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A review by theunicornwriter
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
3.0
The Polar Express is a picture book who begins with a boy lying quietly in his bed listening to hear the sound of Santa's sleigh bells on Christmas Eve. His ears perk up as he hears something, but it isn't bells. No, it's a train in front of his house! He goes down to investigate and allows the conductor to pull him aboard after he learns that the train is headed to the North Pole.
It's a cute, Christmas book with a theme of the magic of the Christmas holiday. It is non-rhyming and the illustrations are a tad dull in terms of color scheme so readers younger than 2nd grade may struggle keeping focus on the story.
This year was the first time I used the book as a read-aloud as a librarian. I see pictures and posts online of other elementary schools going all out for "Polar Express Day" and was excited to start our own at my school this year. And using Novel Effect (an app with music and sound effects) was a great addition to the reading (for most classes)! However, 2 or my 15 groups had very heated arguments with one another about "if Santa is or is not real" (3rd and 2nd graders). All this to say, teachers and librarians may need to do some context/lessons leading up to this book to prevent some drama ensuing! LOL
It's a cute, Christmas book with a theme of the magic of the Christmas holiday. It is non-rhyming and the illustrations are a tad dull in terms of color scheme so readers younger than 2nd grade may struggle keeping focus on the story.
This year was the first time I used the book as a read-aloud as a librarian. I see pictures and posts online of other elementary schools going all out for "Polar Express Day" and was excited to start our own at my school this year. And using Novel Effect (an app with music and sound effects) was a great addition to the reading (for most classes)! However, 2 or my 15 groups had very heated arguments with one another about "if Santa is or is not real" (3rd and 2nd graders). All this to say, teachers and librarians may need to do some context/lessons leading up to this book to prevent some drama ensuing! LOL