This document provides biographical information about Chris Van Allsburg, an American author and illustrator. It describes how he grew up drawing and moving frequently as a child, which inspired settings for his books. It outlines his studies in art school and challenges learning to illustrate. Van Allsburg is most famous for writing and illustrating The Polar Express, which won a Caldecott Medal. He has authored over 20 books that use illustrations to spark imagination.

1. • BY: LEBRON F. KING
CHRIS VAN ALLSBURG

2. WHY I CHOSE THIS GIFTED PERSON
This gifted person is cool because he loves art just like me! I even like
his books. I like to illustrate and write books like him!

3. EARLY LIFE
He started doing art as a kid. When he was a little kid he thought his friends were
better at art than him, so he became an artist when he was a grown up.
He lived on a farm and had to walk to school every day. He moved a lot. One of the
streets he lived on looked like the street on the front cover of the book, The Polar
Express.

4. ATTRIBUTES
• He is good at illustrating and writing. He went to college to learn to
be an artist. He first studied sculpture. In college at The University of
Michigan, he thought other students had better art than he did, but he
studied and got better.

5. GIFTS AND TALENTS
• He was creative. He made books and characters that no none had ever
made before. These illustrations and books make us use our
imagination.

6. EPISODE OR STORY
• He is most known for writing and illustrating The Polar Express in
1985. He won a Caldecott Medal for this book and it was also made
into a movie in 2004. He came up with the idea for his book by
thinking about a train in the woods and asked himself where would
the train go if a boy were on it.

7. CONTRIBUTIONS
• He writes book and cartoons to help us use our imagination.
• He has written twenty-three books.

8. CHALLENGES
• It was hard work to learn to draw awesome pictures. He's good at
making art, books, and cartoons. When he was a little kid he would
build things with his hands. When he went to college he went to art
class to get better at art.

9. WHAT WERE HIS MOST FAMOUS
BOOKS?
• The Polar Express
• A story of a little boy riding on a train to the North Pole on Christmas Eve.
He meets Santa and the elves and then returns to his home with a bell.
• Jumanji
• A story of two kids who find a game in the park. They take it home and
play it. Every move made in the game comes alive in their house. They
eventually return the game to the park before their mom comes back home.

10. BOOKS THAT WON AWARDS
Book Award
The Polar Express Caldecott Medal
The Garden Of Abdul Gasazi Caldecott runner-up
Jumanji Caldecott Medal

11. REFERENCES
http://hmhbooks.com/chrisvanallsburg/about-chris.html
http://polarexpress.com/author

12. ● http://chrisvanallsburg11.weebly.com/
MY WEBSITE