Chris Van Allsburg Books

I don't know what I liked best about this book--the subtle, clever, ironic twist, the nostalgic feeling to a decade long ago, Van Allsburg's amazing artistry... heck, it's all wonderful.

This is about a couple of boys who attempt to hypnotize a little girl--you know, to be bratty, stinky boys. Unfortunately, it plays out in less than their best interest.

It's hysterical and a wonderful example of revenge.

This is a great book for children. The pictures are so well done. Parents can enjoy the book as well by remembering their childhood. Children are able to go on a little adventure. All around this is a great book to add to your family collection.

I borrowed this book from our local library knowing nothing about the book but enjoying previous works by the author. The cover was a little 'strange' but, upon reading the story of this young boy and his friend who are mesmerized by a hypnotist who turns a woman in to a chicken, it made sense.

Someone has posted concern about the image of the sister, who has been turned into a dog, is on all fours drinking out of a bowl. I didn't see it as a racial stereotype. Nor did I look at this book as some sort of racial issue - especially at the end when we get 'the pay-off' and realize that, while she might be younger, Trudy is very one smart cookie!

Our household is multi-racial. Add to that the fact that I am trying to raise a strong daughter. I found nothing offensive in this story. But, perhaps we do things differently in our household. We don't talk about people in terms of color in our house. We talk about people in terms of character. Who is good? Who is bad? Who doesn't pay attention to their parents? What reason would be good enough to not listen to the teacher? Things like that. When I read to my daughter, I also ask her open ended questions to start a dialogue. She enjoyed the story very much and so did I.

This is an excellent book for all ages. The story is funny and leaves room for imagination!

This book is awesome. It's great as a read aloud and kids really get into the story. It's truly for a wide range of ages 4 and up (my 8 yr old loves this one). It's a cool book for boys and girls and I really enjoy it. If you love children's literature-you've got to add this one to your collection.

having listened to this book on audio cassette i have nothing but good things to say for the narrator and writer. I loved this story and have listened to it more than once. I can only hope the author will do us the honor of continuing this trilogy.

Finding something with little or no bad language is challenge enough these days but to get to hear and/or read something of this caliber is a joy unto itself. please Mr Helprin write another installment of the story. please please please

In all honesty I am 25 years old very well read in varios topics of interest to me but still this book deserves credit.

A simply incredible book of hard-to-find wonder. Unlike some of the others, my husband and I liked the Tookyshiem parts best. The queen's speech against them was a classic. At least that's my opinion. A gem of a book. They should reprint the prequels!

This book appeared the summer before my third year of college; my mother and I read it aloud to each other while we moved me out of the house, expecting entertainment, but finding so much more than only that. The prose is simply incredible, and I don't know that I've encountered such exquisite writing anywhere else. I'm entirely disappointed that the prequels are out of print.

Helprin is one of my absolute favorites, but not when he writes second-rate material like this. Less a novella than a gloomy satire on...things Helprin doesn't like (media, ideology, computers, progressive education [! ]), this book reveals a great visionary to be a great crank as well. Reread Winter's Tale or Swan Lake instead.

In "Veil" Mark Helprin and Chris Van Allsburgh offer up a mythic tale which, while dark, will disturb and delight readers of all ages (though the elegant, sometimes labrynthine prose style will probably appeal more to older, more sophisticated readers). This book (as well as its predecessor, "A City In Winter,") is no doubt destined to become a classic, both to fans of fantasy and of children's literature for its moving story and its religious/philosophical themes.

Van Allsburgh's illustrations, while charming, are not essential to the understanding of the story, often interrupting the imaginitave "flow" of the prose itself. However, younger readers will still appreciate the bright, colorful images.

With this title, Mark Helprin has solidified his reputation as one of, if not the, premier American fantasists, a reputation which began with the mythic "Winter's Tale." It will remind Helprin fans why they are fans to begin with, and is no doubt destined to create some new ones.

Before you buy this book, consider whether your child has doubts about Santa Claus and how much you are going to let them in on the secret. This book may plant a seed of doubt that you may regret.

This is the story of a boy who is swept away to the North Pole, gets to meet Santa and his elves, and receives a very special gift which he treasures his whole life. The gift is a sleighbell that rings for anyone who believes in Santa. His parents could never hear the ring. His sister one year didn't hear it ring anymore. And some of his friends never heard it ring either. But he, being taken face to face with Santa, always believes and therefore always hears it ring.

But the flip side of the coin is that everyone else eventually stops believing. If your child is immersed in the tradition, then it may be too early to read the book to him. If your child is already clear on the subject, it might be too late. If your child is on the final step of finding out the truth, it might be a fantastic story to share with them to show how Santa exists for those who believe in him and there is no shame either in believing or disbelieving.

The art is fantastic and the story is very well constructed. It's only problem is finding the right moment to lay this on your kid.

I gave this book 5 stars because it was a good book. The book is about a magic train that travels to the North Pole. The train took little boys and girls to the North Pole. When the children arrive at the North Pole, they learn that one of them will receive the first gift of Christmas.
This was a fun book for me, I really enjoyed the train because they had good treats. I also like the pictures of the train.
Westly
7
1st grade
Germany

I gave this book 5 stars because it was a good book. The book is about a magic train that travels to the North Pole. The train took little boys and girls to the North Pole. When the children arrive at the North Pole, they learn that one of them will receive the first gift of Christmas.
This was a fun book for me, I really enjoyed the train because they had good treats. I also like the pictures of the train.
Westly
7
1st grade
Germany

What this book speaks to me about is the magic of Christmas, not the commmercialism, something I try hard to capture each year amid the avalanche of enticements to buy and consume. I grew up not believing in the Santa that just brings presents but in the magic and spirit of giving and receiving and the joy and wonder of the season and by reading and sharing this book with my family each Christmas, I hope to capture some of that magic and wonder, for each of us to hold in amongst the chaos that surrounds us at this time of year.

I am a huge fan of books and loved this as a child, so I got it for my 17-month-old daughter to share with her the joys in this masterpiece. I have yet to see the movie, but the captivating story and artwork makes the book well worth it. You will teasure it for years to come!!!

By the author of the well-known Jumanji and The Polar Express, Ben's Dream is full of incredible black and white line drawings. Beginning on a normal after-school afternoon, Ben leaves his reality (in typical Van Allsburg fashion)for far-away adventures visiting the world's major monuments.

Your imagination is required - it's largely a picture book - and will be different and fresh with every visit.

Look closely at every drawing - and don't forget to look for Fritz, the bull-terrier with the dark eye-patch who appears somewhere in most of Van Allsburg's books.

Simple. Fun. Something new to notice every time you read it.

From the brilliant author and artist, Chris Van Allsburg, who brought us Jumanji and the Polar Express, comes this delightfully surreal story of the unusual help a boy gets when he's studying for his Geography test about landmarks of the world. There is very little text but the characteristic black and white line drawings of Van Allsburg speak volumes. There are lots of subtle details that make you want to look this book over again and again. The clever Geography lesson is sure to be remembered forever when learned in this fun-filled fashion. It's a great book with Van Allsburg's usual wry little twist at the end. Don't miss it!

Let me note that it is a wordy book and that the symbolism is going to go right over the heads of your younger children. This is *definitely* a book for the older end of the 4-8 crowd, and maybe older still.

The answer as to "who is the stranger" is never clearly given, but it's clear, reading through the lines, that he's someone akin to Old Man Winter.

I really suggest you read this book, and possibly buy it.

This book has great pictures. The story is deep. I think little kids will like this book as well as adults.

This book is about a man who suddenly appeared on a road. He was invited by a family. They lived on a quiet farm. He was so awkward.
I don't think this book is a very good book. Wild animals came to him and they didn't care what he did to them. When I read this book, I thought he was an unknown alien. In autumn, the pumpkins grew very huge!
One day, when he climbed the highest hill on the Bailey farm, he looked to the north. The trees there were yellow and orange. But the Baileys' trees were green.
This book made me feel confused. He couldn't talk, or dress himself. He is one weird person.
If you think you like this book, read it, I rather say don't. Read this book if you think it is good. This book is easy to read. It might have difficult words in it. I would say that anybody can read this.

Chris VanAllsburg has created another literary masterpiece. He gives his reader the opportunity to think about the implications of fall never occurring. This is an excellent tool for teachers to use when teaching the concept of anthropomorphism. As always, the illustrations are magnificent!

Other reviewers have used the word "strange" to discribe this work. I think the words "haunting" and "mysterious," probably hit closer to the mark. At least they do for me. This is one of those works that will certainly make you think. More importantly, it will make, or should make, the young reader think. That is the key to the fascination of the text of this work. Beyond doubt, the illustrations are quite wonderful, even beautiful. I did note that some of the youth reviews here were not overly enthusiastic. I have found that many young people do indeed "get" the story, while others do not. Some simply do not have the capacity to wonder, to imagine. This is sort of sad in a way, but on the other hand, it is works such as this, that if read with an adult who does have that spark of wonder in them, might allow some of that wonder to rub off. I like a good fantasy and a good mystery, ergo, I liked this book and do recommend it. The art work and stark writing alone are worth it.

My 5 year old daughter loves this book, and she enjoys hearing the story over and over. Chris Van Allsburg is an awesome children's book author, some of his other books include, Two Bad Ants, and The Witches' Broom.
This is a great buy, and for the price was a hardbound book with a protective sleeve cover.

This is a sequel to Jumanji. My 8 year old really enjoyed it. I think he actually liked it better than Jumanji. This time the game takes them to outer space. While it is a little strange and scary in parts the pictures and plot are wonderful. Recommended for ages 4-8 years.

Jumanji and Zathura are exciting books. Jumanji and Zathura go go together well. They are both exciting. In Jumanji a boy and a girl find a game and play. When they are done they put it back where they found it. Then two boys take the game. They think Jumanji looks boring, but tucked inside the Jumanji box they find Zathura. Then there is a lot of action. These two books are awesome! I highly recommend them to kids of all ages. -SB

"Zathura" is a great book for some people, but a scary book for others. How can a game come true? If you believe in magic, the book will seem more real. If you read this book after "Jumanji", it will be even better. I would give ten stars if I could! Chris Van Allsburg creates some great books! If I had a chance to meet him I wouldn't miss the chance! -Nathalia, Grade 4, Nantucket, MA

I read Zathura by Chris Van Allsburg, I liked and would recommend this book because one of the kids said, "I have a robot" and I like robots. In the book I read how the boys saw a spaceship through the window. The robot came into the house and tried to get the aliens. This helped convince me that it was a good book.

If your two young boys liked the Zathura movie, you'll want to add this book to your bedtime reading rotation. I like it primarily because it condenses the entire movie but never loses the main message: brothers need each other, whether younger or older.

It isn't easy being the younger brother and this book (and movie) focus on the stress of that relationship. Most adults complain the movie is loud. However, our boys gave the movie high praise. I think they are the intended audience anyway.

Very vivid picture like in the movie. The story however is little bit different from the movie. But my son loves it. That's all it matter.

This is a great and easy read for parents to read to children or for early readers to read themselves. The book follows the basics of the movie storyline without getting into too much detail. The only reason I didn't rate it 5 stars was because it ommited things about the story that I thought it should include ... but then again, I am biased because my son LOVES the movie and I've heard/seen it more times than I care to admit to. If your child wants an easy book to read or if they love the movie and you want an easy book to read to your child, then it's a great addition to your book collection!

The lion the witch and the wardrobe is about these four children who travel the mountains of Narnia. Narnia is a place inside of a wardrobe. This book is good for 3rd graders and up.
The theme of this book is fantasy. The theme is important because it's what makes the story what it is. It's fantasy because there can't be a magical wardrobe. There can't be a talking lion. There can't be any centars in the whole world. Centars are half human half centar. (Which is a horse)
The story takes place in a magical wardrobe. The wardrobe is the setting because the setting is Narnia and Narnia is inside the wardrobe. There uncles house is a setting because that's where they find the wardrobe.
In this book the characters are Aslan, the white witch, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, the uncle, Lucy, Edmond, Susan, and Peter. Those are the main characters in this book.
Overall, I enjoyed this book very much. I enjoyed this book because how real life the author made it. How it felt like I was there. I enjoyed it and I hope you will to.

A portal into another world, four kids journey through that portal into Narnia, having wondrous adventures, learning about each other and about themselves. Four kids, Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter journey to Narnia, where they are the fated kings and queens destined to overthrow the White Witch that controls Narnia, turning all to stone who oppose her. With the help of Aslan, the lion who created Narnia, they join to their rightful throne, after overthrowing the White Witch forever. This book is great for anyone who has ever used their imagination to the fullest.

This book took many turns and stopped you in your tracks. When all four siblings come to Narnia together, they hear the White Witch and her horrible reign over the Naranians, Edmund can't believe what he is hearing and leaves to warn the Witch of the things plotted against her, but little did Edmund know that the witch had something more in mind for Edmund and his other siblings would need to come to his rescue. Susan and Lucy walked with Aslan, until he sensed danger and told them to hide. The White Witch's army came to torture Aslan. They shaved his hair off, spit on him, and beat him up. Finally, they killed him, in the time when the children needed him the most. The children had to realize that Aslan was with them in their hearts. When Aslan was resurrected, Lucy and Susan rode on his back to the White Witch's castle of statues of opposing Naranians. Aslan takes them to the room filled with statues, and breathes on one statue. Minutes later, the statue started jumping around and yelling for joy. In the next couple of minutes, all the statues are alive.

This book is very adventurous. When Peter first got his sword, Susan was chased by a wolf, intending to kill them. Peter came to Susan's defense, the wolf came charging at Peter. Peter had to be on guard, even though he had never fought anyone before. The wolf came charging at Peter, and Peter killed him by accident. After Aslan made the statues come to life, the White Witch's army charged on Edmund and Peter's army. Peter and The White Witch engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Peter was nearly killed by the White Witch, the White Witch almost turned Peter into stone. Aslan, Susan, and Lucy came to Peter's aid before she seriously hurt Peter. After the White Witch was overthrown, Peter, Susan, Lucy, and Edmund were kings and queens of Narnia. They all went on a hunting quest, and somehow got themselves lost. They all went through a thick part of the wood, lost each other, and found each other in the wardrobe at the same exact time they left.

This book had very detailed characters. When Lucy talked about Narnia, Susan and Peter dismissed Lucy's comments because they thought Lucy was making things up, like sisters do to get attention, and Edmund teased her, like older brothers do to little sisters, even though, he had been there before. When Aslan died for the siblings, Lucy and Susan cried for Aslan because he was a father figure for them. He helped them on problems, and counseled them on how to work together. Finally, when Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy entered into Narnia, Peter and Susan realized that Lucy was telling the truth and apologized to her.

This book, The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe, is great for anyone who has imagination.
B. Rimando

The story was great,lots of funny parts to it.I espacially liked the part were the broom beat the boys then at the end when the broom was not a ghost was not a ghost just a painted

This book was what we wanted - the original book is not enough like the movie for us.

My little girl LOVES the Brave Girl (as we call her), the Lonely boy, the ghost, and all the stuff that happenns on the train ride (skiing, Karaboo, the roller coaster effects etc). The original Book has NONE of those elements. So for us this book was PERFECT!

The previous reviewer said the inconsistancies really bugged her. We felt the differences in the art were no big deal - most occur at a distance so they had little impact. As for it being "dark" the movie occurs at night. . . it's almost always dark!

There are a bunch of pixs I wish they had included but this book had all the major elements that we were hoping would be there - we are quite pleased. I hope the movie releases a book with tons more pixs but if they never do this book does a nice job .

We saw the movie last year with my then 2 year old who loved the movie. We bought The Polar Express book and he loves having it read to him. This year we bought the DVD and he has watched it many times this Christmas season. Someone gave my mother The Magic Journey and when we read it to my now 3 year old he has found some of the errors in it and I have found more. Some of the pictures are directly from the movie and others are not. The Lonely Boy, Billy, is dressed differently at the beginning of the book than he actually was in the movie and is at the end of the book. The hero boy pulled the brake in the engine to stop for the cariboo, not the girl. There are more errors than this, too many to list. Don't buy this book, buy the original. It is beautifully written and illustrated. This book is a joke.

I went to see the movie and it was great!!!
Then, I bought the movie Storybook and the pictures
were very dark, instead of bright and cheerful.
I recommend if you want the polar express storybook,
buy the original Polar Express book by Chris Van Allsburg,
not the Magic Journey, Polar Express Movie Storybook.
I was quite dissatified with the pictures.

I went to see this movie last night in 3D! and immediately went to buy the book. The book accurately depicts the movie and how wonderful the story and pictures are. I highly recommend this book!