It’s the birthday of children’s book author and illustrator Chris Van Allsburg (b. 1949), best known for his picture books Jumanji (1981) and The Polar Express (1985), both of which won Caldecott Medals.

Van Allsburg was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the youngest of two. His father and uncles worked in his grandfather’s creamery business. Van Allsburg always loved drawing but grew up at a time when the surrounding culture “encouraged little fingers to learn how to hold footballs rather than crayons” (scholastic.com), and mostly he pursued math and science.

When Van Allsburg was interviewing to attend the University of Michigan, he had no clue what college (let alone what major) to sign up for. He asked the admissions officer what “college of A & D” stood for and was told it was the college of Architecture and Design and included the art school. This was the first time Van Allsburg had ever heard of going to college to make art, and he said he wanted to do that.

The admissions officer noted that Van Allsburg had never taken an art class. “And I rose to the challenge. I don’t know exactly why—there’s a point in a teenager’s life sometimes when the temptation of pulling the wool over an adult’s eyes is irresistible. And I rose to the challenge and said to him, ‘Well, it’s not on my transcript, because I study privately on weekends.’ He said, ‘Oh, that’s impressive.’” And Van Allsburg was admitted to the art school.

Van Allsburg majored in sculpture and then got an M.F.A. in sculpture at the Rhode Island School of Design. After grad school, he began exhibiting in New York City and around New England. But his wife, Lisa Morrison, an elementary school art teacher, encouraged him to consider illustrating children’s books. He published The Garden of Abdul Gasazi in 1979 and was shocked when his book started getting reviewed and reviewed well—garnering him much more attention than he’d ever gotten as a sculptor. The book was a Caldecott runner-up. Van Allsburg has gone on to write and illustrate about 20 books.

Van Allsburg and his wife have two daughters. For fun, Van Allsburg enjoys biking, tennis, and playing a recorder through his nose. About his artistic process, Van Allsburg says, “When I’m writing a book, I always try to create something strange or puzzling in each picture. By using artistic strategies of perspective, light, and point of view, I can give the drawing a kind of mysterious quality…even if the actual things I am drawing are not strange or mysterious” (scholastic.com).

Have a fine and balmy Tuesday with even the ordinary tinged with wonder and stay scrupulously honest to the data.