Chris Van Allsburg

Chris Van Allsburg
Van Allsburg in 2011
Born	(1949-06-18) June 18, 1949 (age 67) East Grand Rapids, Michigan, US
Occupation	Illustrator, writer
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Rhode Island School of Design University of Michigan
Genre	Children's picture books
Notable works	Jumanji The Polar Express Zathura
Notable awards	Caldecott Medal 1982, 1986
Spouse	Lisa Allsburg (m. 1974)
Children	2
Website
chrisvanallsburg.com/home.html

Chris Van Allsburg (born June 18, 1949) is an American illustrator and writer of children's books. He has won two Caldecott Medals for U.S. picture book illustration, for Jumanji (1981) and The Polar Express (1985), both of which he also wrote; both were later adapted as successful motion pictures. He was also a Caldecott runner-up in 1980 for The Garden of Abdul Gasazi. For his contribution as a children's illustrator he was 1986 U.S. nominee for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international recognition for creators of children's books. He received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Michigan in April 2012.

Van Allsburg was born in East Grand Rapids, Michigan, the second child of Richard and Doris Christianen Van Allsburg. Van Allsburg's older sister was born in 1949. When Chris was born, his family lived in an old farm house. His family then moved to a new house at the edge of Grand Rapids when Chris was three years old. His new house was located close enough to his elementary school that he could walk there for class. His family later moved again to East Grand Rapids. He attended middle school and high school at East Grand Rapids. Van Allsburg attended the College of Architecture and Design at the University of Michigan, which at that time included the art school. He majored in sculpture, learning bronze casting, wood carving, resin molding, and other techniques. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1972 and continued his education at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), graduating with a master's degree in sculpture in 1975. After graduation, Van Allsburg set up a sculpture studio.

While Van Allsburg focused on sculpture, he struggled for time in the studio and began to sketch his ideas at home. His wife thought that his drawings of his ideas would make good illustrations for children's books. After his wife showed his pictures to a children's book editor, he wrote his first book, The Garden of Abdul Gasazi, in 1979.