Chris Van Allsburg Book Quotes & Sayings

Some people may contend that there is no image more charming that a child holding a puppy or kitten. But for me that's a distant second. When I see a child clutching a book ... to his or her tiny bosom, I'm moved. Children can possess a book in a way they can never possess a video game, a TV show, or a Darth Vader doll. A book comes alive when they read it. They give it life themselves by understanding it. — Chris Van Allsburg

I sculpted for four or five years. Mostly for my own amusement, I decided to do a picture book, and that was kind of a turning point. — Chris Van Allsburg

A good picture book should have events that are visually arresting - the pictures should call attention to what is happening in the story. — Chris Van Allsburg

Book lovers love books!" her mother announced. "There's romance about the books- even having them seems to have a kind of excitement."
from Mr. Linden's Library by Walter Dean Myers — Chris Van Allsburg

Peter Rabbit's not a rabbit. Peter Rabbit is a proxy for the child who reads the book, and they imagine themselves in the rabbit's position. — Chris Van Allsburg

The Polar Express was the easiest of my picture book manuscripts to write ... Once I realized the train was going to the North Pole, finding the story seemed less like a creative effort than an act of recollection. I felt, like the storys narrator, that I was remembering something, not making it up. — Chris Van Allsburg

It was the case for a number of years that I was doing a book a year, but that was back when I was part-time teaching - and since 1991, I've been a parent, so that cuts into the time! — Chris Van Allsburg

When somebody says, 'This must be a children's book,' basically they're saying, 'You must be a child.' And so my answer is, 'Well, yes, I guess I am a child.' But I don't think of myself that way. — Chris Van Allsburg

An award does not change the quality of a book. — Chris Van Allsburg

I try to satisfy the desires that people have to have their books personalized. That's a value, or feature, of bibliophilia that may vanish. How do you get your e-book signed? The idea of people standing in line to get my signature in their book, it's hard to turn them away. — Chris Van Allsburg

I'm always a bit disappointed when I've finished working on a book. — Chris Van Allsburg

The general effect of viewing 'Jumanji' is thrilling. I was able to see on film a thing that at one point had only existed in my imagination. I got to see the images from my book come alive. — Chris Van Allsburg

I've always thought of the book as a visual art form, and it should represent a single artistic idea, which it does if you write your own material. — Chris Van Allsburg