The Chronicles Of Harris Burdick: 14 Amazing Authors Tell The Tales (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
This book was everything I hoped for and more. When I was an elementary school student, I found a book—The Mysteries of Harris Burdock—and would check it out several times a year, studying the pictures to create stories for each one of them. And now, several famous children's writers have done the same thing, and committed it to paper. I gave it a 5 but really, I'd give it a 4.75 if I could. A couple of the stories didn't resonate with me—they weren't written how I might've written them—but others were so much better than I could've imagined. Fantastical. Extraordinary. The only thing that left a mildly bitter aftertaste for me was two references in two different stories—one reference to the internet and one, I think, to cell phones—that reminded me I wasn't in the 80s [my elementary world] anymore. The book finishes with a story by Stephen King which, I think, is the magnum opus of the book in terms of build up and finale. When I read the last word and closed the book, I felt deeply satisfied. Way to end 2014 for me, book. You're one of my favorites for life. A writer/illustrator visits a publisher with sample illustrations for 14 short stories, each with a title and caption. The publisher loves them and wants to see more, but the mystery man doesn't return the next day -- or ever. All we have are the illustrations. And your homework assignment, young people, is to write your own stories to go with the pictures.If you never saw this book and had this assignment in middle school, shame on your English teachers. The illustrations (and titles, and captions, but especially the illustrations) were all just a little bit odd or fantastic, just enough to send young imaginations off in a million directions. So it seems like the best idea ever to print a new version have famous writers (Stephen King, Cory Doctorow, Lois Lowry, etc.) submit their versions of the stories. And I bet to a tween or teen who had just written their own stories, seeing how the pros did it would be great. But for me -- maybe because I'm twenty years removed from the strong memories of the original book, maybe because these authors need more than 10 or 20 pages to develop their ideas, or maybe because these just aren't their best efforts -- it came up flat. Only one or two of the stories really grabbed me with their premises, and even then I wouldn't say anything was amazing. But I definitely would recommend this book to any burgeoning young writer [first the original, and then after they've written some stories, then they can see this one].
What do You think about The Chronicles Of Harris Burdick: 14 Amazing Authors Tell The Tales (2011)?
This is a great selection of stories. I read few of them for my class and they really enjoyed it
—Sandy
Some were ok but most were just dumb and trying too hard. Not my thing.
—dima
This is kind of a scary book - excellent for the Halloween season!
—charrrrrr
Notable Fiction for Young Adults, 2012 (ALA)
—brittelise91
