Fourteen black-and-white drawings, each with a title and a single caption, are presented as the surviving work of a man named Harris Burdick. In the introduction, a publisher recalls that Burdick left the pictures with him and then vanished, never returning with the stories that went with them. Each image shows something odd: a boat sailing through a house, a nun levitating, a stone-faced child in a dark room. Chris Van Allsburg gives only a title and a line, such as a caption that hints at a mystery, then leaves the rest blank.
Teachers, parents and young writers use this as a story prompt, and it works just as well for adults who like ambiguity. It rewards anyone who enjoys making up what happens next, and it can be read alone in minutes or returned to many times.
Open-ended and thought-provoking; an easy read.
Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1984
- Language
- EN
