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Summary: Polar Express
Review: We give the Polar Express two thumbs up and five stars. It happens on Christmas Eve. A train,called the Polar Express comes to a little boy's house. The Polar Express take them to the North Pole to see Santa Claus. This book is very exciting and mysterious. The spectacular illustrations bring the story to life.
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Summary: What a wonderful book
Review: I can remember being in Elementary school and our librarian reading us this book, now I am buying it for my own son! This is truly a wonderful book and it definitely deserves that Caldecott medal.
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Summary: The Magic of Christmas
Review: If there are such things as perfect picture books, The Polar Express, written and illustrated by the very talented Chris Van Allsburg, is certainly one of them. The charming story is about a young boy who wakes one Christmas Eve many years ago, looks out his window and sees, of all wonderful things, a train waiting patiently in the street in front of his house. Going out to investigate this wonder of wonders, the boy is asked by the conductor if he's coming along. "Where?" the boy inquires. "Why, to the North Pole of course," the conductor answers. Thus the boy boards the train known as The Polar Express, which is filled with lots of other children who are just as excited as he is. The Polar Express races to the very top of the world, where the streets of the North Pole are filled with hundreds upon hundreds of elves, and where the young boy is given The First Gift of Christmas by none other than Santa Claus himself. Not until The Polar Express is speeding the children home for the night, does the young boy realize his precious gift, a single bell from the harness of Santa's reindeer, has been lost. Given the magic of the season, the young boy finds the bell again in the most unexpected of places on Christmas morning. Years and years later, the old man who was once the young boy, can hear the bell ring when everyone else around him can't -- because he still believes in things like Christmas and Santa Claus and elves and the North Pole. Throughout, the heartwarming tale of The Polar Express is told in simple language that is as much a joy to read to yourself as it is to read aloud to your kids. Plus, you and your kids will be treated to artwork that is truly as much a feast to the eyes as it is to the imagination. Mr. Van Allsburg's understated yet exquisitely detailed paintings compliment the text of his narrative so perfectly, it is easy to see how much of a labor of love creating The Polar Express must have been for him. My advice? Buy at least three copies of The Polar Express; one you can give to your kids as they're growing up, one to give to your kids when they are all grown-up and will, hopefully, appreciate it even more, and one to keep as a special treasure for yourself.
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Summary: Modern Christmas classic
Review: "The Polar Express" has been in our house since my older son was a toddler. It was the Caldecott the year he was born. Fourteen years later, it is still a seasonal favorite. Van Allsburg always fascinates with his interpretation of the world through his illustrations. I still remember the sense of surprise when we first turned the page that showed the North Pole, looking like an industrial city. The pictures of the children playing on the train, the view from the darkened window of the house as the train stops, the wild landscape seen from the train, these images are all etched in my mind from one year to the next. Beautiful and engaging as the illustrations are, it is the story that captures our imagination the most. I think my kids still like this book for the story as much as the pictures, as they like to think that there is still some magic in the world, and they might still hear that bell.
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Summary: Enchantment
Review: "The Polar Express" rekindles the beauty and enchantment of childhood. Each time I read this story to my children, my eyes fill with tears that I too may accompany them into the world of magical wonders.
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Summary: Christmas Magic
Review: This is a wonderful book! My sisters and I recieved this book as a gift about 10 years ago and it has been a part of Christmas tradition ever since. The illustrations are beautiful and the story delightful.
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Summary: Is Santa Claus real?
Review: 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.
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Summary: Beautiful and Magical--A Timeless Classic
Review: It is far too easy to express cynicism about Christmas. Likewise, it is far too easy to put down the Christmas season as too commercial. And it is far too easy to dismiss a seasonal gem such as The Polar Express as simplistic and sentimental. But this tale is one of belief, of keeping something which is childlike, not childish, and that just doesn't grow old. The narrator, a boy, lies awake listening for the sound of the bells on Santa's sleigh, a sound a friend who doesn't believe in Santa Claus says that he won't hear. Indeed, he does not, but what he does hear is even more wonderful and remarkable. He hears the hiss of steam and the squeak of metal, and when he looks out the window, he sees a train outside his house. It is the Polar Express, heading for the North Pole. Once aboard, he finds that it is full of children, all in their nightclothes. They sing Christmas carols, drink cocoa and eat candies as the train races northward. Finally, they arrive at the North Pole, and the narrator is selected to receive the first gift of Christmas. He asks for, and receives from Santa Claus himself, a silver bell from the sleigh. Although the boy loses the bell on the way home, kindly Santa returns it to him, and the boy discovers that the bell has a remarkable quality. Only those who still believe in the wonder of Santa and the spirit of Christmas can hear the bell. His friends and his sister eventually cannot hear the bell, but even when he grows up "the bell still rings for [him] as it does for all who truly believe." The story is accompanied by beautiful pictures that capture the nighttime journey. The author employs somber tones in most of his scenes, speckled with snow and highlighted with starlight and the glowing lights of the train. He captures the cold and mystery of the night, contrasting it with the warm interior scenes. Every child should own this book. It is a magical story that they can appreciate for the rest of their lives.
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Summary: ALL-TIME GREAT
Review: Chris Van Allsburg's gorgeously illustrated holiday fantasy is the children's book answer to Miracle On 34th Street: a richly woven, but simple, tale that wisely teaches us how overrated reason, adulthood and realism are in life. Magic, and the ability to imagine, to believe, are what really matter, and surely what keep us young at heart.
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Summary: The Polar Express
Review: Van Allsburg, Chris. The Polar Express. Boston: Houghton Miffin Company, 1985 Hollindale, Peter. "Why the Wolves are Running". The Lion and the Unicorn 23(1999):97-115 Late one night on Christmas Eve, a young boy sees a train outside of his window. He decides to board the train, which is full of children. His journey takes him through thick woods and up a steep mountain. The Polar Express is bound for the North Pole for many adventures and a few surprises. When the boy gets there, Santa gives him the option to pick any toy from his bag but actually picks the strangest gift. The Polar Express is filled with unbelievable surprises and lets the reader use their imagination. Although there is a dreamlike mood throughout the story, there is also a sense of realism. Van Allsburg's use of magnificent illustrations and colors gives a feeling of actually being in the story. The ambiguity between fantasy and realism can be seen through Van Allsburg's illustrations. Even though the train looks too real, the reader knows it would not drive down the middle of the road at midnight, carrying just children. Van Allsburg's The Polar Express invite children to get lost in the story. Although The Polar Express is supposed to be a happy story for children, a wolf is shown on the title page. In Peter Hollindale's article "Why the Wolves are Running", he says "we frighten our children with wolves" as in "Little Red Riding Hood..." and "The Three Little Pigs" (98) He goes on to say that "not only in childhood story but in everyday English idiom we teach children to fear and demonize the wolf." (98) If this is so, why would Van Allsburg choose to have this "scary creature" on the title page of a children's book? Van Allsburg could have wanted to portray wolves as innocent creatures that have just been manipulated by society. He could have also been trying to change the negative image of the wolf in fiction, again bringing a sense of realism to this children's story. In reality, not many people, including children, have been hurt by wolves. Yet we are still told to be afraid of the wolf, especially in fiction. Despite this concern, I really enjoyed reading The Polar Express. I look forward to reading more of Van Allsburg's children's stories to see if there is another animal or belief that he may try to change people's perspectives on. Overall, I feel that this is a wonderful illustration and an effective children's book.
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