Chris Van Allsburg Biography

Fast Facts

• Was awarded the Regina Medal for lifetime achievement in children's literature
• Won two Caldecott Medals for "Jumanji" and "The Polar Express," as well as a Caldecott Honor Medal for "The Garden of Abdul Gasazi․"
• Graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Sculpture in 1972 and earned his Master's degree in Sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1975
• After his wife, Lisa, encouraged him to start making illustrations for story books, he wrote and illustrated his first story, "The Garden of Abdul Gasazi," in 1979
• Began his career by opening his own sculpture studio in Providence, R․I․, in 1975 and exhibited his first sculpture at the Alan Stone Gallery in New York City two years later
• Quote: "The kind of story a writer ends up telling ․․․ is not the result of the little idea that starts the writer thinking․ The kind of story a writer ends up telling is the result of the kind of person that the writer is․"
• Quote: "When I tell myself a story, I see it in my imagination, like a short movie․ Sometimes I see the stories in black and white and sometimes I see the stories in color․ I'm not sure why․"
• Best known as the writer and illustrator of the children's books "Jumanji" and "The Polar Express," both of which were later adapted into films
• In order to get into the art program at the University of Michigan, he told his admissions officer that he had taken private art classes throughout high school and was a fan of Norman Rockwell, neither of which was true