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A review by nostalginaut
The Chronicles of Harris Burdick: 14 Amazing Authors Tell the Tales by Chris Van Allsburg
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.