Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Boston, Mass. : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011.
Description
A collection of stories based on illustrations in Chris Van Allsburg's The Mysteries of Harris Burdick.
User reviews
LibraryThing member jnwelch
"Although she was only five, and the youngest of the Bradbury children, Melissa had very sharp eyes, and it wasn't surprising that she was the first to discover that something strange had happened to the house on Maple Street while the Bradbury family was summering in England."
The Chronicles of
The drawings are beautiful and eerie, with small details that make one wonder - why is the nun hovering in a chair in that church? Why are vines growing out of that book? Why is there a harp by that beautiful river? They each have titles and cryptic sayings beneath - "The Seven Chairs - The fifth one ended up in France"; "Mr. Linden's Library - He had warned her about the book. Now it was too late"; "The Harp - So it's true, he thought, it's really true." The authors use those titles and phrases as launching points for a wildly varied group of stories.
All are well-written, and of course some grabbed me more than others. I imagine it's one of those books where different readers will come away with different favorites, because there isn't a bad one in the bunch. I found myself enjoying the ones in the latter part of the book the most. Lois Lowry's tale of the chair-flying nun is amusing and well-told. In Stephen King's story excerpted at the beginning of this, he makes sly references to Ray Bradbury and The Monsters of Maple Street, which I believe is a Bradbury story made famous on Twilight Zone, featuring red scare type paranoia and hysteria as the power goes out on Maple Street. The King story turns that inside out - the monster is going unperceived except by the children he's terrorizing. M.T. Anderson masterfully walks us through a glowing pumpkin tale that leaves the boy who wanders out of his neighborhood and the reader questioning what they can believe and what is really beyond their own neighborhood.
It's a fun book, and a pleasure to see how these well-known authors rise to the challenge.
The Chronicles of
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Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg actually is a collection of short stories, based on Van Allsburg's drawings in his original book, by popular authors such as Tabitha King, Jon Scieszka, Sherman Alexie, Gregory Maguire, Linda Sue Park, Walter Dean Myers, Lois Lowry, Kate DiCamillo, Louis Sachar and Stephen King. The original drawings in Van Allsburg's The Mysteries of Harris Burdick supposedly were left by the title character with the publisher to see whether they could be published with the accompanying stories - but he never returned with the stories. So here they are, more than two decades after the original publication.The drawings are beautiful and eerie, with small details that make one wonder - why is the nun hovering in a chair in that church? Why are vines growing out of that book? Why is there a harp by that beautiful river? They each have titles and cryptic sayings beneath - "The Seven Chairs - The fifth one ended up in France"; "Mr. Linden's Library - He had warned her about the book. Now it was too late"; "The Harp - So it's true, he thought, it's really true." The authors use those titles and phrases as launching points for a wildly varied group of stories.
All are well-written, and of course some grabbed me more than others. I imagine it's one of those books where different readers will come away with different favorites, because there isn't a bad one in the bunch. I found myself enjoying the ones in the latter part of the book the most. Lois Lowry's tale of the chair-flying nun is amusing and well-told. In Stephen King's story excerpted at the beginning of this, he makes sly references to Ray Bradbury and The Monsters of Maple Street, which I believe is a Bradbury story made famous on Twilight Zone, featuring red scare type paranoia and hysteria as the power goes out on Maple Street. The King story turns that inside out - the monster is going unperceived except by the children he's terrorizing. M.T. Anderson masterfully walks us through a glowing pumpkin tale that leaves the boy who wanders out of his neighborhood and the reader questioning what they can believe and what is really beyond their own neighborhood.
It's a fun book, and a pleasure to see how these well-known authors rise to the challenge.
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LibraryThing member PhoenixFalls
Given the pedigree of the authors included in this collection, I expected much more magic. Unfortunately, most of the stories were frankly mediocre: either completely mundane or simplistically horrifying. There were a couple standouts: Sherman Alexie's "A Strange Day in July" was wonderfully
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bizarre; Cory Doctorow's "Another Place, Another Time" was pure magic and surprisingly bittersweet at its core. Chris Van Allsburg's own contribution felt right (obviously) but annoyed me with its extremely outdated gender roles. But beyond those stories, the entire collection was sadly forgettable. Show Less
LibraryThing member TFS93
There are some nice short stories here. My favorite is "Mr. Linden's Library". I also liked "The Seven Chairs" and "A Strange Day in July". There is enough good here to warrant a reading. You might want to read this with your children as some may be spooked by a few of these.
LibraryThing member tloeffler
14 popular authors write stories based on bizarre pictures with just a title, and one line. Fabulous! Some better than others, of course (some I wanted to try because I thought I could do better!). But great fun. And just the tiniest bit eerie...
LibraryThing member Whisper1
I'm very sure this will be one of the top five reads of 2011. It is filled with a highly creative idea, wonderfully written tales and exquisite illustrations. Obtained from my local library, I'm certain to buy a number of copies as presents this holiday.
Fourteen authors tell a tale based on
Creative stories by fourteen authors, including Sherman Alexie, Kate DiCamillo, Lois Lowry, Walter Dean Myers, Linda Sue Park, Louis Sachar and Gregory Maguire are but a few of the stars who contributed to this lovely, lovely edition.
My review is brief because words simply cannot convey the sheer joy of this book.
Fourteen authors tell a tale based on
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incredible illustrations by Chris Van Allsburg. Feasting on his art work followed by the desert of the writing of some of my favorite YA authors was a wonderful way to spend Thanksgiving day.Creative stories by fourteen authors, including Sherman Alexie, Kate DiCamillo, Lois Lowry, Walter Dean Myers, Linda Sue Park, Louis Sachar and Gregory Maguire are but a few of the stars who contributed to this lovely, lovely edition.
My review is brief because words simply cannot convey the sheer joy of this book.
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LibraryThing member sassafras
I had a hard time getting into this book to start with,but toward the middle the stories started picking up. My favorites were "A Strange Day in July" by Sherman Alexie, "The Harp" by Linda Sue Park, "The Seven Chairs" by Lois Lowry, "Captain Tory" by Louis Sachar, and "The House on Maple Street"
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by Stephen King. But my absolute favorite was "Oscar and Alphone: The Farkas Conjecture" by the man himself, Chris Van Allsburg. Show Less
LibraryThing member SADAMS30
Chris Van Allsburg was onto something when he published the original Harris Burdick book. These stories are a wonderful addition to the illustrations. It was interesting to read the stories because I had students write their own versions of the stories and these ones were entirely different! These
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"amazing" authors do a fantastic job of showing what sorts of imaginative stories can be drawn from these mysterious illustrations. Show Less
LibraryThing member wearylibrarian
Sometimes funny, often off-beat, these 14 stories by well known authors will entertain the reader. Authors from Tabitha King to Stephen King weave stories inspired by the artwork of Harris Burdick. Who is Harris Burdick? That is another story!
LibraryThing member sturlington
I have owned The Mysteries of Harris Burdick -- the portfolio of illustrations and captions that inspired the short stories in this collection -- for a long time, and I have always enjoyed looking at them and letting them spark my imagination. It is inevitable that finally reading stories based on
So I found many of these stories to be a bit forced or contrived, and unsure of their audience -- neither really appropriate for children or adults. I suppose that's what comes of starting from a picture and matching the story to that, rather than letting the story flow naturally and inspire the picture. There were a couple of exceptions, and they stood out because they broke the rules and gave me something unexpected. Those were the stories by Jon Sciezka and M.T. Anderson; the first was dark and humorous, the second had a delicious twist. As for the others, they were fine, but there was a small part of me that thought I could do better.
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these captivating drawings would be something of a letdown, even when the stories are written by very good authors. It's like opening the closet door to reveal the monster at the end of the book; nothing quite measures up to what already lives in one's imagination. So I found many of these stories to be a bit forced or contrived, and unsure of their audience -- neither really appropriate for children or adults. I suppose that's what comes of starting from a picture and matching the story to that, rather than letting the story flow naturally and inspire the picture. There were a couple of exceptions, and they stood out because they broke the rules and gave me something unexpected. Those were the stories by Jon Sciezka and M.T. Anderson; the first was dark and humorous, the second had a delicious twist. As for the others, they were fine, but there was a small part of me that thought I could do better.
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LibraryThing member christiq
Within this large book, I read "Oscar and Alphonse" by Chris Van Allsburg.
This book was very interesting. It was a story about a girl who discovered two caterpillars that could read and spell out things. The caterpillars' names were Oscar and Alphonse ( the little girl named them both after she
Overall, this was a good short story. It allows for children to use their imagination in order to imagine that this story could be true.
This book was very interesting. It was a story about a girl who discovered two caterpillars that could read and spell out things. The caterpillars' names were Oscar and Alphonse ( the little girl named them both after she
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found them outside and they were starving.) The caterpillars were able to solve a math problem that the girl's brothers had trouble solving. The father and mother thought the little girl was crazy for thinking the caterpillars could spell. Fortunately, they left the idea alone. The little finally released the caterpillars after she knew they could survive in their own..Overall, this was a good short story. It allows for children to use their imagination in order to imagine that this story could be true.
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LibraryThing member Spoonbridge
I have to admit, I read this book due to pure narcissism. Strolling in a bookstore, I noticed that the “main character” of this book shared my first name and the first three letters of my surname. Of course I had to read it, so I did a little research and requested both this book, and Chris
As for “The Chronicles of Harris Burdick,” in which a stable of authors tell the stories inspired by VanAllsburg's, er, “Harris Burdick's” imagery, they definitely had quite a task ahead of them to do justice to the ideas the imaginations of the readers have already built up around the “Mysteries.” More or less, they succeed. The authors do a fair job bringing to life their visions of the background to the surreal pictures and the promising bits of text that accompany them, and a few even approach some of the wonder that the reader of the original has imagining the story behind the mysteries. The best take inspiration from the pictures and twist them into something unexpected, while still I particularly liked Allsburg's own story “Oscar and Alphonse,” Lois Lowry's “The Seven Chairs,” Louis Sachar's surreal “Captain Tory,” and Kate DiCamillo's bittersweet “The Third-Floor Bedroom.” My favorite was definitely M.T. Anderson' s “Just Desert,” based on the painting of the glowing pumpkin and taking such bizarre image to a though provoking and disturbing conclusion. All in all, the stories were fun, great to compare to your own interpretations, and a worthy rendition of the source.
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VanAllsburg's original 1984 “Mysteries of Harris Burdick.” The premise is intriguing; an eccentric author, the eponymous “Harris Burdick,” drops off a pile of intriguingly beguiling artwork and story promises, only to disappear before making good on the tales that go along with the strange pictures. I did not grow up with this book, oddly enough, though, I am sure I would have loved it as a kid. I know I've seen some of the amazingly mysterious images presented in the picture book here and there over the years, but I did not know that they had all originated in the same picture book illustrated by the author of “Jumanji.” Flipping through “Mysteries” is quite enjoyable, even for an adult, and I would definitely pick this up for any hypothetical children. As for “The Chronicles of Harris Burdick,” in which a stable of authors tell the stories inspired by VanAllsburg's, er, “Harris Burdick's” imagery, they definitely had quite a task ahead of them to do justice to the ideas the imaginations of the readers have already built up around the “Mysteries.” More or less, they succeed. The authors do a fair job bringing to life their visions of the background to the surreal pictures and the promising bits of text that accompany them, and a few even approach some of the wonder that the reader of the original has imagining the story behind the mysteries. The best take inspiration from the pictures and twist them into something unexpected, while still I particularly liked Allsburg's own story “Oscar and Alphonse,” Lois Lowry's “The Seven Chairs,” Louis Sachar's surreal “Captain Tory,” and Kate DiCamillo's bittersweet “The Third-Floor Bedroom.” My favorite was definitely M.T. Anderson' s “Just Desert,” based on the painting of the glowing pumpkin and taking such bizarre image to a though provoking and disturbing conclusion. All in all, the stories were fun, great to compare to your own interpretations, and a worthy rendition of the source.
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LibraryThing member akmargie
I gave an average rating because like most short story collections I liked some stories more than others. They all had a dark and slightly sinister thread running through, some more heavy than others. Also being based on the illustrations they are, there was a heavy supernatural and fantasy motif.
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So much that I felt like many of the stories were very Bradbury-esque. (See Stephen King's "House on Maple Street" which features the Bradbury children.) My favorite stories were Jon Scieszka's "Under the Rug," full of his dastardly humor and M. T. Anderson's "Just Desert" which recalled for me Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes. It's just as terrifying with it's hidden world underneath the real world. Show Less
LibraryThing member mhinderlie
summary: this book is a collection of stories written based on the pictures that had been shared for many years with no story. This is supposedly the true stories and the way that Harris Burdick intended them to be.
genre: fantasy
Critique: this book is an excellent example of fantasy because in
genre: fantasy
Critique: this book is an excellent example of fantasy because in
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each of the stories there are aspects that could not truly happen in reality but the authors make them able to be visualized or believed because of the detail. Show Less
LibraryThing member Sullywriter
Like all story collections, some pieces are fabulous and others instantly forgettable. What is particularly interesting is to see how these well-known authors interpret an image and single line. This collection will hopefully continue to prompt readers to create their own interpretations.
LibraryThing member yourotherleft
In The Chronicles of Harris Burdick, a collection of authors take on the pictures and captions from Van Allsburg's The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, and write their own stories for each. Obviously, the most fun is in kids creating their own stories, but this collection is a fun way for authors to
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give us theirs. The collection is, as collections often are, a little uneven, with some authors capturing the picture they've written on, while others totally miss the mark. Jon Scieszka's quick story, "Under the Rug," about sweeping problems under the rug and Louis Sachar's "Captain Tory," about the benevolent ghost of a sea captain who "haunts" a doughnut shop and a hardware store are my favorites of the lot. Walter Dean Myers, Lois Lowry, and Jules Feiffer also do a remarkable job of capturing the essence of "their" illustrations. Gregory Maguire's bizarre tale missed the mark for me, and, I'm sad to say, Stephen King's selection disappointed me a bit. All in all, though, I would recommend the book. It's fun to see these classic illustrations fleshed out a bit, and, of course, Van Allsburg's stunning illustrations are always worth seeing. Show Less
LibraryThing member Stahl-Ricco
Very cool book! 14 beautiful illustrations, and the 14 short stories inspired by them, though I'm not sure if the Stephen King one was or was not. My favorites of this collection were, "Under the Rug", "A Strange Day in July", and "Just Desert" (especially it's wonderful ending!). In addition, you
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have flying chairs, flying houses, and caterpillars that spell! A treat for old and young to read! Thanks to Sara B. for recommending this to me! Show Less
LibraryThing member ReadingMentors
The pictures alone are great to inspire children's imaginiations--and then there are 14 great stories by 14 great authors.
LibraryThing member kelleyhar
Great for creative writing exercises.
LibraryThing member g33kgrrl
Like all collections, The Chronicles of Harris Burdick is a mixed bag and inevitably some stories will resonate more with any given reader than other stories will. I didn't enjoy this as much as, say, the Thackeray T. Lambshead collections, of which it reminded me very much, but I found a few
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stories I enjoyed very much. Show Less
LibraryThing member delphica
It's tough to grade a book that's a collection of short stories. So what we have here is the original Chris Van Allsburg book of mysterious illustrations, and then stories supplied by an impressive collection of writers, primarily children's book authors.
The Stephen King story is from one of his
I do love Chris Van Allsburg, even though sometimes it seems like the world of illustrations is getting a bit over-saturated on the Van Allsburg front. I can get over that when I settle down to focus on his work and try to zone out on the part that it's everywhere.
The Stephen King story is from one of his
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previous collections, but it's my recollection that it really was written to match this illustration (right?). The others, I believe, are new. For the most part, they tend to be a little dark, there are a lot of orphans, a few felt possibly too brief, even for the short story format. I especially liked the Cory Doctorow story about time and a hand car, and the Gregory McGuire one that was set in Venice. M. T. Anderson's story was exactly the right combination of being creepy and hilarious, that starts with a boy getting lost and ending up in a weird part of town for the first time.I do love Chris Van Allsburg, even though sometimes it seems like the world of illustrations is getting a bit over-saturated on the Van Allsburg front. I can get over that when I settle down to focus on his work and try to zone out on the part that it's everywhere.
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LibraryThing member MillieHennessy
Who is Harris Burdick? In his intro, Lemony Snicket tells us that Burdick dropped off fourteen beautiful illustrations, each with their own title and caption, to a stranger, promising he’d return with more illustrations and stories to match. But he never returned, and so fourteen writers have
This book was recommended to me by my friend Mel, but even if she hadn’t pointed it out, the list of authors would have drawn me in. We’ve got: Tabitha King, Jon Scieszka, Sherman Alexie, Gregory Maguire, Cory Doctorow, Jules Feiffer, Linda Sue Park, Walter Dean Myers, Lois Lowry, Kate DiCamillo, M.T. Anderson, Louis Sachar, Chris Van Allsburg, and Stephen King. They run the gamut from what happens when you sweep things under the rug, bottling a cruise ship, moving wallpaper, and a house turning into a rocket ship. They’ve all got a touch of fantasy, and some were quite unsettling, which I didn’t expect but loved.
I enjoyed all the stories, but my favorites were Under the Rug by Scieszka, The Third-Floor Bedroom by DiCamillo, Just Desert by Anderson and Captain Tory by Sachar. I’d recommend this for the young and old alike.
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done their best to put a story behind each picture (or perhaps, as Snicket theorizes, these fourteen were contacted by Burdick in secret and given the stories to match, or had them hidden in their homes for safe-keeping).This book was recommended to me by my friend Mel, but even if she hadn’t pointed it out, the list of authors would have drawn me in. We’ve got: Tabitha King, Jon Scieszka, Sherman Alexie, Gregory Maguire, Cory Doctorow, Jules Feiffer, Linda Sue Park, Walter Dean Myers, Lois Lowry, Kate DiCamillo, M.T. Anderson, Louis Sachar, Chris Van Allsburg, and Stephen King. They run the gamut from what happens when you sweep things under the rug, bottling a cruise ship, moving wallpaper, and a house turning into a rocket ship. They’ve all got a touch of fantasy, and some were quite unsettling, which I didn’t expect but loved.
I enjoyed all the stories, but my favorites were Under the Rug by Scieszka, The Third-Floor Bedroom by DiCamillo, Just Desert by Anderson and Captain Tory by Sachar. I’d recommend this for the young and old alike.
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LibraryThing member TerriS
This a collection of stories based on illustrations in Chris Van Allsburg's "The Mysteries of Harris Burdick." The stories in this book are by authors: Tabitha King, Jon Scieszka, Sherman Alexie, Gregory Maguire, Jules Feiffer, Linda Sue Park, Walter Dean Myers, Lois Lowry, Kate DiCamillo, M.T.
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Anderson, Louis Sachar, Chris Van Allsburg, and Stephen King. What an amazing group of gifted writers!! Very enjoyable, and a good Halloween read!! Show Less
LibraryThing member Stahl-Ricco
Very cool book! 14 beautiful illustrations, and the 14 short stories inspired by them, though I'm not sure if the Stephen King one was or was not. My favorites of this collection were, "Under the Rug", "A Strange Day in July", and "Just Desert" (especially it's wonderful ending!). In addition, you
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have flying chairs, flying houses, and caterpillars that spell! A treat for old and young to read! Thanks to Sara B. for recommending this to me! Show Less
LibraryThing member JBarringer
This is an excellent collection of short stories inspired by a set of drawings created by the mysterious Harris Burdick. The stories are written by some of the best fantasy/horror/sci-fi authors in the field, and each story is youth-reader friendly, while at the same time being sufficiently complex
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and creepy for adults. The drawings are just as child-friendly and creepy. Since this book grew out of a story prompt challenge of sorts, it also is a book that might inspire readers to write their own stories. Show Less
LibraryThing member SamMusher
I was so excited about this, because of the list of authors and because of how much I adored the original as a child. Turns out the wonder lies in the "shall be told another time" aspect of the originals. It's so much better to keep the questions open.
Awards
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 2012)
CCBC Choices (2012)
The Best Children's Books of the Year (Nine to Twelve — 2012)
Language
Original publication date
2011
ISBN
9780547548104