Chris Van Allsburg

Of course, everyone has heard of "The Polar Express," but have you really explored any of Van Allsburg's other books?  This man is amazing!  I love the story of how his career started and his process of sketching and writing for his books.  You can read more about that here.  Be sure to read about Fritz, the dog too.  It's a heartwarming story and you'll find yourself on a search to find him in all of Van Allsburg's books.

Here's a quick glance at all of his books.  He has recently published a new book and is currently on a book tour.  You can find the tour schedule here.

I recently started a mini-study with my 2nd graders on Van Allsburg's works.  Naturally, I timed it so we could watch "The Polar Express" just before the Christmas break! 

But we started with "The Widow's Broom" and they loved it.  After doing some research into how and why he creates his sketches, they appreciated the black and white pictures in the book a lot more.  For those of you that don't know, the broom comes to life and has a personality.  After a lot of discussion and brainstorming my students were asked to pick a mundane object and bring it to life through a writing assignment.  You can find it here, if you are interested in using it with your little smarties.

I've also included a writing sheet for them to create their stories.  I hope this helps and I'll be back with more freebies as we explore more of his WONDERFUL books.  So check back from time to time and be sure to comment with things you have used in your classrooms.  Chris Van Allsburg is an amazingly talented man.