Van Allsburg attended the College of Architecture and Design at the University of Michigan, which at that time included the art school. He majored in sculpture, learning bronze casting, wood carving, resin molding and other techniques. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1972 and continued his education at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), graduating with a master's degree in sculpture in 1975. After graduation, Van Allsburg set up a sculpture studio.

While Van Allsburg focused on sculpture, his wife thought that his drawings would make good illustrations for children’s books. After his wife showed his pictures to a children’s book editor, Van Allsburg wrote his first book, The Garden of Abdul Gasazi, in 1979. Since then, he has written and illustrated sixteen books. His art has also been featured on the covers of an edition of C. S. Lewis' series The Chronicles of Narnia published by HarperCollins in 1994, as well as in three children's books written by Mark Helprin.

His books often depict fantastic, uncontrolled events and utilize sometimes brutal irony. Van Allsburg breaks out of the comfortable world of children literature to explore the darker side of human nature. For example, his book The Sweetest Fig is about a selfish man who is suddenly given the opportunity to make his wildest dreams come true. His greed is eventually his downfall. This is not an unusual moral for a story in children books, but Van Allsburg's chilling characterization of the man brings a frightening tone to the narrative. The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, a collection of images on one side, and one sentence on the other (meant to be 'recovered pages' of longer books) continues the themes of darker undertones and was the inspiration for a short story by author Stephen King, in his collection Nightmares and Dreamscapes (as his author's note expands upon). The Wretched Stone, in which a ship's crew is mesmerized and corrupted by the titular rock, is an allegorical tale about the negative impact of television .

Other literary themes include dreams, the environment, and items with lives of their own (like the board games in Jumanji and Zathura, two books which are almost the same story, with the only difference being the theme of the board game and the events which are caused by playing).

Many books feature Fritz, a bull terrier that is based on a real-life dog owned by Chris Van Allsburg's brother-in-law. He appears in many of the books and even on his website, sometimes as a real dog, or a toy, or other things as a tribute to the dog's life.

Van Allsburg's drawings are particularly notable for their use of perspective. In many cases the illustrations are drawn from a child's eye height. This viewpoint likely appeals to children because it conveys the world as they see it. It may also appeal to adults because they may (unconsciously) perceive the world as they did when they were children.

Chris Van Allsburg lives in Providence, Rhode Island with Lisa Van Allsburg, his wife of 30 years. They have 2 daughters, Sophia and Anna.

• The Garden of Abdul Gasazi (1979, Caldecott Honor)
• Jumanji1 (1981, Caldecott Medal)
• Ben's Dream (1982)
• The Wreck of the Zephyr (1983)
• The Mysteries of Harris Burdick (1984)
• The Polar Express1 (1985, Caldecott Medal)
• The Stranger (1986)
• The Z Was Zapped (1987)
• Two Bad Ants (1988)
• Swan Lake (1989, Illustrator, written by Mark Helprin)
• Just a Dream (1990)
• The Wretched Stone (1991)
• The Widow's Broom (1992)
• The Sweetest Fig (1993)
• The Veil of Snows (1993, Illustrator, written by Mark Helprin)
• The Mysteries of Harris Burdick (1994, Portfolio edition)
• Bad Day at Riverbend (1995)
• A City in Winter (1996, Illustrator, written by Mark Helprin)
• Zathura1 (2002)
• Probuditi! (2006)

1 Adapted to film.