Picture Book Reflection 3

Allsburg, C. V. The polar express. (1985). Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company

The Polar Express is a classic children's picture storybook based on the Christmas season. Chris Van Allsburg, the author and illustrator, tells a story about a young boy who takes a magical Christmas Eve train ride to the North Pole. When he arrives, Santa offers him any gift he could imagine and the boy asks, simply, for a bell off the harness of a reindeer. Unfortunately, on the train ride home the bell is lost and after searching the boy is left empty-handed. Or is he?

The book itself comes with a dust jacket that has the picture of the front of the train on the cover of the book and a picture of the middle of the train with a small boy boarding on the back. The dust jacket gives the reader a feeling of if you do not grab this book the train is going to leave you. An interesting note about the dust jacket is that the author's name is not listed on the front cover. The Polar Express provides an inside cover which the author/illustrator's name and publisher can be found.

The size of the book provides a perfect opportunity to read the book aloud to a class. The pages are thick and durable which may allow for children to handle the book as well. The Polar Express is a hardcover book.

Allsburg appears to use paintings and realistic art throughout the story in a doublespread format. The format helps to show actions and moods throughout the story. For example, many illustrations are from the outside of the train as it makes its adventure to the North Pole. The illustrations make you feel as though you are traveling through the forest and mountains with the train.

The Polar Express is the 1986 Caldecott Award winner.