The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg

This book is about a farmer who hits a stranger in the road and brings him back to the house to take care of him. He has seemed to lost his memory. The stranger seems a little weird; he doesn't talk, he is not sure how to eat or use a pitchfork, and animals are attracted to him. At the end of the book, he realizes that the leaves on the trees around the farm are green while the other leaves are red and orange. The stranger finally regains his memory and suddenly leaves the farm. After he leaves, the leaves turn red and orange. Every fall, the leaves on the farm turn colors a week later than the other trees. And etched in frost on the farmhouse windows are words that say "See you next fall."

This is a great book because there are so many things you can do with it. This would be a great book for students to practice making predictions. Since the answer is never given, you are left to wonder who the stranger is. I like this because it leaves so much up to the imagination and I think it is good for kids to use their imagination and not always get the correct answer. This is a popular book among teachers and there are many lesson plans devoted to this book.

Chris Van Allsburg also does his own illustrations. I love his drawings; especially in his book The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, which is a book with pictures and each picture has a corresponding sentence but the pictures don't go together as a story. This book also leaves the reader to make predictions about what is going on. I have come to the point where I am able to identify Chris Van Allsburg's drawings/paintings. I would recommend this book for all ages; younger children may not understand what is going on in the story but I think they would still enjoy it.