gliondar's Full Review: Chris Van Allsburg - The Garden of Abdul Gasazi
Any book by Chris Van Allsburg is sure to be full of mystery, wonder and dreamlike illustrations. The Garden of Abdul Gasaziis certainly no exception. This simple tale of a boy and a mischievous dog invites children to consider the possibility that magic might be real and that mystery might be just through the garden gate.
I absolutely love the way this book begins. "Six times Miss Hester's dog Fritz had bitten dear cousin Eunice. So when Miss Hester received an invitation to visit Eunice she was not surprised to read 'P.S., Please leave your dog home.'" I had to laugh when I read this; I like dogs, but I, like many people, know at least one that I would prefer not to receive visits from. This awkward situation is the reason Miss Hester must ask her young friend Alan to watch her dog for the day as she goes off for a visit. Alan is used to Fritz's antics, and knows just how to deal with the dog as he attempts to chew on furniture all morning long. The conflict leaves both boy and dog exhausted, however, and when they each settle down for a brief afternoon nap, Alan is sure to tuck his hat underneath his shirt since Fritz especially enjoys chewing on hats.
After their nap, Alan decides to take Fritz on a walk. They eventually come upon a sign beside a vine-covered wall and an open doorway which reads: "ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY NO DOGS ALLOWED IN THIS GARDEN." At the bottom is a name--"ABDUL GASAZI, RETIRED MAGICIAN." Biter or not, Fritz wins a bit of my affection for his seemingly adventurous spirit when he barrels through the doorway. A mysterious magician's garden sounds intriguing and would be difficult, one would think, for most children to resist, although Alan has every intention of walking away due to the warning until Fritz leaves him no choice. I love the illustration that accompanies this scene--as Alan chases Fritz down a long and eerie path completely surrounded by trees, two statues seem to reach out and call after them in an attempt to stop them.
Despite Alan's shouts, Fritz will not be stopped, and he leads Alan on a chase deep into the garden. Alan looses sight of Fritz after a fall, but is able to follow his prints. Eventually, Alan steps into a clearing and sees a huge manor looming ahead. He feels certain that Fritz has been discovered, so he nervously makes his way to the door, which swings open just before he rings the doorbell. Abdul Gasazi is an intimidating man of few words. Alan apologetically explains the situation, and with a smile, Gasazi leads him to a group of ducks. He implies that dogs found in his garden are turned into ducks, and when one duck steps forward, he tells Alan it is Fritz. Alan is shocked and begs for a reversal, but Gasazi claims that only time can reverse the spell, and the amount of time is uncertain. Distraught, Alan leaves with the duck in hand, but when the wind whips away his hat, the duck breaks free and catches it. Alan watches in dismay as the duck flies away.
Alan makes his way back to Miss Hester's house prepared to give her the bad news about Fritz. She is home when he arrives--and so, Alan is surprised to see--is Fritz. Hester tells Alan that Fritz was in the yard when she returned and after listening to his story, she tells him that Gasazi has played a cruel joke on him. Alan feels chagrined and realizes that he is "too old to believe in magic." But as Alan heads home, the reader witnesses Fritz dropping something at Miss Hester's feet. She scolds the dog for chewing on the object--Alan's hat.
The story's simplicity (along with Van Allsburg's trademark ethereal illustrations) is what makes it so intriguing--the reader is left to make up his or her own mind about what really happened to Fritz. There's also a lovely message for kids to consider. Maybe it isn't so silly to believe in magic after all. Maybe, if you're careful to cultivate your sense of wonder, you never get too old to believe in magic. Maybe the magical and mysterious is as commonplace as a garden you've never been in before, a sky full of stars, or a solitary duck flying through the air. It's a message that doesn't really need to be explained. Upon finishing the book together for the first time, my four-year-old exclaimed, "Maybe the dog did turn into a duck!" I told her that it could have been that the duck dropped the hat and Fritz found it. "Maybe. Or maybe the dog really turned into a duck!" she said. Maybe. That word coming from a child's mouth has a certain kind of magic all its own.
Alan accidentally allows Miss Hester s dog Fritz to enter a magician s garden and is horrified when he thinks Fritz has been turned into a duck. This ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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