Stranger

by KE LI SI ?FAN AO ER BO GE (Chris VanAllsburg)

The story is based on an ancient legend. Because of an accident, the stranger temporarily lost his memory, but because of this, he became friends with the farmer Bailey's family. To the farmer's family, the stranger is a mysterious person who can't speak, can't button... With the arrival of strangers, nature appears anomalous, and the mysteries are not solved until the stranger regains his memory. The author uses words and pictures to narrate this mysterious, surprising and suspenseful story, which greatly satisfies the curiosity and imagination of readers.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fantasy, Mystery, Fiction, Family, Nature

200 pages, Hardcover

First published October 28, 1986

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Chris van Allsburg’s story completely in color. It’s a beautiful book. His color illustrations can be amazing. Another odd thing about this story is that Chris’s name is not on the front of the book.

A farmer is driving home one day and he hits something in the road that turns out to be a man. They take the man home and help him. He has mild amnesia and can’t remember who he is. He is so pleasant to have around the family loves him being there. After 2 weeks and seeing the trees that are green and the lines of trees North that are now orange and yellow, he remembers who he is. He leaves and all the trees turn orange and brilliant yellow.

I love this story. It’s pretty wonderful. The nephew needed me to spell it out a bit for him. He thought the idea was interesting. The story could have used more action for the Nephew. He gave this 3 stars.

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a favorite book in my house -with 'both' of my kids. They loved to discuss it.

I was telling a Goodreads friend --that this book has many great memories to me--
Having just read the book called "Lions" by Bonnie Nadzam -- I remembered this book children's book (which is actually very mature).

"Lions" reminded me of this book....(similar feelings)

Wonderful nostalgia!

[babyhippoface · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book to use in the classroom to teach inference. Teachers can have students guess the stranger's identity then go back through the book looking for supporting evidence. At first reading, they may think they have no idea who he is, but as they go back through they will spot the clues. This is the kind of book that I like to use in discussions because I like to see kids' faces change as the light bulbs go on in their heads.

[Ralph · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this children's picture book, Farmer Bailey hits a stranger with his car and brings him to his home to recover. But who is this stranger and why are unusual things happening around the Bailey farm? That is the mystery to be solved while reading the book and looking for clues in the illustrations.

Wonderful illustrations and story. Who is the stranger?

I must admit that I over analyzed this.

[Sydnee Lim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Stranger describes a tale of Farmer Bailey and the strange man who enters into his life unexpectedly after a car crash. The Bailey family (consisting of Farmer Bailey, his wife, and their daughter) welcomes this man into their home and hopes to nurse him back to health. The stranger has very odd characteristics the family notices. He never seems to get over-heated, animals approach him without fear, and breathes in a cold draft while blowing on his soup. One day the man looks at the leaves and remembers who he is! This story retells the tale of a Jack Frost character who loses his memory as well as the changing of the seasons.

I believe that this book would be amazing to teach K-2 with a season's unit. This book describes a tale of a man who can change the seasons like Jack Frost. This would be a great way to introduce students to the idea of seasons and weather changing.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange little story about a stranger. Remarkable illustrations.

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starring a mysterious figure, whose identity is never truly revealed, The Stranger by Chris Van Allsburg is a Mystery children’s book that details the mysterious appearing of a man who doesn’t seem to know who he is or where he is supposed to be. This book would be appropriate for 3rd graders as it has been assigned the reading level for 3rd grade by all scales. Mysteries are often viewed as thrillers, but this story brings a new spin on a mystery that I had never read before! Also, readers are asked to deduce the identity of the man at the conclusion of the story, because it is never explicitly stated.
This book would be a great introduction to begin teaching your students about reading implicitly and interpreting texts that are not explicit in their language or meaning. Because the main character of the story is never explicitly revealed, the reader must gather all the information they have gained from the text to make their own conclusion. I would use this text for the I DO portion of an introductory lesson. I would first read the text, have students to speculate in pairs about who they believe the mystery character is, then I would begin modeling how we can use context clues to reach conclusions that are not explicitly stated in the text. I would most likely use sticky notes to post throughout the text as we reread it as a class to identify important clues that could help us in our quest to figure out the character’s identity. Another possible activity would be another kind of graphic organizer for students to fill out as I read the story. Students could be asked to record everything they find out about the character as we read through the story together. This activity would be helpful as it clues students into thinking as we are reading, because they are assigned a specific task from the beginning instead of listening to the text being read first.
This book was a WOW book for me, because I was so excited to turn every page. I also LOVED how there was not a definite ending conclusion; it allows the reader to reflect on what they have read, gather clues, and make their own conclusions about the identity of the mystery character. The author creates a detective out of the reader without the reader even noticing it at first! This would be a great book to pull in disinterested readers as it asks them to predict and gather clues throughout their reading!

[Carmen Orsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the book, The Stranger, by Chris Van Allsburg, a farmer named Mr. Bailey is driving along a road when all of a sudden he hits a man. He takes the stranger home and has a doctor look at him. The doctor determines that the stranger has lost his memory. The Bailey family takes him in to nurse him back to health, but fail to do so over the course of a couple weeks. Surrounding the Bailey farm, the season starts to change from summer to autumn, but the farm remains warm and green. After a week, the stranger decides it's time for him to leave. As he leaves, the family chases after him and discovers that the man has vanished and their farm has changed from summer to autumn.

I would read this book in my future classroom during a lesson on the four seasons. I would probably pair it with another book or two that talk about the other two seasons. As a teacher, you could create an activity or art project having to do with your students' favorite season and why they like that particular season. Another opportunity to use this book in class is for a simple group discussion. I felt that the ending of the book left room for your own interpretation of what it means. There's something a little mysterious about it. This book is a great representation of Van Allsburg's story style.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite a good read I loved trying to guess the strangers identity, quick story and great for any age would recommend if you're looking for a quick read.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so confused, even after I googled to see what the book was supposed to be about. Nice pictures, though, and an interesting concept. I guess I just don't have the brain power or the imagination elasticity to wrap my head around this one.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

A farmer notices that autumn is slow in coming this year as he takes in a stranger he hit in the road near his farm.

I hardly ever like stories about characters with amnesia, and this one is not one of the exceptions.

[Brittany Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stranger was a very interesting book to me. It had a nice air of mystery to it. The cover seemed so interesting, but also so simple. There was nothing on the darkly colored back cover, and a thick boarder the same color as the back cover around the image on the front cover. The illustration on the cover was interesting, it looks almost clay like, and the man on the front looks clearly surprised or confused. The illustrations inside the book are very picturesque. It is as if each picture could be taken out and placed in a frame, which I thinks adds to the overall beauty of the page. The images are bordered by thick white space. And the text is bordered by a thin black line, separating the text from the pictures nicely. The colors used are very natural tones; browns, dark greens, very autumn-like colors. The pictures are always on the left while the images are always on the right. I think this set structure could help a young reader understand the story and focus on the plot unfolding, because they are not distracted or surprised by a different style on each page. I thought it was weird that the picture book started with a man getting hit by a car. That seems to be an interesting exposition for a children’s book. The story seemed very sporadic to me. There was quite a bit of random events that had no significance; the doctor leaving his thermometer at the house, the stranger not sweating when he works hard. Some pages just seemed to be out of place. I liked the surprise ending. I did not expect the stranger to be the one making the trees change. I liked that Van Allsburg had the story continue by describing that the same thing happens every fall since the stranger left. I would recommend this for primary aged student’s, I think it would keep them entertained while the teacher reads it out loud. I could find no real moral, so I am not convinced it could be used as a teaching tool as far as a moral goes, but it could be used to inspire student’s imagination.

[Sarah Snyder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't decide if it was the storyline or the illustrations, but this book sort of gave me the creeps. I've only ever read one other Van Allsburg book (The Polar Express) and I have much more positive feelings toward that book even though the illustrations have a similar quality. Perhaps it's because the that story is so magical and ends with Christmas?

This story is about a farmer who is driving along on a beautiful, late summer day when suddenly he feels a thump. When he investigates, he realizes that he hit a man, not a deer as he suspected. He brings the man to his home and has him examined by a doctor who determines that the man must have short term memory loss that he believes will resolve. The man cannot speak, but as the days and weeks pass, strange things happen, most notably that fall has not arrived and all of the trees around the farm remain green. One day, the stranger has a realization (though the reader never learns exactly what it is) and he departs from the farm, never to be seen again.

The story is a mystery, which might appeal to many readers, but because the mystery is never resolved, I didn't love the book. Some readers might love that its up to them to solve the mystery, but I was really hoping for some resolution. That said, I think that this book would be a great way to teach the reading skill of inference: using clues in the story to try to solve the mystery. I think this story would best be used with older students (upper elementary) as they would be more efficient at finding "real" clues as opposed to things that aren't really meant to be clues. A concept map or story web might be a good tool to use when teaching inference with this book. In addition, this book might be a nice addition to a nonfiction writing unit if students are writing about interesting characters or trying some strategies in their writing like leaving an open ended ending.

[Shannon Alexander · Rating 2 out of 5]

In "The Stranger," a farmer is driving when he hits something. He first thinks he's hit a deer, but he soon realizes that he's hit a man. He quickly gets out to help the man. The man is too hurt to leave, so the farmer takes him back to his house. Peculiar things start happening when the stranger arrives at the farmer's house. It is discovered that the man can't talk. The farmer and his wife have him examined by a doctor. The doctor's thermometer freezes when the stranger blows on it. The doctor thinks his thermometer must be broken and tells the farmer and his wife that they should just let the stranger stay with him until his memory is back. During the stranger's stay, it becomes apparent that he has some strange connection with the weather. The trees on the farm have green leaves, while other surrounding leaves of trees have turned orange and red. The stranger picks up one of the green leaves on the farm and blows on it, turning it orange. This makes the stranger realize something internally and says that he's leaving and will see the farmer and his family next fall.

I'm pretty sure the stranger is a manifestation of autumn, but I am confused about some of the details, like why the farm feels like it's summer time if the stranger is supposed to represent the fall? Again with all of the Van Allsburg books I've read, I don't think children would find this book very interesting. I think it's kind of too abstract for them…but I think 3rd grade and up would be an appropriate age group.

[Monique Gil · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Thump" went famer baileys truck on a late summer day. He is certain he hit an animal but once he gets out of his truck, he sees a man on the ground, dressed in odd clothes. Farmer bailey takes him back home, calls a doctor to make sure the stranger is okay. The Doctor says he's fine but the stranger may have lost his memory and should regain it in a few days. A few weeks pass while the stranger stays with the baileys and helps out on the farm. Until one day he notices the colors of the trees far beyond the baileys farm are red and orange while famer baileys trees are vibrant green, this did not feel right to the stranger. He pulled down a green leaf, blew on it with might, and that is when he decided it was time to leave. When the stranger had gone the very next day something oddly strange happened on the farm.
Van Allsburg is such a creative talent, his books leave me in aw every time. The illustrations in The stranger were gorgeous and the story itself was magical and very strange. I had to read it several times to understand what he was trying to share.
A way that I could incorporate this book into the classroom is during the fall season as the trees start to change color. It would be a great way to get students to think about why the trees change color, how they change color, why the birds fly south for the changing of the seasons.

[Tyler Schoening · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Stranger is an excellent mysterious children's book that could be very engaging for young readers. After Mr. Bailey strikes a man with his truck the family must care for him as he is expected to regain his memory. They take care of him and treat him like one of their own, but there is something off about the man. He is mute and seems confused by the most basic things around him. He is connected with nature and breathes life into the farm. However, time must pass and as the stranger leaves the seasons abruptly change from summer to fall, and all the trees begin to lose color. He returns with a message around the same time every year.

The Strange would work well for students building early English standard skills. It's a great read for fall and can be worked into a lesson on making predictions/inferences. As events in the story occur, you could stop to have students guess what is going to happen next, and what is happening in the subtext of the book. Because The Stranger is so obscure it leaves a lot of room for interpretation which can open up for a lot of group discussion and collaborative work between students. It's one of those memorable mysterious texts that helps pique reader interest and curiosity.

[Kennedy Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Bailey was driving home when all of a sudden he hit something. Frantically, he gets out of his truck only to discover that he had run over a man. He takes this man home and the doctor comes to check on the stranger. The doctor says that he is healthy but he must have lost his memory. The stranger did not speak, but he became a part of the Bailey family over time. When it came time for summer to leave and fall to arrive, the Bailey’s noticed that the trees stayed green and the pumpkins kept growing, but all of the surrounding trees were turning colors. The stranger felt as though he was responsible for the leaves not changing colors, so he simply said goodbye and left. Suddenly, the trees changed and fall was upon them.

At the beginning of the year, right as fall begins, I believe that this book would be great to teach kinder-3rd grade about the different seasons. With older students, you could connect the book with science and do research and experiments to find out what makes the leaves turn colors in the fall.

[Savannah Baxter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting story that confused me quite a bit at first. It almost made me feel like it would be a little creepy for young kids with its demeanor and pictures. I started to see like there was some potential symbolism when the bunnies came hopping over to him, left and then looked back to him. This was an alluring story about a family that decided to take a man in after hitting him and inviting him to stay as long as he wants. They treat him well and are waiting for him to remember who he was before the accident. In the end when the words “see you next fall” are etched it becomes obvious, this man is the reason for the season. This book would be a great teaching tool if you want to teach inference books to your children. I noticed that it was even hard for me to notice the stranger’s identity at first but it would be an extremely fun book to leave your children guessing. You could back into the book and pick out the clues to keep them guessing.

[Caitlin Wooley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Stranger is a book about a man who is taken in by a family and in turn discovers he may be capable of more than he can remember. The father of this family, Mr. bailey hits a man while driving home one day, upon taking him home and realizing he is in capable of speaking, he keeps him for a week to ensure he is in good shape after being hit by the car. The stranger helps around the farm and is capable of all things nature and farming. But he soon realizes that it seems as if the wether or seasons are dependent on his travel. The stranger leaves the Bailey farm suddenly, and autumn is in full swing once again. This tale of a strange man with no words turns in to self discovery towards the end.

This book would be great in a classroom setting when talking about a season change. It would offer a fun idea for the children to ponder while still introducing the change of the seasons and its affect on agricultural aspects.

[Jenelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who is The Stranger? Who knows? A mishap on the road leads Mr. Bailey to take the stranger home to care for him. Then strange things start to happen. No one seems to mind or notice as the stranger seems like he is one of the family. Then the stranger starts to get his memory back.

The Stranger is an upper 3rd grade level book that could be read aloud to the class in the fall and used for discussion about fall weather patterns for science. It could also be looked at for the parts of narrative writing: characters, setting, problem, main events/steps toward the solving the problem, and the solution to the problem. The book could also be used to make predictions in several ways: based on the pictures before reading the book; based on what is going to happen next after reading each page of text; and finally, who is the stranger.

[Zoë · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Stranger is about the Bailey family who take in a stranger who doesn't speak after hitting him with their truck. He is very expressive and the family enjoys him. Fall comes to the surrounding area, but the farm is not touched by the golden leaves. It occurs to the stranger that his presence is preventing fall from coming to the farm, so he leaves and every year, the farm is the last to turn seasons.

I would use this book as an introduction into critical thinking and making predictions or implications.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Stranger is a typically enigmatic Chris Van Allsburg tale, with the titular stranger arriving unexpectedly on the Bailey's farm, potentially causing several oddities, and then leaving just as mysteriously. The Stranger lacks a satisfying twist at the conclusion (So, he's just Old Man Winter? Or the human embodiment of seasonal change?), but the mild oddities throughout are curious enough to please any reader.

[Megan Taulbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book because it had very detailed illustrations. I also really like jumanji, and it was similar to that due to the common author. Also, the book was a little darker. It was not about what you would expect. Most children's books are predictable. This one is not.

[Roger O · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful illustrations and a simple, mysterious narrative filled with autumnal nostalgia

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Farmer Bailey hits a man with his tractor in late summer and takes the stranger home with him. The stranger has lost his memory but is welcomed by the Baileys. This tale of fantasy and reality revolves around the stranger and the weather and how the seasons change.

[nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

a childhood classic

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the concept of this Chris Van Allsburg book despite its simplicity.

[Merissa Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I use this book to practice making inferences in my classroom. It is a nice story and they like it.

[Lacee Mundahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This mysterious picture book is about a farmer, Mr. Bailey, who accidentally hits a man with his truck and takes the man back to his farmhouse to take care of him. The man is unable to speak so they call the doctor to determine that he lost his memory. Along with his memory, it’s very mysterious that the thermometer doesn’t work, the man doesn’t know how to dress or feed himself, he never gets tired, and the animals are not afraid of him. As the story continues, the man becomes more comfortable around the family but becomes upset that the leaves aren’t changing colors. He decides to blow on a leaf and becomes surprised when the leaf changes colors. At that moment, he realizes who he is and says goodbye to the family. When he leaves, the air turns cold and the leaves change colors. Every year, the words, “See you next fall” are etched in frost on the farmhouse windows.

I would use this book for any grade level to teach students about inferences. The students could explore the story in groups to come up with text evidence that supports their reasoning on who the man is in the story.