53 +0000

Simply that you have good taste. And a penchant for the unexplained and inexplicable.

By: rockinlibrarian

rockinlibrarian — Tue, 29 May 2012 13:57:10 +0000

This book blew my mind when I first discovered it a couple years ago. It almost made my votes, but there were too many other books to choose from! But this IS my favorite Van Allsburg, so, what DOES it say about people like me?

By: Ben Collinsworth

Ben Collinsworth — Tue, 29 May 2012 04:43:14 +0000

Last semester my Integrated Literacy textbook highlighted Van Allsburg in a chapter on Author Studies. He’s my favorite picture book writer, so I loaded up my collection to share with my classmates while we discussed the chapter. The instructor had the same idea so between us we brought almost his whole body of work. None of my classmates had ever experienced Van Allsburg beyond The Polar Express and Jumanji, so the books caught them seriously talking. But Harris Burdick was the real show stopper. Long after the sharing and reading had given way to the lecture portion of the class, that book was passed around over and over. Exclamations of intrigue, amusement, bewilderment and terror interjected the lesson while twenty- and thirtysomethings took turns whispering “Let me see it again…” I felt like the kid who brought a snake for show and tell. Later one of them told me she’d started reading The Chronicles collection. With a few sentences and some masterful artwork, Harris Burdick created vivid memories that stayed with me since grade school. I was so glad, but not really surprised to see the same effect take place on people seeing it for the first time in adult.

p.s. My favorite Allsburg is Two Bad Ants, but The Sweetest Fig is a very close second. What does it mean?