Scan barcode
briannastw's review
4.0
This was so much fun to read because I am so very familiar with all of the Harris Burdick images - I use them a lot in my work as a teaching artist. Some of the stories made my favorite images even more fun to appreciate, others didn't live up to my expectations, and still others helped me to appreciate images I have never liked much before. Here are a few of the most memorable for me:
The Seven Chairs - It was already one of my favorite pictures, and Lois Lowry totally did it justice. Plus, this story is a little bit feminist and I couldn't love it any more.
Under the Rug - Already an awesome picture, and Jon Scieszka brought his trademark humor - and a little bit of evil - to the story.
Mr. Linden's Library - I've never been truly captivated by this image before, until I read Walter Dean Myers' story inspired by it. This was, for me, one of the most tragic tales in the collection.
The Harp - I always find this one of the most boring images in the Harris Burdick collection, but Linda Sue Park created this amazing web of characters and circumstances that helped me see more potential in the picture.
Just Desert - I didn't love the story, but it was quite frightening. This one had lasting creep-factor.
The Seven Chairs - It was already one of my favorite pictures, and Lois Lowry totally did it justice. Plus, this story is a little bit feminist and I couldn't love it any more.
Under the Rug - Already an awesome picture, and Jon Scieszka brought his trademark humor - and a little bit of evil - to the story.
Mr. Linden's Library - I've never been truly captivated by this image before, until I read Walter Dean Myers' story inspired by it. This was, for me, one of the most tragic tales in the collection.
The Harp - I always find this one of the most boring images in the Harris Burdick collection, but Linda Sue Park created this amazing web of characters and circumstances that helped me see more potential in the picture.
Just Desert - I didn't love the story, but it was quite frightening. This one had lasting creep-factor.
booksandbosox's review
5.0
http://librarianosnark.blogspot.com/2011/10/review-chronicles-of-harris-burdick.html
kesterbird's review against another edition
2.0
Most of the stories are three star stories. There's a smattering of 2 stars, and a smattering of four stars, and even a few five and ones. Averages out to a solid three. I am subtracting a whole star though, because the illustrations that are supposed to be the thread tying this whole thing together are pretty terrible. Not even bad enough to be interesting, just.... really and truly and utterly missable. No one will remember these drawings after the book is closed
nostalginaut's review against another edition
4.0
This is a fantastic book. It's a fantastic book based on (and, really, including) an already-fantastic book that some of us grew up with. I didn't even grow up with Van Allsburg's The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, and had honestly never heard of it until a very good friend introduced it to me a few years ago.
I fell in love with that book quite differently from how I might've as a child - as an aspiring teacher, with ideas for creative writing exercises swimming in my head as I flipped through the pages - and, perhaps, somewhat similarly, too. The Mysteries of Harris Burdick had its own brand of creative inspiration that inspired me, too, and some of that was a reminder to me of the stories I'd invent as a kid: around the campfire with friends, playing legos in the living room, or even actually writing. It's the sort of strange imagination that fascinates and stirs up even more imagination, and it's wonderful.
The Chronicles of Harris Burdick actually includes all of the one-page "stories" (strangely-captioned pictures, for those not familiar) from The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, along with short stories - written by numerous bestselling contemporary authors of young adult fiction - that interpret and expand upon the source material. It's a very neat (albeit quick) sampling of each author's writing (most of which made me want to pick up a whole book by one of them) that I believe will impact readers of all ages in different - and, perhaps, similar - ways.
I fell in love with that book quite differently from how I might've as a child - as an aspiring teacher, with ideas for creative writing exercises swimming in my head as I flipped through the pages - and, perhaps, somewhat similarly, too. The Mysteries of Harris Burdick had its own brand of creative inspiration that inspired me, too, and some of that was a reminder to me of the stories I'd invent as a kid: around the campfire with friends, playing legos in the living room, or even actually writing. It's the sort of strange imagination that fascinates and stirs up even more imagination, and it's wonderful.
The Chronicles of Harris Burdick actually includes all of the one-page "stories" (strangely-captioned pictures, for those not familiar) from The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, along with short stories - written by numerous bestselling contemporary authors of young adult fiction - that interpret and expand upon the source material. It's a very neat (albeit quick) sampling of each author's writing (most of which made me want to pick up a whole book by one of them) that I believe will impact readers of all ages in different - and, perhaps, similar - ways.
beecheralyson's review against another edition
3.0
A bit creepy in places. And typical to books made up of short stories from multiple authors...some you prefer over others.
jodilynclayton's review
3.0
Some of the stories were perfect, though most were not. To do justice to Van Allsburg's pictures and captions and capture their magic and mystery couldn't have been an easy task though. I couldn't do it!
motsinsatiables's review
4.0
Ma chronique : https://auxmotsinsatiables.wordpress.com/2014/04/22/les-chroniques-de-harris-burdick-collectif/
cnc599's review
4.0
I think my favorite in this collection was M.T. Anderson's "Just Desert" (yes Desert, not dessert) but all of the stories were enjoyable.
otterno11's review
4.0
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 Van Allsburg'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 Van Allsburg'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, and I particularly liked Van 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 thought 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.
As for “The Chronicles of Harris Burdick,” in which a stable of authors tell the stories inspired by Van Allsburg'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, and I particularly liked Van 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 thought 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.