Coming This Month: Harris Burdick Returns!
Saturday, October 1st, 2011
I know of a handful of teachers and librarians who have used Chris Van Allsburg’s Mysteries of Harris Burdick, a picture book containing fourteen intriguing pencil illustrations with captions said to have been left behind by Burdick, who failed to return the following day with the accompanying stories, as a jumping-off point for writing exercises in the classroom. The images are, at the very least, odd, and, in some cases, downright creepy. (Stephen King was inspired by one of the images to create one of the more suspenseful tales.)
On October 25, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will release The Chronicles of Harris Burdick, and I had a chance to read a galley copy via NetGalley this spring. In a sort of reverse mentor text, fourteen outstanding authors — including Gregory Maguire, Lois Lowry, Sherman Alexie, Kate DiCamillo, Jon Scieszka, Louis Sachar, Linda Sue Park, Cory Doctorow, and King — take a turn in the author’s chair, creating wondrous fantastical stories that match the whimsical darkness of the original illustrations.
Don’t be deceived by the illustrations or Van Allsburg’s past work as a picture book author. This is not a picture book for young readers but rather a subtle, sophisticated collection of tales that middle and even high schoolers will relish. Sherman Alexie’s plot, for example, shows the cruelty of siblings turning against sibling … even if the sibling is, well, not what you might expect. Advanced vocabulary, such as Jules Feiffer’s, “Henry viewed the apparition with equanimity,” is delicious to devour with older readers. The level of imagination brought forth from these authors inspires awe. Can a multiply-authored work win a Newbery? I’d love to see this one be considered.
Click the link below to enter the HMH Harris Burdick site …
I know of a handful of teachers and librarians who have used Chris Van Allsburg’s Mysteries of Harris Burdick, a picture book containing fourteen intriguing pencil illustrations with captions said to have been left behind by Burdick, who failed to return the following day with the accompanying stories, as a jumping-off point for writing exercises in the classroom. The images are, at the very least, odd, and, in some cases, downright creepy. (Stephen King was inspired by one of the images to create one of the more suspenseful tales.)
On October 25, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will release The Chronicles of Harris Burdick, and I had a chance to read a galley copy via NetGalley this spring. In a sort of reverse mentor text, fourteen outstanding authors — including Gregory Maguire, Lois Lowry, Sherman Alexie, Kate DiCamillo, Jon Scieszka, Louis Sachar, Linda Sue Park, Cory Doctorow, and King — take a turn in the author’s chair, creating wondrous fantastical stories that match the whimsical darkness of the original illustrations.
Don’t be deceived by the illustrations or Van Allsburg’s past work as a picture book author. This is not a picture book for young readers but rather a subtle, sophisticated collection of tales that middle and even high schoolers will relish. Sherman Alexie’s plot, for example, shows the cruelty of siblings turning against sibling … even if the sibling is, well, not what you might expect. Advanced vocabulary, such as Jules Feiffer’s, “Henry viewed the apparition with equanimity,” is delicious to devour with older readers. The level of imagination brought forth from these authors inspires awe. Can a multiply-authored work win a Newbery? I’d love to see this one be considered.
Click the link below to enter the HMH Harris Burdick site …
