The book served as the basis of a 1995 feature film starring Robin Williams.

The idea grew out of an assignment he gave his class while teaching at the Rhode Island School of Design to draw animals in such a way that the viewer is convinced the creatures are part of an interior space. Van Allsburg received the Caldecott Medal for his second effort, Jumanji (1981), a story about two children whose boring afternoon ends when their jungle board game comes to life in their house. The image of the dog became one of his signature elements, usually hidden somewhere within the illustrations of other books. It won the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for illustration and was named a Caldecott Honor Book. His tale of a boy whose search for his missing dog leads him into a magician’s garden was accompanied by striking pencil drawings. His wife and the book illustrator David Macaulay encouraged him to show the drawings to publishers, which led to his first publication, The Garden of Abdul Gasazi (1979). After pursuing a master’s degree at the Rhode Island School of Design, he began his career as a sculptor and drew pictures for fun in his spare time. He rediscovered his childhood love of art while an undergraduate at the University of Michigan and received a bachelor of fine arts degree in 1972. Van Allsburg was born on June 18, 1949, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Van Allsburg won the Caldecott Medal twice during the 1980s. He was gifted with an ability to make narrative and pictures work together to convincingly blur the line between fantasy and reality. American author and illustrator Chris Van Allsburg created several critically acclaimed and popular children’s books.

Two bad ants by chris van allsburg