Chris Van Allsburg
Chris Van Allsburg
Chris Van Allsburgis an American illustrator and writer of children's books. He has won two Caldecott Medals for U.S. picture book illustration, for Jumanjiand The Polar Express, both of which he also wrote; both were later adapted as successful motion pictures. He was also a Caldecott runner-up in 1980 for The Garden of Abdul Gasazi. For his contribution as a children's illustrator he was 1986 U.S. nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international recognition for...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionAuthor
Date of Birth18 June 1949
CountryUnited States of America
Your house is all about routine, not the unexpected events of your life.
The Polar Express is about faith, and the power of imagination to sustain faith. It's also about the desire to reside in a world where magic can happen, the kind of world we all believed in as children, but one that disappears as we grow older.
Though I’ve grown old, the bell still rings for me as it does for all who truly believe.
The Polar Express began with the idea of a train standing alone in the woods. I asked myself, What if a boy gets on that train? Where does he go?
If you don't know where you're going, stop racing to get there. -- from Just Desert by M. T. Anderson
The inclination to believe in the fantastic may strike some as a failure in logic, or gullibility, but it’s really a gift. A world that might have Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster is clearly superior to one that definitely does not.
Some people may contend that there is no image more charming that a child holding a puppy or kitten. But for me that's a distant second. When I see a child clutching a book... to his or her tiny bosom, I'm moved. Children can possess a book in a way they can never possess a video game, a TV show, or a Darth Vader doll. A book comes alive when they read it. They give it life themselves by understanding it.
I have lots of ideas. The problem for me has always been which one to do.
The Dick, Jane, and Spot primers have gone to that bookshelf in the sky. I have, in some ways, a tender feeling toward them, so I think it's for the best.
Santa is our culture's only mythic figure truly believed in by a large percentage of the population. It's a fact that most of the true believers are under eight years old, and that's a pity.
At first, I see pictures of a story in my mind. Then creating the story comes from asking questions of myself. I guess you might call it the 'what if - what then' approach to writing and illustration.
I pore over every word on the cereal box at breakfast, often more than once. You can ask me anything about shredded wheat.