No certainly this can’t be true? Has it really been 30 years since that magical Christmas tale of a train pulling up into a young boys front yard and hurling him over hill and dale until he reaches the North Pole? Oh, with hot chocolate of course.
To my astonishment, it’s true. Thirty years later, The Polar Express has become a holiday Caldecott Medal-winning classic leaving children all over the world laying quietly in their beds on Christmas Eve, hoping to catch a ride on that magical train.
For 30 years author/illustrator Chris Van Allsburg has inspired us to “believe.”
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has released a 30th anniversary edition complete with a new jacket design, expanded interior layout meaning we get to see and experience more goodness, a letter from Chris Van Allsburg, a downloadable recording of the story read by none other than renowned actor Liam Neeson and a gorgeous golden keepsake ornament.
The added benefit is that HMH has generously given Jump into a Book a copy to give away! See below for Rafflecopter Giveaway details.
Along with this good news are oodles of things to do.
Somethings To Do
Want to Ride the Polar Express
This season there are more than 50 Polar Express train rides around the United States. Riders will enjoy listening to author/illustrator Chris Van Allsburg reading the book, while they drink hot chocolate, eat nougat as they travel north to meet Santa Claus. Of course there will be a jingle bell to help each traveler to “believe” in the magic of December 24th.
Now here’s the big news……The Polar Express is having a sweepstakes where one lucky family of 4 will get to journey north on the Polar Express from Durango Colorado. The Sweepstake runs from October 15-December 31st 2015. To learn more about how you can enter please visit www.polarexpress.com
One (1) Grand Prize winner will receive:
- Four tickets to ride THE POLAR EXPRESSTM Train Ride in gorgeous Durango, Colorado*
- Four round-trip airfare tickets
- Two nights in a hotel
- Four free ski lift tickets to Purgatory Resort
- A free signed copy of The Polar Express: 30th Anniversary Edition
What inspired author/Ilustrator Chris Van Allsburg to write the Polar Express?
This great interview on Story monsters will give you a up close and behind the scenes look at what inspired Chris Van Allsburg to write this classic holiday tale.
Tasty Treats From the North Pole Kitchen
You know that you get to eat everything you’re not suppose to on the Polar Express and one never gets a belly ache. Here are some favorite recipes from that magical train ride. How could we ever refuse Snowball cakes, cozy hot chocolate, or reindeer chocolate mint cookies ? Well we can’t and it’s as simple as that.
Interactive Count-down Calendar
Starting December 1st, you and your family, classroom, or community, can experience an innovative way the count down to Christmas. Each day holds a ew delight for families, such as Polar Chocolate Nougat Caramel squares, reindeer crafts, online games, mazes, and more. Be sure to go each day to find a little moment of goodness. You can find it right here.
The Ultimate Polar Express Party Kit
All Aboard !!!! Why not host a Polar Express Pajama Party? This kit has everything you’ll need to have hours of fun. Not only are there round trip tickets, but amazing games, crafts, invites, name tags, ideas about how to present the story, more amazing recipes, music, print outs and much much much more. Loads of fun.
GIVEAWAY DETAILS
ONE winner will receive a copy of The Polar Express 30th Anniversary book. Giveaway begins November 19, 2015
- Prizing & samples courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- Giveaway open to US addresses only
- ONE lucky winner will win one copy of each of the above books.
- Residents of USA only please.
- Must be 18 years or older to enter
- One entry per household.
- Staff and family members of Audrey Press are not eligible.
- Grand Prize winner has 48 hours to claim prize
- Winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter on 12/31/15
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The post The Polar Express 30th Anniversary Edition Book Review & Giveaway appeared first on Jump Into A Book.
#56 The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg (1985)
32 points
After hundreds of readings, I still cry at the end of this book. – Susan Lang
Perfect story, perfect pictures. – Rose Marie Moore
This is the second Christmas picture book to grace our list so far. Now many authors will tell you that it is difficult to write a good picture book. Many authors will also tell you that it is even more difficult to write a good holiday picture book. And a Christmas holiday picture book that becomes a family classic? One that wins Caldecott Awards? Yeah. Good luck with all that, buddy.
But he managed it. Somehow or other Chris Van Allsburg managed the near impossible. Long before The Hogwarts Express became the standard magical mode of transportation, Van Allsburg created a story in his customary mysterious style and made it kid-friendly, evocative, and timeless. This isn’t the only Christmas book on this list but it certainly is the highest you will find on the Top 50.
Children’s Literature describes the plot as, “A young man tells a story of his childhood and how his belief in Santa comes to life one snowy Christmas Eve. Although his friends tell him “there is no Santa,” he still believes he will hear the bells of Santa’s sleigh. Those beliefs come true when the Polar Express takes him to the North Pole. When they come to the North Pole, Santa chooses the protagonist to be the recipient of the first gift of Christmas. The boy wants something small and meaningful: a bell from Santa’s sleigh. The bell symbolizes the belief in Santa and the spirit of Christmas, and only those who believe can hear the magical sound of the bell.”
100 Best Books for Children has much to say about Polar Express. Apparently the art was created when Van Allsburg used pastel oils on brown paper. The book now sells something around a quarter of a million copies annually. 100 Best Books goes on to say: “Dedicated to his sister Karen, The Polar Express shows a wonderful brother-sister relationship, one that mirrored Van Allsburg’s relationship with his own sister… Because the book can be viewed as a statement about the nature of faith, it is often read as a ritual in homes at Christmastime ‘for all who truly believe’.” This is probably less true of the creepy CGI movie they made of it not so long ago.
The book has even inspired a real life Polar Express which takes place each year. You may read the book here.
School Library Journal said of it, “Given a talented and aggressive imagination, even the challenge of as cliche-worn a subject as Santa Claus can be met effectively. . . Van Allsburg’s express train is one in which many of us wish to believe.”
Hollywood periodically tries to adapt Van Allsburg to the silver screen with mixed results. The Polar Express attempt burned into our brains the importance
Yesterday, I was among a crowd of at least 100 people at Schuler Books in Okemos, MI to hear, Caldecott Award winning children’s book author/illustrator,
Chris Van Allsburg speak. Allsburg, a native of Grand Rapids, MI, took questions for just about an hour before signing books.
It was an amazing hour as not only did Chris Van Allsburg answer questions from the audience, but he would often refer to his many published books while talking. He shared stories about how he got started writing books (he originally went to the University of Michigan as an art major primarily studying and practicing sculpture). He also shared how he got some of the ideas for his stories. This was fascinating for me, and there were several moments where I was just blown away by how easy it seemed to be for him.
Some of what I thought were highlights from the question and answer discussion:
* Chris’ take on e-books: He was quite candid and frank about this saying that when it comes to picture books, the reader really loses out. He cited several of his books, one being The Polar Express
, as examples because of their format and layout, the quality of resolution in the pictures is drastically lowered by making it fit onto an e-reader or iPad.
* While I’ve been a fan, I had never seen his book: Bad Day At Riverbend
. I was enthralled by his description of how he came up with this story, which is basically the characters in a coloring book reacting and trying to figure out some of the strange things going on in Riverbend (A child has scribbled in crayon on the pages…but they don’t figure it out). Incidentally, this book is dedicated to one of his daughters, who happened to have an affinity of scribbling in crayon in not just coloring books.
* On the question of which of his books is his favorite: I loved his answer, “The next one I’m going to work on.”
* One little girl asked a great question: “Did you ever want to give up when your editor didn’t like your story?” Chris shared that he wa
What a treat to see him in person!
I LOVE Van Allsburg! I fit in a Van Allsburg unit with at least three grade levels each year. In fact I just wrapped up the ZTHURA section of the 3rd grade Van Allsburg unit and we’ll be moving on to THE WRETCHED STONE (it’s awesome!). I love that my students come away with a greater appreciation for him beyond the Polar Express movie. Most of my students agree, BAD DAY AT RIVER BEND is his creepiest book. THE Z WAS ZAPPED is also a great book that I’ve turned into a vocabulary guessing game for my 2nd graders.
Awesome, what a treat! It is hard to pick a favorite of his, but I would probably choose, his first book, A Garden of Abdul Gasazi. Did he talk about Fritz? He commemorates the special dog in each of his books. I have a sheet to keep track of where you find him on my blog.
http://www.happybirthdayauthor.com/2010/06/happy-birthday-chris-van-allsburg-june.html
Did you get a book signed?
Yes, it was very cool to listen to him and see him in person!
Wow, that’s awesome! I’m fascinated with the BAD DAY AT RIVER BEND but I can see how it’s kind of creepy.
It was very cool man! I read through his first book yesterday and I really loved it. He did mention the dog!
I didn’t get a book signed. It would have taken over an hour I’m sure and I needed to get home because my wife had plans. I was disappointed but she rarely has a night out, so it was okay.
Oh man! Oh well! It will still be something you will never forget.
What a great opportunity. We love his books. I would have loved to have taken Ninja A!
What an incredible treat to see one of the best picture book creators in the biz. His art is so inspiring and haunting and whimsical. Staring at his work motivates me to write better and in a more visual style. Great post. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for posting this. It seems Chris Van Allsburg offers so much for adults as well as children. I remember first discovering The Mysteries of Harris Burdick and being totally captivated. He’s inspired me to draw as well as write.
Great to find your website!