The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg has a special kind of magic that transports me back to my childhood wonder every time I read it. The story follows a young boy on Christmas Eve who embarks on an enchanting journey to the North Pole aboard a mysterious train, the Polar Express. At its heart, the book is about belief—the kind of belief we cling to as children and wish to hold onto as adults, even when we’re told otherwise.
I’ll admit, I wasn’t always drawn to The Polar Express . It seemed a bit too mainstream, too sentimental, and honestly, I thought it was overhyped—especially with the movie’s release and its subsequent commercialization. But once I actually sat down and read it, the story hit me in a way I wasn’t expecting. The lyrical prose, combined with Van Allsburg’s evocative illustrations, has a kind of quiet, poignant beauty that lingers. I found myself unexpectedly moved by the boy’s simple wish to hear Santa’s sleigh bells—a sound that only true believers can hear.
The train ride itself, with its magical atmosphere and sense of adventure, taps into that universal childhood dream of Christmas. And the ending, with the boy cherishing the bell long after others can no longer hear it, leaves you with that warm, bittersweet feeling of holding onto hope and wonder even as the world grows up around you.
The book’s appeal lies not just in its Christmas theme but in its deeper message about faith and wonder. Even without kids of my own, I find myself returning to it year after year, drawn in by its quiet reminder to keep believing in the magic around us, no matter how old we get.
Questions to ask while reading:
- Why do you think the boy was chosen to ride the Polar Express?
- How do you think the boy felt when he saw the North Pole for the first time?
- Why is the bell from Santa’s sleigh so important to the boy?
The Polar Express on Amazon
