Author: Chris Van Allsburg
Illustrator: Chris Van Allsburg
Readability Scores: Interest Level=K-2, Grade Level Equivalent=4.9, Lexile=520L, DRA=30, Guided Reading=N
Genre: Fiction
Subgenre: Classics, adventure
Theme: Winter, Christmas, imagination
Primary and Secondary Characters: Primary=the little boy who boards the train, Secondary=other children, conductor, Santa Claus, Sarah
Awards: Caldecott Medal winner
Date of Publication: 1985
Publishing Company: Houghton Mifflin Company
ISBN Number: 0395389496
Summary: The little boy wanted to hear the bells on Santa's sleigh, but instead what he heard one Christmas Eve night was a train. He looked out his window and saw a train in his front yard. He went out and the conductor told him it was the Polar Express going to the North Pole. The little boy joined the other children on the train as they traveled to the North Pole. Once they arrived, they saw elves and Santa's sleigh and reindeer. Then Santa appeared and he picked the little boy to give him the first gift of Christmas. The boy wanted one of the silver bells from the reindeer harness. He was given it and then Santa was gone to deliver toys to the rest of the world. Once he was back on the train, the little boy realized that the bell had fallen through a hole in his pocket. He thought it was lost, but then Christmas morning it was wrapped and under the tree from Mr. C. He was always able to hear the bell even though his friends and his sister stopped hearing the bell when they stopped believing.
Applications for Teaching: This book is filled with excellent examples of figurative language. Students could read this book and be instructed to write down the different parts of speech they find. There are also several vocabulary words that could be introduced and defined before reading this story.
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