Chris Allsburg

The idea of the extraordinary happening in the context of the ordinary is what's fascinating to me.

The idea of the extraordinary happening in the context of the ordinary is what's fascinating to me.

I am fascinated by the act of making something real that at one point is only an idea. It is read more

I am fascinated by the act of making something real that at one point is only an idea. It is challenging and beguiling to sense something inside, put it on paper (or carve it in stone), and then step back and see how much has got lost in the process.

The Polar Express is about faith, and the power of imagination to sustain faith. It's also about the desire to read more

The Polar Express is about faith, and the power of imagination to sustain faith. It's also about the desire to reside in a world where magic can happen, the kind of world we all believed in as children, but one that disappears as we grow older.

The Dick, Jane, and Spot primers have gone to that bookshelf in the sky. I have, in some ways, a read more

The Dick, Jane, and Spot primers have gone to that bookshelf in the sky. I have, in some ways, a tender feeling toward them, so I think it's for the best.

The Polar Express was the easiest of my picture book manuscripts to write... Once I realized the train was going read more

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 story's narrator, that I was remembering something, not making it up.