Chris Van Allsburg (born June 18, 1949) is an American picture book author and illustrator.
He is most famous for writing Jumanji, Zathura, and The Polar Express — all of which were adapted into films.
One of his trademarks is that all of his books have an image of an English bull terrier named "Fritz" (seen in the page image) somewhere in the illustrations, often subtly hidden from readers (sometimes he'll appear as a dog-shaped jar, as a stuffed toy, disguised as a piece of garbage, etc.). Fritz first appeared in Van Allsburg's first book The Garden of Abdul Gasazi, where he kicks off the plot by accidentally wandering into the titular garden—and he's made a cameo in every one of his books since.
His other works include:
- The Garden of Abdul Gasazi
- Ben's Dream (1982)
- The Wreck of the Zephyr (1983)
- The Mysteries of Harris Burdick
- The Enchanted World: Ghosts
- The Enchanted World: Dwarfs
- The Stranger
- The Z Was Zapped
- Two Bad Ants
- Just a Dream
- The Wretched Stone
- The Widow's Broom
- The Sweetest Fig
- The Mysteries of Harris Burdick
- Bad Day at Riverbend
- A City in Winter
- Probuditi!
- Queen of the Falls
