Monday, August 23, 2021

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick-by Chris Van Allsburg

 


Van Allsburg, C. (1984). The mysteries of Harris Burdick. Houghton Mifflin, United States Of America.

From the Publisher
Since its publication in 1984, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick has stimulated the minds of readers of all ages and backgrounds. Now the original fourteen drawings are available in a large portfolio edition of loose sheets. In addition, a newly discovered fifteenth drawing, titled The Youngest Magician, has been added, as well as an updated introduction by the author. The puzzles of these mysterious drawings will be even more provocative because of the larger size and the exceptional printing quality. For the first time, the drawings can be shared with groups or displayed singly. The Mysteries of Harris Burdick was a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 1984.

I personally am a huge fan of Chris Van Allsburg.  When I was an elementary classroom teacher, my students and I would do an author study of his books.  His beautiful black and white illustrations and amazing story telling always made his book a big hit in the classroom.  His talent earned him two Caldecott Medals.  His first medal was awarded in 1982 for the picture book Jumanji and the second was awarded in 1986 for The Polar Express (ALSC book & media). 

I have used this book in the past with older students to get their creative juices flowing.  Each of the illustrations in this book is accompanied by a caption.  I charge the students with coming up with a story for the illustration and its caption.  I then share Stephen King's short story with them from his book Nightmares and Dreamscapes, "The House on Maple Street" which he wrote in 1993 based on the following illustration from the book.  The caption reading "It was a perfect lift-off."  

In 2011 Houghton Mifflin published the short story collection The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: 14 Amazing Authors Tell the Tales.  This collection of short stories, written by authors like Jon Scieszka, Cory Doctotow, and Linda Sue Park are all based on the original illustrations  from The Mysteries of Harris Burdick.  



The Mysteries of Harris Burdick is available from the three public library systems in NYC as an ebook.  







 ALSC book & media awards shelf. Alsc-Awards-Shelf.org. https://alsc-awards-shelf.org/directory/results?booklist=6

Tuesday, August 17, 2021

A Little History

 

Pictures have been used to tell stories for thousands of years. True picture books started when Randolf Caldecott used images to help tell stories rather then just as text decorations (Popova 2012).  Wanda Gag considered to be the pioneer in the development of the picture book.  The formula for illustrated books had been to show text on the left page and pictures on the right page.  In the book Millions of Cats

Gag mixed up the order of pictures and text, combined pictures and text, and stretched pictures onto more than one page.   Her ideas paved the way for modern authors/illustrators like Maurice Sendak, Dr. Seuss, and Eric Carle. Millions of Cats (1928) is the oldest American picture book still in print.
Picture books are usually equal or less then 48 pages. Thirty-two pages is considered to be standard.  The illustrations play a major role in telling the story.  



Popova, Maria. “A Brief History of Children's Picture Books and the Art of Visual Storytelling.” The Atlantic, 24 Feb. 2012. Accessed 17 Aug. 2021.

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Welcome


For this initial post I would like to start out by welcoming you to my new blog.  If you read the "About Me" section you have learned that I am an educator.  I would like to take a minute to explain my passion for picture books and why I came to write this blog.  When I started my career, I started out in an elementary classroom.  My first year I taught second grade.  I was an excited and nervous twenty something.  And as you may have guessed, reading and picture books were a big part of our everyday.  I spent sixteen years in the elementary school.  I taught every grade at least once, and some grades I taught for years.  And picture books were always a huge part of my students learning. 

In 2004, I was an elementary teacher assigned to the library.  I will be 100% transparent, I was not happy with that placement.  I didn't think I would be a good fit.  I honestly had no idea what a school librarian's job was.  But I accepted the job and vowed to do my best.  It was about a month into the position that I realized that I was a horrible librarian, but that the job had so much potential.  I went back to school to get my LMS.  I graduated from Queens College School of Library and Information Studies as a NYS certified school librarian, and haven't looked back.  I moved from elementary to high school and have honestly never been happier.  

It is now over 15 years later, I have used picture books with my students on the high school level for a variety of reasons that I would like to share.  I have also encouraged high school teachers to use these amazing tools in their instruction.  Picture books are powerful tools that can not only help engage students, but can allow them to understand complex concepts.  Picture books can build connections and continue to foster lifelong reading and learning. And picture books can help you win on Jeopardy

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick-by Chris Van Allsburg

  Van Allsburg, C. (1984). The mysteries of Harris Burdick . Houghton Mifflin, United States Of America. From the Publisher Since its public...