The Polar Express

First, my disclosure: I didn't read this book for the first time as a child.

The story is a straightforward tale about a boy who is right at that age between believing in Santa Claus and not believing. On Christmas Eve he is whisked away to the North Pole on the Polar Express and meets Santa who gives him a gift. The gift is a reminder about the joy of Christmas for all those who truly believe.

The artwork is exceptional for the tone of the story, which is to say it evokes a Norman Rockwell feeling of longing for the classic childhood. The gift of the bell seems to represent the boy's faltering belief in Santa Clause. Sometimes it's strong; sometimes it's weak. By the end, only those who truly believe in the spirit of Christmas can hear show more the bell.

I appreciate the childlike atmosphere of Christmas and how simple and good the world feels every December. I don't agree with the book's notion of aging being some sort of an automatic loss of the Christmas spirit. An experienced understanding of Christmas can be the truest of all. If anything, the bell should ring louder for the adults.

The Polar Express will no doubt endure as one of the best stories to read to your child each Christmas even though its message seems outdated. show less

On Christmas eve a boy rides a train through the snow from his house to the north pole, where he meets Santa and is chosen out of all the children to receive any gift he wants. He wants one of the reindeer’s bells, so that’s what he gets. The bell is briefly lost due to a hole in the boy’s robe pocket, but it shows up again in a box under his Christmas tree the next morning.

Chris Van Allsburg is one of the greatest children’s book illustrators of all time for good reason. His art is vivid and huge and close-up and surreal. I love the big dark steam train in contrast to the stark white falling snow. In this case it is stunning and distracts from, in my opinion, a sentimental flop of a plot. Trains are great, snow is fun, meeting show more Santa is fine. Santa picking only one of the hundreds of children at the north pole to give a gift to is weird. Isn’t Santa’s whole deal that he gives gifts to every good child? And how convenient that he picks the narrator, someone who only wants a bell. I hope none of the other children were going to ask for a roof over their family’s head, or enough food to eat! Unlucky them. The ending trope of no one else being able to hear the bell because they don’t believe in Santa is my least favorite Christmas trope. Annoyingly saccharine. show less

I will start by saying I don't celebrate Christmas, and I find this story to be enchanting. The simple quietness of the story and the gorgeous illustrations create a world that focuses on magic and belief more than Christmas. Hats off to Van Allsburg, who enchants again and again.

I think this is my least favorite Chris Van Allsburg book. His picture books are interesting but his words are not.

This book's message, that believing in Santa earns you the privilege of sharing in Christmas magic, always makes me think of that Mark Twain quote: Faith is believing what you know ain't so.

It's easy to see why this lovely Christmas picture-book was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1986, as the artwork is simply breathtaking! Opening as a young boy lies in his bed one Christmas Eve night, eagerly waiting for the sound of Santa's reindeer, it spins a fantastic tale involving a train ride north, on the Polar Express, an encounter with Santa Claus, and a special gift that allows the young boy to keep the spirit of the season alive all of his life...

So many of the scenes here are simply breathtaking, with such adept use of light and shadow, such a lovely color palette, and such a rich feeling of depth and texture, that's it's difficult to pick just one favorite! The first glimpse of the city at the North Pole is simply magical, show more but then, so is the first glimpse of the Polar Express (seen on the cover), as it pulls up in front of the boy's house. The story is engaging enough, with just enough details that the imaginative child reader can hang her own ideas upon it, and wish herself into the book, but the artwork is unquestionably the star of this show. Just gorgeous! show less

This book. I love The Polar Express so much, even now as an adult. The full page artwork is stunning, the story very moving and unique, and it is just plain fun. I also love that Liam Neeson has done a reading of the story, it sounds perfect for that feeling of wonder you have as a kid waking up on Christmas morning. Being able to hear Santa on the rooftop has long been a part of the legend, but this book takes the idea of "hearing" is believing, one step farther.

A beautiful Christmas story that warms you up, even in the coldest nights.

Chris Van Allsburg has created a wonderful and beloved story. Although, it is no more than 32 pages and mostly filled with illustrations, the story stands strong in itself and in our memories after reading it.

A boy is awakened on Christmas Eve by a train that is on its way to the North Pole. Every child’s dream, right? The story is beautifully illustrated, while reading it you can almost see the snow fall, feel the heat from the thousands of lights and hear the sound of the bells from Santa’s sleigh.

I knew that I could have any gift I could imagine. But the thing I wanted most for Christmas was not inside Santa’s giant bag. What I wanted more than anything show more was one silver bell from Santa’s sleigh.

The main character, the young boy, only has one wish. It’s not a present, but a silver bell from Santa’s sleigh, so he was sure to remember the sound of it and the enchanted memory of what he had just experienced. One of those situations where you have to pinch your own arm and everything seems as magic instead of reality.

It’s definitely a must on your Christmas-reading-list. It’s a beautiful Christmas story about not losing your childish faith and keeping the eternal hope of something bigger. show less