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
I don't think ordinary things are very interesting, so I try to imagine a world that is less ordinary.
An award does not change the quality of a book.
Some artists claim praise is irrelevant in measuring the success of art, but I think it's quite relevant. Besides, it makes me feel great
its not bad to be different. Sometimes it's the mark of being very very talented.
The opportunity to create a small world between two pieces of cardboard, where time exists yet stands still, where people talk and I tell them what to say, is exciting and rewarding.
Following my muse has worked out pretty well so far. I can't see any reason to change the formula now.
The idea of the extraordinary happening in the context of the ordinary is what's fascinating to me
I write for what's left of the eight-year-old still rattling around inside my head
At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found one Christmas that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I've grown old, the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe.
If I'm not working on something, I'm eager to work on something because it's so gratifying.
I don't like to get scared - it's not one of the emotions I enjoy. So I have to assume that if there are scary things in my books, they aren't very scary.
In the same way that a mundane object can have a personality somehow, I try to suggest that a mundane setting can have some menace behind it.
The general effect of viewing 'Jumanji' is thrilling. I was able to see on film a thing that at one point had only existed in my imagination. I got to see the images from my book come alive.
I don't like to travel. Yet all my books seem to involve a journey.