The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

Author: Chris Van Allsburg

Ages: 3-6 Grades

Rating: 5 Stars

Summary: The introduction in the front of The Mysteries of Harris Burdick explains to the author the story behind the pictures in this book. Each one is a mystery with no story to go along with them because the man, Harris Burdick, who created them, disappeared.

The introduction to this book tells only part of the story of what you as the reader are going to see as you flip the pages. Each illustration is a new mystery and it is up to the reader to decipher what the picture and the short quote to go along with it means. This books is so cleverly put together, and each page is just as intriguing as the next. There are so many ways to describe the pictures in the text, but they all kind of leave an eerie sense with the reader when the book is finished.

I actually read this book with small groups of 5^th and 6^th graders. I made the introduction to the book as suspenseful as possible, and told them I was unable to answer their questions, for they all wanted to know if it was a real story. Holding them in suspense helped establish the mood as we flipped through the pages. Although some of the illustrations are creepy and some are fascinating, Chris Van Allsburg does a phenomenal job in hooking his readers into each page.


Try watching the book in video format! The music makes the book even more eerie!