The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

By Chris Van Allsburg

Published by Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (1984)

Reading Level: Ages 9-12 years

Pages: 32

Genre: Picture Book

Summary: Mr. Wenders, who worked for a publishing company got pictures from a man, Harris Burdick. Each picture came from a story Mr. Burdick wrote and each picture was accompanied by a title and caption. Mr. Burdick promised to come back

with the full stories but he never did. He disappeared. This book has all the pictures, story titles, and captions that Harris Burdick left. They encourage the reader to finish the stories.

My Reaction: Ahhhhhhhh! This book is so cool! Every time I read it my imagination goes crazy with ideas! I've shared it with each of my roommates and they really liked it to. I want to use one of the pictures to write my own story.

Potential Problems: A couple of the pictures might be scary for small children.

Recommendations: I would recommend this book to parents, teachers, and any child with an active imagination or to ones without, they will have one by the time their done with this book.

Other Books by Chris Van Allsburg:

• Jumanji
• The Polar Express
• Zathura
• The Garden of Abdul Gasazi

Learn about the Mysteries of Harris Burdick writing contest by checking out the author website: www.chrisvanallsburg.com