Chris Van Allsburg

             You probably know of Chris Van Allsburg’s books from the movies made from them including “Jumangi,” “The Polar Express,” and “Zathura.” Though each of these books is beautifully illustrated and well told they certainly not Chris Van Allsburgs only or even his best works. Allsburg is one of the most prolific children’s book illustrators creating art for children that has a hyper-realistic feel, causing his books to border on the surreal. This near surrealism helps to at the same time draw in the viewers will also pushing them out of the picture, making the overall effect of his pictures astounding. With a strong range of both stories and concepts he has books which are a must add to both your libraries and your displays.

            One book of interest is his alphabet book, “The Z Was Zapped,” featuring heavily contrasted pictures of letters and the events which happen to them this book is a fun read for children much older then one would expect to be interested in alphabet books and helps to demonstrate how Allsburgs beautiful imagery and strong imagination can help to make even common themes exciting. Another powerful book which is a must for such powerful and surreal displays is “The Wreck of the Zephyr.” Interesting in part because it is one of Allsburgs few color illustration books, its pictures have a dreamlike quality thanks not to warped or shimmering imagery, but due to their solid and well rendered state.

            Such renderings can help to stimulate the imagination of children, and Allsberg is very much aware of this ability of his art. This perhaps is why he chose to create one of the greatest and most unique picture books of all time, “The Mysteries of Harris Burdick.” This book is astounding because not only does it have surreal pictures but it has multiple surreal story themes. These story themes are not whole stories however, rather they are snapshots from different points of time in the stories. Created so that children might come up with their own stories, so that their imagination might be stirred as they view these pictures and the small caption with each of these. This book has been used by teachers to help with creative writing exercises as it naturally calls to people to create an imaginative story. Because of this ability of Allsberg’s pictures to help your children create creative stories his picture books would make a beautiful addition to the design cycle of any children’s space.