Chris Van Allsburg
An architect-turned-artist who builds worlds of eerie wonder, turning a board game and a magical train into modern classics.
Born 1949 (age 77)·American children's writer and illustrator·Birthday: June 18·Baby Boomers
Biography
Chris Van Allsburg didn't set out to be a children's book author. He was a sculptor teaching at the Rhode Island School of Design when his wife encouraged him to channel his distinctive, meticulously detailed drawings into storytelling. The result was a body of work that feels both timeless and unsettling, where the mundane collides with the mystical. His pictures, rendered in muted pastels or stark charcoal, possess a haunting, frozen quality, as if capturing a moment just before or after something extraordinary happens. Books like 'Jumanji' and 'The Polar Express' became cultural touchstones not just for their narratives, but for the palpable atmosphere Van Allsburg created—a sense that magic is lurking just beyond the frame, waiting to be discovered by a curious child.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Chris was born in 1949, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Chris Was Born
The biggest hits of 1949
#1 Movie
Samson and Delilah
Best Picture
All the King's Men
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
Chris's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1949Born
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1954Started school
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1962Became a teenager
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1965Could drive
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1967Could vote
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1970Turned 21
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1979Turned 30
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1989Turned 40
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1999Turned 50
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 60
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2019Turned 70
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2026Age 77 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the Caldecott Medal for 'Jumanji' in 1982 and for 'The Polar Express' in 1986.
- Received a Caldecott Honor for 'The Garden of Abdul Gasazi' in 1980.
- Saw both 'Jumanji' and 'The Polar Express' adapted into major, successful Hollywood films.
- Was the U.S. nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award for illustration in 1986.
Did You Know?
The dog featured in many of his books, including 'The Garden of Abdul Gasazi' and 'Jumanji,' is based on his own pet, a Bull Terrier named Winston.
He originally pursued a degree in sculpture from the University of Michigan before earning an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design.
The mysterious island in 'The Mysteries of Harris Burdick' was inspired by a real island he could see from his childhood home in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
He did not intend to become a children's book illustrator; his first book, 'The Garden of Abdul Gasazi,' began as a series of unrelated drawings.
““The Polar Express is about faith, and the power of imagination to sustain faith.””
