The Stranger

The Stranger, by Chris Van Allsburg

It is well known by readers everywhere that Chris Van Allsburg writes generally unconventional, twisted stories for children. I have maybe read two of his books before I picked this one off the shelf while looking for something else, and from the cover, it seemed as though the man pictured on the cover illustration was being fed by whoever the Stranger in the book was. However, when I read the book, the Stranger is the man eating in the picture. He falls upon a family in a countryside when he is hit by the man who lives there. The Stranger struggles when he tries to get up off the road, and the owner of the home assists him to the car where he ends up staying with the family for a while. During his stay, the Stranger realizes that even though he has gotten used to how the family lives and loves living there, he is the reason why the weather has gone from fall to summery in the matter of only a few weeks. He hasn't spoken since he began his stay at the family's house, but it clicks with him that he is the reason for the leaves on the trees changing to springtime green instead of autumn oranges and browns, and decides that he must leave the family because those pretty colors were what made the trees beautiful, and he wanted them all to look like that. As soon as the Stranger hugs the family and runs out the door, the weather goes back to how it was before the Stranger came upon the family. However, every time fall comes around, the leaves on the trees turn back to green for a week and then overnight they are back to their normal fall colors. An eerie ending; after the trees change back, the frosty windows of the farmhouse say "See you next fall."

I didn't really "read" the pictures when I read the book; I was too drawn into the mystery of the story! I had so many questions; who was this strange man? Where did he come from? And perhaps the biggest question, HOW did he control the changes in the weather?? I went back and looked at the pictures a second time through, scanning for clues that might indicate why the Stranger had control over the changes of the weather, and if maybe he wasn't able to speak because he was always alone and stayed away from others because of his effect on the weather... I was definitely left wanting answers!! But maybe someday my students and I will read this book and look for our own answers. I believe that many of his other books are like this, filled with suspense and mystery, and I think that working with his books would be a great way to introduce predictions and forming our own ideas about the direction in which open endings can go in. I can't wait to read more from him, and maybe find the answers that I am looking for from this book!!