The Polar Express
A magical train ride on Christmas Eve takes a boy to the North Pole to receive a special gift from Santa.Fifteen years and one Caldecott Medal after its publication, Chris Van Allsburg’s The Polar Express is as fresh and magical as ever. And now an anniversary edition, including the hardcover book, a CD and audiotape featuring a reading by actor Liam Neeson and music by composer Michael Moss, and a special bronze ornament designed by Van Allsburg, renews the wonder and charm of this holiday classic.
One Christmas Eve, a bathrobe-clad boy boards the mysterious Polar Express train on its way to the North Pole. Arriving in the mystical polar city, the boy is thunderstruck when Santa chooses him to be the recipient of the very first gift of Christmas. Shyly, the boy asks for his true heart’s desire–one silver bell from the harness of Santa’s reindeer. His wish is granted, and the train begins its return trip. But alas! The boy has a hole in his pocket, and the cherished sleigh bell is lost… forever?
Author-illustrator Van Allsburg, who also received the Caldecott Medal for Jumanji and a Caldecott Honor for The Garden of Abdul Gasazi, is a creative talent beyond compare. The timeless splendor of his unique, breathtaking illustrations and quiet story will undoubtedly stay with the reader for a lifetime. (Ages 3 to 
–Emilie Coulter
List Price: $ 6.95
Price: $ 6.95
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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.
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|The Polar Express,
I started reading this book to my children 15 years ago when they were toddlers. I would keep it with my Christmas decorations and bring it out every holiday season. Once they grew too old to be read to, I still brought it out every year and put it on the coffee table. Last year I started reading it to my two-year old son. I still cry with nostaligia each time I read The Polar Express, remembering the magic it held for my older children and how we read it over and over. Well, my second son loved it so much, it never go put away with the Christmas decorations. We read it together constantly, even during the summer! This is a book that never loses its magic — for children and adults alike. I plan to give this book to my neices and nephews this Christmas.
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|Sophisticated Children’s Christmas Book,
My kids love the art and the story is enchanting.
A wonderful train ride full of children who want to believe churns its way to the North Pole and a meeting with Santa. Keeping with traditon, Santa selects one boy to present the first present of Christmas to before he mounts to the sky to visit all the homes of good boys and girls. Rather than ask for a bike, or Pokemon or any other “big” gift, the boy asks for one of Santa’s sleigh bells, proof he can hold onto that yes, Santa does exist.
This tale of Christmas belief (in Santa, that is) works well on adults, too. It has a message about belief and wonderment that touch all who want to believe in the magic associated with the gift giving part of Christmas.
Warning, The Polar Express is best for children a little older than mine (5 1/2, 4). It introduces the concept that Santa may not exist. I get around this by not reading two paragraphs in the book, but you should be forwarned if that particular discussion in your household is several years away. (My kids also tell me everytime that the boy in the story should not get on the train at the invitation of a stranger.) At the right age, this is a magical and wonderful Christmas tale of belief.
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