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A review by devontrevarrowflaherty
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
5.0
I doubt that I have much to add to whatever discussion and reviews there might be of this book, but I do like to review all books I read, especially the classics. And The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg is a classic. Though at this point I suppose the 2004 Tom Hanks movie is more well-known, at least for Millennials and younger. But as is often (but not always) the case, the book is better. And I grew up with the book without the movie. I also grew up with a bookish aunt who admired the picture books and art of Van Allsburg so I was read all of his books. The Polar Express was less creepy than the rest (Jumanji, Zathura, especially The Mysteries of Harris Burdick), so it was not my favorite. But it’s a great picture book with excellent illustrations that has stood the test of time.
When I picked it up off the shelf to give it a holiday read this year, I couldn’t remember exactly what was original to the book that was not invented for the movie (though I saw that long enough ago that I didn’t remember every detail about the movie either). It turns out, not a lot. Because the book is short and sweet, even for a picture book. The basic journey is there: a little boy hears a train pull up outside on Christmas Eve and he jumps on board to travel with a bunch of other kids to visit the North Pole for Santa’s giving of the first gift and his takeoff on his sleigh. There is a moral of sorts involving the best gifts being memories and not things, and also about childhood being a time of belief and wonder.
For me, Van Allsburg shines most in his illustrations, though there is also a distinct magic in his stories. I mean, he gives no explanations for his fancies, like how a train would pull up outside a house on a street and why a kid might not want to jump in it without question. None of that matters in the magical spaces of Van Allsburg’s worlds. You just, ahem, go along for the ride. And you marvel at the half-realistic and half-cartoonish illustrations in their muted (sometimes sepia), detailed, almost sgraffitoed graphic delicacy.
Honestly, you don’t need to look any further if you want a picture book to read to your kids or gift to your grandkids for Christmas. There are a number of these holiday classics, and this one is a winner for the playful story, the sweet message, and the epic signature illustrations.
MOVIE:
The book is better than the 2004 movie. The movie has become a classic for some, but others really don’t like the weird CG thing that they have going on. (It was very early CG.) Obviously, they had to add a whole lot to the story to make it into a feature-length film. The main character is suddenly pretty much the conductor (Tom Hanks). But they did manage to capture that Van Allsburg magic quality with the dark night, the bright train, and the circus-like, Seuss-like, gravity-defying dancing and singing. Love it or leave it, I guess. But it’s not a bad idea to show it to a small child to see if they end up loving it.
(For what it’s worth, I like the adaptations of Jumaji (both the old and new) and Zathura much better, but they were what my kids called “real skin, so maybe that helped.)
***REVIEW WRITTEN FOR THE STARVING ARTIST BLOG***
When I picked it up off the shelf to give it a holiday read this year, I couldn’t remember exactly what was original to the book that was not invented for the movie (though I saw that long enough ago that I didn’t remember every detail about the movie either). It turns out, not a lot. Because the book is short and sweet, even for a picture book. The basic journey is there: a little boy hears a train pull up outside on Christmas Eve and he jumps on board to travel with a bunch of other kids to visit the North Pole for Santa’s giving of the first gift and his takeoff on his sleigh. There is a moral of sorts involving the best gifts being memories and not things, and also about childhood being a time of belief and wonder.
For me, Van Allsburg shines most in his illustrations, though there is also a distinct magic in his stories. I mean, he gives no explanations for his fancies, like how a train would pull up outside a house on a street and why a kid might not want to jump in it without question. None of that matters in the magical spaces of Van Allsburg’s worlds. You just, ahem, go along for the ride. And you marvel at the half-realistic and half-cartoonish illustrations in their muted (sometimes sepia), detailed, almost sgraffitoed graphic delicacy.
Honestly, you don’t need to look any further if you want a picture book to read to your kids or gift to your grandkids for Christmas. There are a number of these holiday classics, and this one is a winner for the playful story, the sweet message, and the epic signature illustrations.
MOVIE:
The book is better than the 2004 movie. The movie has become a classic for some, but others really don’t like the weird CG thing that they have going on. (It was very early CG.) Obviously, they had to add a whole lot to the story to make it into a feature-length film. The main character is suddenly pretty much the conductor (Tom Hanks). But they did manage to capture that Van Allsburg magic quality with the dark night, the bright train, and the circus-like, Seuss-like, gravity-defying dancing and singing. Love it or leave it, I guess. But it’s not a bad idea to show it to a small child to see if they end up loving it.
(For what it’s worth, I like the adaptations of Jumaji (both the old and new) and Zathura much better, but they were what my kids called “real skin, so maybe that helped.)
***REVIEW WRITTEN FOR THE STARVING ARTIST BLOG***