The Garden of Abdul Gasazi facts for kids
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| Author | Chris Van Allsburg |
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| Illustrator | Chris Van Allsburg |
| Country | United States |
| Genre | Children's picture book |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
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Publication date
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June 21, 1979 |
| Media type | |
| ISBN | 0-395-27804-X |
| Followed by | Jumanji |
The Garden of Abdul Gasazi is a very popular children's picture book. It was written in 1979 by the American author and illustrator Chris Van Allsburg. This book was Van Allsburg's first ever book. It won a special award called the Caldecott Honor in 1980.
Movie Magic: The Film Adaptation
Good news for fans of the book! On May 30, 2019, Disney and 20th Century Fox announced exciting plans. They bought the rights to make The Garden of Abdul Gasazi into a movie.
Darren Lemke is writing the movie script. Mike Weber, Bill Teitler, and Ted Field are producing it. Chris Van Allsburg, the book's author, will also be an executive producer. This means he will help guide the movie's creation.
What Happens in the Story?
The story begins with a boy named Alan Mitz. He is asked to babysit a dog named Fritz. Fritz belongs to Miss Hester. Fritz is a bit naughty; he has bitten Miss Hester's cousin Eunice many times! Because of this, Miss Hester needs to leave Fritz at home when she visits Eunice. Alan's job is to watch Fritz and take him for a walk. Alan does a great job keeping Fritz from chewing up the house.
While on their walk, Alan and Fritz come to a strange garden. A sign clearly says no dogs are allowed inside. This garden belongs to Abdul Gasazi, a magician who has retired. Alan tries to follow the rules and turn back. But Fritz is too quick! He pulls free from his collar and dashes right into the forbidden garden.
Alan has to chase Fritz all over the garden. He almost catches the dog, but then he falls down some steps. When he gets up, Fritz is gone! Alan looks for Fritz and sees dog paw prints leading to Gasazi's big house. Alan goes to the mansion and politely asks Mr. Gasazi to give Fritz back. Gasazi smiles and says, "Certainly you may have your little Fritzie. Follow me."
As they walk across the lawn, Gasazi tells Alan something surprising. He says that when dogs dig up his flowers or chew his trees, he turns them into ducks! Suddenly, a duck waddles towards Alan. Gasazi tells Alan to take this duck, which he claims is Fritz, home. Then, he throws Alan out of his garden.
On his way home, a strong wind blows Alan's hat off his head. The duck flies up and catches the hat in mid-air! But instead of coming back, the duck keeps flying away into the clouds. Alan feels very sad and worried. He wonders how he will explain to Miss Hester what happened to Fritz.
To Alan's great surprise, when he finally gets back to Miss Hester's house, Fritz is already there! He seems perfectly fine. Alan is so relieved and waves goodbye to Miss Hester. As Alan walks home, Miss Hester calls out to Fritz. The dog comes up the steps, chewing on Alan's hat! He drops the hat at her feet. Miss Hester looks at the hat and says, "Why you bad dog! What are you doing with Alan's hat?" The story ends with a mystery: Was the duck really Fritz, or was it all a trick?
