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One couldn't select a more delightful and exciting premise for a children's book than the tale of a young boy lying awake on christmas Eve only to have Santa Claus sweep by and take him on a trip with other children to the North Pole. And one couldn't ask for a more talented artist and writer to tell the story than Chris Van Allsburg. Allsburg, a sculptor who entered the genre nonchalantly when he created a children's book as a diversion from his sculpting, won the 1986 Caldecott Medal for this book, one of several award winners he's produced. The Polar Express rings with vitality and wonder.
| AUTHOR: | Chris Van Allsburg |
| CATEGORY: | Book |
| MANUFACTURER: | Houghton Mifflin |
| ISBN: | 0395389496 |
| TYPE: | Children's 4-8 - Picturebooks, Children: Kindergarten, Christmas, Classics, Fairy Tales & Folklore - Single Title, Fiction, Holidays & Festivals - Christmas, Juvenile Fiction, North Pole, Santa Claus, Juvenile Fiction / Holidays & Festivals / Christmas |
| MEDIA: | Hardcover |
| # OF MEDIA: | 1 |
| UPC: | 046442389495 |
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The Polar Express reviews by customers
 Is Santa Claus real?
This book opens the possibility that Santa Claus -- as presented to most of us -- may not physically exist. It does this in a way that will allow children and their parents to ease into that question, a graceful move from the belief in a living St. Nick, to a belief in the spirit of Christmas.It begins like this: "On Christmas Eve, many years ago, I lay quietly in my bed. I did not rustle the sheets. I breathed slowly and silently. I was listening for a sound -- a sound a friend had told me I'd never hear -- the ringing of Santa's sleigh. 'There is no Santa,' my friend had insisted, but I knew he was wrong." From here, we follow a beautifully illustrated story of this young boy's quiet night ride with other children, on the Polar Express train to the North Pole, a "huge city standing alone at the top of the world, filled with factories where every Christmas toy was made." Our narrator is the fortunate child, picked by Santa, to receive the first gift of that Christmas. He knows exactly what he wants, a simple gift that will help him continue to believe in the magic of Christmas, a silver bell from a reindeer's harness. He gets his wish, but loses it on the train ride home. However, there's a happy ending -- evidently Santa has found the bell, and put it under the tree. The boy and his little sister admire the beauty of the sound it makes, but their parents say, "Oh, that's too bad....It's broken." Many years later, the boy's sister and all of his friends can no longer hear the bell. "Though I've grown old, the bell still rings for me as it does for all who truly believe." My youngest son at ages 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 has chosen to firmly believe with the narrator, but he's moved around in his reaction to the notion that Santa isn't real. From -- "that's ridiculous, isn't it?" to "Mom...it is ridiculous, isn't it?" This book will let him hold onto the Christmas spirit for as long as he wants, and to return to it whenever he needs it. This version comes complete with CD's/tapes with readings. Buy the less expensive edition, add a silver bell, and (if you can), read it with the child yourself to give a really special gift. A wonderful book for those who want to believe in the spirit of Christmas every day of every year.
An Absolute Necessity For Anyone's Personal Library
Oh, what a beautiful book this is! I've owned this book for over fifteen years, and every year during the holiday season I take it down from the shelf and read it, and I am immediately taken back into time. For the few minutes that it takes me to read this book I once again become a child full of wonder and innocence. I begin to believe in the magic of the holiday season, and yes, for a moment I even believe in Santa Claus again. This is the story of a boy lucky enough to ride The Polar Express to the North Pole on one magical night to see Santa Claus and his elves. While the destination is exciting, the real fun is riding in this train full of children, all dressed in their pajamas and snacking on cookies and milk. The story is beautifully told by Chris Van Allsburg, but the real reason why reading this book is an annual tradition for me is the brilliance of the illustrations. The pictures are painstakingly detailed, especially the beautiful images of the train, the light from the stars in the sky, and the fallen snow. While Santa Claus is incorporated into the story and the illustrations, he is not the focal point. The crux of this book centers around this train, the wintery environment, and the youthful magic that makes it all so special. I am now 22-years-old, and this book is just as compelling for me today as it was when I was 5. I look forward to the day when I will have children of my own and will be able to make it an annual tradition to read this book to them. This book is a must-have for anyone's personal library, especially if you are a parent, a child, or a child-at-heart like me. I give this book the highest of recommendations.
Sorry, the movie can not be as wonderful as this book
Chris Van Allsburg's "The Polar Express" tells the simple tale of boy who has been told by a friend "There's no Santa." However, the boy knows this is wrong, which may explain why the Polar Express shows up outside his house that night to take him to the North Pole. In the giant factory city where all the toys are made for Christmas, the elves will all gather and Santa will give to one of the children on the train the first gift of the Christmas season. "The Polar Express" is a simple tale of the power of belief, told through exquisite pastel drawings that make a steam locomotive seem a soft vision of light in the gently falling snow. The story being told is almost as good as the illustrations. This is a modern Yule time classic, which teaches a simple lesson: always fix a hole in your pocket. I find it hard to believe that this beloved children's book is coming to the silver screen through full CG animation, even if it is Imageworks' next-generation motion capture process that the digital characters to be modeled on live-action performances. But if the movie leads new readers, both young and old, to discover Van Allsburg's original book, then we can think of it as being the world's longest commercial and not a inadequate substitute for one of the great picture books of all time.
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