By Jane Bayard Curley
Illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg

23 Illustrations, 32 pages.

"Van Allsburg combines a keen appreciation for the mysteries of life with a sense of beauty. In his universe, entire dramas can be intuited from a single, striking image. His illustrations are infused with quiet intensity, a deep psychological space that only the rarest artists achieve. But that is what Chris Van Allsburg is: one of the most accomplished picture book artists of his generation." - from "Through A Glass, Darkly" by Jane Bayard Curley, Guest Curator.

Illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg

The Mysteries of Chris Van Allsburg
November 20, 2004 - March 13, 2005 Exhibition Poster

By Chris Van Allsburg
Illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg

Late one Christmas Eve after the town has gone to sleep, the boy boards the mysterious train that waits for him: the Polar Express bound for the North Pole. When he arrives, Santa offers the boy and gift he desires. The boy modestly asks for one bell from the harness of the reindeer. The gift is granted. On the way home the bell is lost. On Christmas morning, the boy finds the bell under the tree. The mother of the boy admires the bell, but laments that it is broken - for you see, only believers can hear the sound of the bell. In strange and moving shades of full-color art, Chris Van Allsburg creates an otherworldly classic of the Christmas season. Caldecott Medal winner.

By Chris Van Allsburg
Illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg

The game under the tree looked like a hundred others Peter and Judy had at home. But they were bored and restless and, looking for something interesting to do, thought they'd give Jumanji a try. Little did they know when they unfolded its ordinary-looking playing board that they were about to be plunged into the most exciting and bizarre adventure of their lives. In his second book for children, Chris Van Allsburg again explores the ever-shifting line between fantasy and reality with the story about a game that comes startingly to life. His marvelous drawings beautifully convey a mix of the everyday and the extraordinary, as a quiet house is taken over by an exotic jungle. Caldecott Medal winner.

By Chris Van Allsburg
Illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg

On the last page of the Caldecott Medal-winning book Jumanji, young Danny Budwing is seen running home with a game tucked under his arm. Now, after twenty years, Chris Van Allsburg is ready to reveal what happens when Danny and his brother roll the dice. This time the name of the game is Zathura and Walter and Danny Budwing are in for the ride of their lives. Only the mind and hand of Chris Van Allsburg could create such a fantastic world where shifts in time and space and perspective take the reader on an extraordinary journey.

By Chris Van Allsburg
Illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg

When it comes to the environment, young Walter is not an enlightened individual. He's a litterbug who believes sorting trash is a big waste of time. What's more, he thinks his friend's birthday present, a tree, is the most ridiculous gift he's ever seen. Walter believes the future is going to be wonderful, filled with robots and other amazing inventions. One night while lying in bed, Walter wishes he could visit the future. He falls asleep and his wish comes true. But the world Walter sees is not exactly what he imagined. When he returns to the present, he is changed and so are his dreams. Caldecott-winning artist Chris Van Allsburg brings us a striking look, in unique and evocative pictures, at what our future may hold.

By Chris Van Allsburg
Illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg

Sometimes that very thin line between illusion and reality is not as clearly defined as we would like it to be. It certainly wasn't the day that Alan Mitz stumbled into the garden of Abdul Gasazi. For in this bizarre and eerie place - where strange topiary trees loomed - the evil visage of Gasazi casts its shadow. And even after Alan escaped, the spell of Gasazi still seemed to penetrate into his everyday world. In this extraordinary unusual, and unique picture book, a young artist explores both real and surreal worlds with incredible deftness. In doing so, he has created exquisite and beautiful images that will continue to haunt readers long after they have left the enchanted garden of Abdul Gasazi.

By Chris Van Allsburg
Illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg

Ben's dream began as the steady rhythm of the rain lulled him into drowsiness when he should have been studying for a geography test on great monuments of the world. But just as Ben was dropping off to sleep, a flood of waters shook his house from its very foundation and set it adrift on a round-the-world course, leading Ben past the incredible structures that had merely been pictures on the pages of his book a moment earlier. But as the reader, along with Ben, observes the monuments from this unique perspective, details within Chris Van Allsburg's artwork soon reveal themselves to be clues to another structure of meaning within the story. Which is real and which is illusion? That is for the clever reader to decipher from this beguiling book by an award-winning author.

By Chris Van Allsburg
Illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg

It is late summer when Farmer Bailey has the accident. The man he hits with his truck is dressed in peculiar fashion, all in leather. The man has lost his memory, and Farmer Bailey takes him into his home to recuperate. Some weeks pass but the stranger still does not know who he is or where he came from. The Bailey grow quite fond of the man. One day a group of geese flies overhead, going south. The stranger follows them with his eyes until they are out of sight. Farmer Bailey begins to notice how strange the weather is. It seems that fall will never come. Chris Van Allsburg again explores that fine line between reality and fantasy. His evocative full-color artwork catches every nuance of the mysterious stranger as he blows on a leaf until it slowly turns from green to a golden red. Here is a new perspective on the changing seasons as seen through the eyes of the master storyteller who created the Caldecott Medal winners for 1982, Jumanji, and 1986, The Polar Express.

By Chris Van Allsburg
Illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg

Something is gravely wrong with the crew of the Rita Anne. They have stopped speaking and they seem to walk the decks stopped over. At night, shrieks can be heard coming from the forward hold. Why this dreadful and dangerous change? Could it have anything to do with the huge, glowing rock that was found the week before? Perhaps it should not have been brought aboard the ship. What is this extraordinary rock, what wretched power does it hold? And how on earth will the captain be able to save himself and his feverish crew? From the mind of an exceptional artist and storyteller comes a unique visual statement, a tale at once provocative, exotic and mystical.

By Chris Van Allsburg
Illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg

At the edge of a cliff lies the wreck of a small sailboat. How did it get there? "Waves carried it up in a storm," say an old sailor. But is it possible that waves could ever get that high? There is another story - the story of a boy and his obsessive desire to be the greatest sailor, the story of a storm that carried teh boy and his boat to a place where boats glide like gulls high above the water and not upon it. Chris Van Allsburg tells the story of the boy and his boat, the Zephyr, in words and haunting, full-color pastel paintings. His sailboats sail the night sky with the stars in pictures so vivid that the reader can almost hear the wind in the sails. Here is a work of unusual artistry that will enchant readers of all ages for many years to come.

By Chris Van Allsburg
Illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg

When Chris Vann Allsburg was invited to the home of Peter Wenders, he discovered fourteen drawings that were, like peices of a picture puzzle, clues to larger pictures. But the puzzles, the mysteries, presented by these drawings, are not what we are used to. They are not solved for us, as in the final pages of a book or a film's last reel. The solutions to these mysteries lie in a place at once closer at hand, yet far more remote. They lie in our imagination. For those who have thought of themselves as unimaginative, this book will prove the opposite. Even the most reluctant imagination, when confronted by these drawings, will not be able to resist solving the mysteries of Harris Burdick.

By Chris Van Allsburg
Illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg

When Chris Van Allsburg was invited to the home of Peter Wenders, he discovered fourteen drawings that were, like peices of a picture puzzle, clues to larger pictures. But the mysteries presented by these drawings are not solved for us. The solutions lie in a place at once closer to hand, yet far more remote. They lie in our imagination. This large portfolio edition features each of the original fourteen drawings from The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. In addition, there is a newly discovered fifteenth drawing which is included with an updated introduction by the author.

By Chris Van Allsburg
Illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg

"These figs are very special," the woman whispered. "They can make your dreams come true." Thus Monsieur Bibot, the cold-hearted dentist, was given two ordinary-looking figs as payment for extracting a tooth from an old woman's mouth. Monsieur Bibot refused to believe such nonsense and proceeded to eat one of the figs for a bedtime snack. Although it was possibly the finest, sweetest fig he had ever tasted, it wasn't until the next morning that Monsieur Bibot realized it indeed had the power to make his dreams come true. While dragging his poor dog, Marcel, out for his walk, he discovered that his strange dream from the night before was becoming all too real. Determined to make good use of the second fig, Monsieur Bibot learns to control his dreams. But can he control Marcel? Once again Chris Van Allsburg explores the mysterious territory between fantasy and reality in an uncanny tale that will intrigue readers of all ages.

By Chris Van Allsburg
Illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg

Some of Minna Shaw's neighbors don't trust her clever broom. "It's dangerous," they say. "It's a wicked, wicked thing." Minna disagrees. She appreciates the broom's help around the house. She enjoys its quiet company. It seems perfectly innocent and hardworking to her. But one day two children get a well-deserved thrashing from the broom. For her neighbors, this is proof of the broom's evil spirit. Minna is obliged to give up her dear companion. Chris Van Allsburg, master of the mysterious, brings this supernatural tale to life with moody and memorable pictures that will haunt readers long after the book's covers are closed.

By Chris Van Allsburg

The news travels swiftly through the tunnels of the ant world. A marvelous crystal has been discovered in a faraway place. The queen of the ant colony declares that the crystal is the most delicious substance she has ever eaten. Eager to please their queen, a group of ants sets out to bring back all the crystals they can carry. But two of the ants are overwhelmed by the treasure they find in the alien world of crystals. When their fellow ants return, they stay behind. And so begins a terrible ordeal. Danger lies on every side. Are the crystals worth such a risk?

Illustrated by William Steig, Margot and Kaethe Zemach, Chris Van Allsburg, Ashley Bryan, Alice and Martin Provensen

Set of six posters from the Carle's most recent exhibits, including:

• Heart and Humor: The Picture Book Art of William Steig
• Dancing Line and Merry Color: The Worlds of Margot and Kaethe Zemach
• The Mysteries of Chris Van Allsburg
• The Picture Book Made New: Margaret Wise Brown and Her Illustrators
• Painter and Poet: The Wonderful World of Ashley Bryan
• Picturing the World: The Art of Alice and Martin Provensen

*For a limited time, set also includes free poster, Petra Mathers: Lottie's New Beach Towel.

By Chris Van Allsburg

A Carle Museum "Top of the Shelf" Book.
Click here to read our book review.

Come and meet the Queen of the Falls and witness with your own eyes her daring ride! At the turn of the nineteenth century, a retired charm school instructor named Annie Edson Taylor, seeking fame and fortune, decided to do something that no one in the world had ever done before - she would go over Niagara Falls in a wooden barrel. Dive into one of the oddest adventures of all time with the two-time Caldecott medalist Chris Van Allsburg as he masterfully creates text and illustration to chronicle the courageous and eccentric journey of Mrs. Taylor as she performs one of the most death-defying feats in American history!

By Chris Van Allsburg

Who is Harris Burdick? For more than twenty-five years, readers have been puzzling over the illustrations by this enigmatic artist. Thousands of children have been inspired to weave their own stories to go with his intriguingly titled pictures. And now, some of our most imaginative storytellers attempt to solve the perplexing mysteries of Harris Burdick. Enter The Chronicles of Harris Burdick to read this incredible compendium of stories: magical, funny, creepy, poignant, inscrutable, these are tales you won't soon forget. Featuring Lemony Snicket, Tabitha King, Jon Scieszka, Sherman Alexie, Gregory Maguire, Cory Doctorow, Jules Feiffer, Linda Sue Park, Walter Dean Myers, Lois Lowry, Kate DiCamillo, M.T. Anderson, Louis Sachar, Chris Van Allsburg and Stephen King.