The Polar Express

Author: Chris Van Allsburg
Publisher: Houghton Mifflon Company
Copyright: 1985
Genre: Picture/Fiction
Pages: 32
Reading Level: Ages 5 to 8 (Barnes and Noble)
Summary: This is a Christmas story about a boy who hears a train late at night and decides to board when he finds out it's the Polar Express, which travels to the North Pole on Christmas Eve. When they get to the North Pole, Santa chooses him to come up and receive the first gift of Christmas. He asks for a bell off of Santa's sleigh. So Santa cuts a bell off of the reins of one of his reindeer and everyone cheers as he receives the first gift of Christmas. When he gets on the train and the other children ask to see the bell he realizes he lost it because there's a hole in the pocket of his bathrobe. The next morning he receives the bell again as a gift under the Christmas tree with a note from Santa saying that he found it on the seat of his sleigh and that the boy should fix the hole in his pocket. The boys tells that the bell makes a beautiful sound but his parents can't hear it. He says that over the years even his sister found a day when she could no longer hear the bell ring. The magic is that the bell can only be heard by those who truly believe.
Who would you recommend this book to? I would recommend this book to everyone!!!
Potential problems or conflicts: It is a Christmas book so if you are readin it to a class be aware of if there are children in the class who don't celebrate holidays or special circumstances like that.
My reaction: I love this book! It's one of my all time favorites! It's a great book to help you feel the magic and spirit of Christmas.