The Garden of Abdul Gasazi

Van Allsburg, C. (1979). The garden of Abdul Gasazi. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Company. 

In this tale of wonder and magic, a young boy, Alan, is asked to watch Miss Hester’s dog Fritz, for the afternoon. After taking a brief nap, the two, Alan and Fritz, head out for an afternoon walk. With Fritz leading the way, they came upon an entrance to a vine-covered wall with an open doorway. In front read a sign that stated “Absolutely, positively no dogs allowed in this garden” and it was signed by Abdul Gasazi, Retired Magician. Just then, Fritz broke free from the leash Alan was holding and barreled down the path. Alan followed Fritz’s paw prints through the garden right to a giant mansion, the residence of Abdul Gasazi himself.  Alan was greeted by Gasazi the Great and entered his home. There he began asking about Fritz, apologizing profusely and wanting to get the dog back. Gasazi said that he may have him back but as he led Alan outside, he explained how dogs and gardens were no mix: they dug holes, destroyed flowers and ripped up plants. He simply told Alan that any dog he found in his garden, he turned into a duck! Gasazi led him to a gathering of ducks, found Fritz and handed him to Alan. Alan begged the magician to return Fritz back into a dog but Gasazi said he was unable to.  Disappointed and defeated, Alan grabbed up Fritz and headed for home. At this moment, his hat flew into the air and the duck went and snatched it up and flew off, without return. Now Alan must return home to explain to Miss Hester what has happened to her dog.

To find out what becomes of Fritz, read The Garden of Abdul Gasazi! 

This is a great picture book by Van Allsburg that would be excellent to read with any grade level (K-5) in the elementary setting. It is a fantasy book, but it has elements that are realistic. A boy really could go for a walk with a dog and the dog really could escape into a garden! The book is set-up with the words on the left hand side of the book and then the illustrations are on the right on hand side of the book. The words are put with a frame around them, as if blocking them out and separate from the illustrations, it is a garden vine circling around the words. The illustrations are done in black and white, most likely done in pencil or charcoal and they are very life-like. Children reading this story could relate because the boy and the dog look realistic, as if this could very well have been them and their own dog caught in a magician’s garden! The mood of the scene is evoked in the illustrations as well: the garden is very eerie and the magician’s home is not welcoming. The dog, Fritz, is drawn with such detail; you can sense his playfulness and curiosity. The illustrations also have a white frame around them just like the words. 

Like with many Chris Van Allsburg stories, there is an element of mystery and suspense. What happens when Alan gets home and has to explain himself? What happens to Fritz? This conflict that occurs is magical and almost unexplainable: how would Alan even begin to tell this story to Miss Hester! And while all is “resolved”, Van Allsburg has this way of leaving you hanging, letting you decide at the end of the story what really happened. For example, in another one of his books, The Stranger, you are left with an ending that doesn’t “tie up all the loose ends” and you are left to decide what you think has happened!

If I was using this in my classroom, some of the big questions I would ask would be: What do you think really happened to Fritz? What do you think Alan will do differently the next time he walks Fritz? Why do you think Fritz broke free? Do you think he knew what he was doing? 

I have read many Chris Van Allsburg books with my class and I had not yet read this one, but I am glad I have now! This would be a great book to read with kids for many purposes. You could discuss author’s purpose with this story and pick out why Van Allsburg has written this story. This would also be a good story to use with reality versus fantasy and have students pick out the things in the story that couldn’t happen and those that could. You could also have them read other Van Allsburg books, The Stranger, or The Sweetest Fig, and compare how the story elements are similar in the stories. You could also have the students write their own ending to the story and have them tell “what really happened to Fritz”! 

Definitely a must read! :)