THE MYSTERIES OF HARRIS BURDICK

English 9 Creative Writing

THE MYS TERIES OF HAR RIS BURD ICK

Written by Chris Van Allsburg

What else did he write??

ALSO WRITTEN BY ALLSBURG…

Jumanji

Zathura

Polar Express

HARRIS BURDICKWhen Chris Van Allsburg was invited to the home of Peter Wenders, he discovered fourteen drawings that were, like pieces 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 the final pages of a book or a film's last reel. The solutions to these mysteries lie in a place at once closer to 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.

WHAT DO THEY MEAN?

Mysteries of Harris Burdick Video• An interpretation of the images

GALLERY WALKAround the room are images from The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

In order to select the image that you would like to write on you first need to take a look at all of them!

Take note of which images interest you the most. When you have looked at all of the options and selected at least two that interest you the most return to your seat.

YOUR OWN MYSTERYNow that you have selected an image to work from, brainstorm ideas for how you might create a short story around the mysterious image you selected.

The work you do today will serve as your pre-writing for a short story based on The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

THE THIRD-FLOOR

BEDROOM"IT ALL BEGAN

WHEN SOMEONE LEFT

THE WINDOW OPEN."

AN EXAMPLE…BY ME!David and Sarah were each tucked in by their mother and father thoroughly. They smiled their bedtime smiles, melted into exhausted grins by the day’s vigorous play. Then Mother and Father left their beloved children with a “Good night,” a Good Night Kiss, and a descent down the stairs.

David’s room was across the hall from Sarah’s, yet David could still hear the wind whistling through the fluttering curtains like a stork flapping its wings. The breeze was a slow, constant flow of coolness, which was a wonderful ending to the active day the Jacobson children had. But before the children could bask any further in the cool breeze, a sound, much like a low grinding or humming, began to emit from the backyard. This sound floated in through Sarah’s window, along with masses of flailing, fluttering, flapping flocks of pure white doves. They all seemed to collide with the wall. At first, Sarah thought they would all fall to the ground, but gradually the wall seemed to absorb the birds, except for one solitary wing.

Of course, the children awoke to discover they both had the exact same dream...