![]() Cover | |
Author | Chris Van Allsburg |
---|---|
Illustrator | Chris Van Allsburg |
Cover artist | Chris Van Allsburg |
Country | United States |
Genre | Children's picture book |
Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
Publication date | November 12, 1985 |
Media type | Print (hardcover) |
Pages | 32 |
ISBN | 978-0-395-38949-2 |
OCLC | 12162097 |
[E] 19 | |
LC Class | PZ7.V266 Po 1985 |
Preceded by | The Mysteries of Harris Burdick |
Followed by | The Stranger |
The Polar Express is a 1985 fantasy children's picture book written and illustrated by American author Chris Van Allsburg. The book is now widely considered to be a classic Christmas story for young children. [lower-alpha 1] It was praised for its detailed illustrations and calm, relaxing storyline. For the work, Van Allsburg won the annual Caldecott Medal for illustration of an American children's picture book in 1986, his second after Jumanji . [1] [2]
The book is set partially in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the author's home town, and was inspired in part by Van Allsburg's memories of visiting the Herpolsheimer's and Wurzburg's department stores as a child. [3] It was adapted as an Oscar-nominated motion-capture film in 2004 starring Tom Hanks and directed by Robert Zemeckis. Van Allsburg served as an executive producer on the film.
A young boy, listening from his bed for the ringing sounds of Santa's sleigh, on Christmas Eve instead hears the sound of a train. He looks through the window to see a train right outside his house. He sees a conductor who looks up at his window. He tiptoes downstairs and goes outside. The conductor explains that the train is called the Polar Express and is journeying to the North Pole. The boy then boards the train, which is filled with other children in their pajamas and nightgowns. They all sing carols and are served candies and hot chocolate by the train's staff.
The Polar Express races north past towns and villages, through boreal forests, and over mountains, but the train never slows down. When it arrives at the North Pole, the conductor explains that Santa Claus will select one of them to receive the first gift of Christmas.
The boy and the other children see thousands of elves gathered at the center of town waiting to send Santa Claus on his way. The boy is handpicked by Santa to receive the first gift of Christmas. Realizing he could choose anything in the world, the boy asks for a bell from Santa's sleigh. An elf cuts a bell from one of the reindeer's harnesses. The boy places the bell in the pocket of his robe and all the children watch as Santa takes off into the night for his annual deliveries. As the train begins the ride home, the boy discovers that the bell had fallen through a hole in his pocket. The boy arrives home, the conductor wishing him a Merry Christmas as the train speeds away.
On Christmas morning, his sister Sarah finds a small box for the boy behind the tree. The boy opens the box and discovers that it contains the bell, delivered by Santa along with a note explaining that he found it on the seat of his sleigh and to get the hole in his pocket fixed. When the boy rings the bell, both he and his sister marvel at the beautiful sound. His parents, however, are unable to hear the bell and remark that it is broken. The book ends with the following line:
At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found one Christmas that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I've grown old, the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe.
Van Allsburg based the story on a mental image of a child wandering into the woods on a foggy night and wondering where a train was headed. [4]
At the premiere of the film, Van Allsburg stated that Pere Marquette 1225, a class N1 2-8-4 Berkshire steam locomotive formerly owned by Michigan State University and now owned by the Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso, Michigan, was the inspiration for the story line. [5] [6] [7] He played on the engine as a child when it was on display and was inspired by the number 1225, which to him was 12/25 – Christmas Day. [6] The real 1225 was used to create the animated image of the engine in the film.
The 1225 is 14 and a half feet tall, 101 feet long, and weighs 400 tons. [6] [7] It is one of the biggest steam locomotives in operation in the United States. [7]
In 1986, The Polar Express was awarded the Caldecott Medal and appeared on the New York Times bestseller list. [1] [2] By 1989, a million copies had been sold – more each year than the last – and the book had made the bestseller list four years in a row. [8] [9]
Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association listed the book as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children". [10] It was one of the "Top 100 Picture Books" of all time in a 2012 poll by School Library Journal . [11]
The Polar Express is a 2004 American computer-animated film based on the book. Written, produced, and directed by Robert Zemeckis, the film features human characters animated using the live action performance capture technique.
The film stars Daryl Sabara, Nona Gaye, Jimmy Bennett, Michael Jeter, Eddie Deezen and Tom Hanks. The film was first released in both conventional and IMAX 3D theaters November 10, 2004, and grossed $307 million worldwide.
The Polar Express has inspired real-life train rides across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom based on the book and film. [12] These train rides are hosted by a number of different railways, including the Grand Canyon Railway, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, the Texas State Railroad, the Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso, Michigan, the Valley Railroad in Connecticut, the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad in Frostburg, Maryland, and others. [13] [14] [15] [16] [6] [17] [18] Beginning in 2016, the UK's Telford Steam Railway offered the Polar Express ride on a steam engine. [19]
The round-trip journey to the "North Pole" includes a live musical performance, hot cocoa and cookies, and Christmas characters such as Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus. [17] [20] [21] At some locations, guests are invited to wear pajamas, similar to the characters in the book. [17]
Chris Van Allsburg is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. He has won two Caldecott Medals for U.S. picture book illustration, for Jumanji (1981) and The Polar Express (1985), both of which he also wrote, and were later adapted as successful motion pictures. He was also a Caldecott runner-up in 1980 for The Garden of Abdul Gasazi. For his contribution as a children's illustrator, he was a 1986 U.S. nominee for the biennial International Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international recognition for creators of children's books. He received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Michigan in April 2012.
The Pere Marquette Railway was a railroad that operated in the Great Lakes region of the United States and southern parts of Ontario in Canada. It had trackage in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and the Canadian province of Ontario. Its primary connections included Buffalo; Toledo; and Chicago. The company was named after Jacques Marquette, a French Jesuit missionary who founded Michigan's first European settlement, Sault Ste Marie.
Notable examples of railways in fiction include:
Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, transit buses, vans, taxis, ferry boats and commuter rail trains.
The Grand Canyon Railway is a heritage railroad which carries passengers between Williams, Arizona, and the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
The Fillmore and Western Railway was a heritage railway which operated on track owned by the Ventura County Transportation Commission. Visitors to Fillmore would see filming activity as well as sets and support equipment at the company's rail yard and along the tracks between Santa Paula and Piru. They stopped operating on the line in 2021.
The Grapevine Vintage Railroad (GVRR) is an excursion and special event railroad in Grapevine, Texas, USA, that runs from the Main Street station in Grapevine to the Fort Worth Stockyards. GVRR is owned and operated by the City of Grapevine.
Pere Marquette 1225 is a class "N-1" 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type steam locomotive built in October 1941 for the Pere Marquette Railway (PM) by Lima Locomotive Works (LLW) in Lima, Ohio. No. 1225 is one of two surviving Pere Marquette 2-8-4 locomotives, the other being 1223, which was on display at the Tri-Cities Historical Society near the ex-Grand Trunk Western (GTW) coaling tower in Grand Haven, Michigan, and both have the distinction of being the only surviving Pere Marquette steam locomotives left in preservation. No. 1225 was well known to be the basis for the locomotive used in the 2004 film The Polar Express, earning itself the nickname "The Real Polar Express."
The Polar Express is a 2004 American animated Christmas adventure fantasy film directed by Robert Zemeckis, who co-wrote the screenplay with William Broyles Jr., based on the 1985 children's book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg. It stars Tom Hanks, Daryl Sabara, Nona Gaye, Jimmy Bennett, and Eddie Deezen. The film features human characters animated using live action and motion capture computer animation, with sequences for the latter taking place from June 2003 to May 2004. Set on Christmas Eve, it tells the story of a young boy who sees a mysterious train bound for the North Pole stop outside his window and is invited aboard by its conductor. He joins other children as they embark on a journey to visit Santa Claus preparing for Christmas.
Motion pictures featuring Santa Claus constitute their own subgenre of the Christmas film genre. Early films of Santa revolve around similar simple plots of Santa's Christmas Eve visit to children. In 1897, in a short film called Santa Claus Filling Stockings, Santa Claus is simply filling stockings from his pack of toys. Another film called Santa Claus and the Children was made in 1898. A year later, a film directed by George Albert Smith titled Santa Claus was created. In this picture, Santa Claus enters the room from the fireplace and proceeds to trim the tree. He then fills the stockings that were previously hung on the mantle by the children. After walking backward and surveying his work, he suddenly darts at the fireplace and disappears up the chimney.
The Pere Marquette 1223 is a steam locomotive on permanent display in Grand Haven, Michigan. It is one of two surviving Pere Marquette 2-8-4 "Berkshire" type locomotives, along with sibling engine No. 1225, the inspiration for the locomotive in the book and movie versions of The Polar Express, which is in operating condition.
The Oklahoma Railway Museum is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt non-profit organization in Oklahoma City. It is self-funded through memberships, train fares, special events, donations, and grants for restoration projects. The growing membership, of approximately 210 members, has around 50 active members. Railroad operations are conducted under Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) rules, and the Museum is a member of the HeritageRail Alliance, Frontier Country Tourism, and an associate member of the Adventure District of Oklahoma City.
The Steam Railroading Institute is located at 405 South Washington Street, Owosso, Michigan. It was founded in 1969 as the Michigan State University (MSU) Railroad Club. It became the Michigan State Trust for Railway Preservation, and later adopted its present name.
Van Saun County Park is a park in Paramus and River Edge, New Jersey operated by the Bergen County Parks Department. The park is home to the Bergen County Zoological Park, open all year round and charging admission from May to October. The zoo features a ridable miniature railroad known as the Safari Express. In addition, the park features picnic areas, a baseball field, a softball field, basketball and tennis courts, a soccer field, a playground, a carousel, and pony rides.
Plowman's Railroad operates the collection of 7+1⁄4 in gauge American outline steam and diesel locomotives from the former Dobwalls Adventure Park and is located at Plowmans Garden Nursery & Plant Centre Ltd, West Parley, Ferndown, Dorset. The rolling stock has since been sold and shipped to Australia and the railway is now run by the West Parley Miniature Engineering Society. This railway has now closed following the complete collapse of the Garden Centre.
Fantasy flights are charity flights operated by a host airline for locally disadvantaged and terminally ill children to fly to a fictitious destination.
Locomotive is a 2013 children's book written and illustrated by Brian Floca. A non-fiction book written primarily in free verse, the book follows a family as they ride a transcontinental steam engine train in summer of 1869. The book details the workers, passengers, landscape, and effects of building and operating the first transcontinental railroad. The book also contains prose about the earlier and later history of locomotives. The book took Floca four years to create, which included a change in perspective from following the crew of the train to following a family. Floca conducted extensive research including his own train ride and consultation with experts to ensure he had the details all correct.
The Colebrookdale Railroad, also known as the Secret Valley Line or colloquially as The Colebrookdale, is a tourist railroad located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The railroad operates between Boyertown in Berks County and Pottstown in Montgomery County.
Mighty Express is a Canadian 3D computer-animated children's television series created by the British producer Keith Chapman. The series is produced by Spin Master Entertainment in partnership with Netflix, while the animation is produced by Atomic Cartoons. It was released on September 22, 2020.
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